lens's and what next?

[Taz]

Ok i have got my scope (celestron 114 eq) put it all together, joined this lovley forum, what do i do now ? i still think i might need some better quality lenses and i may need to check the col of my scope (not sure how like) i would like to see some satalites if thats possible ? not a clue what or where to look ? is there anyone who lives close to me by the way ?

thanks

ps what pretty mod's we have on here, a lot better than the airgun bbs

[John]

It's probably best to get youself a good guide to the night sky (eg: Turn Left at Orion) and the freeware planetarium software Stellarium and have a few nights trying your scope out before investing in more stuff for it. Get used to how it moves around, how it focusses, where the eyepieces go etc in daylight then it will be easier when it's dark. You can also align your finder scope (very important) in daylight - the instructions should show you how.

For satellites your eyes or binoculars are best - a scope usually magnifies too much for them. The web site Heavens Above ( Heavens-Above Home Page ) will show you what is passing over head and when.

John

PS: It's nice to know that I'm better looking than the Airgun BBS mods - they must be a horrible looking lot then

[Taz]

ohh truly mate

so where will i find the moon now ?

[John]

so where will i find the moon now ?

It's not above the horizon at the moment. Try downloading the Stellarium freeware - it's a great way to find "whats up" at the moment.

John

[The Warthog]

Since I"m not above flagrant self promotion, I would recommend you read the article on eyepieces that is in the sticky part of this forum. I wrote it for people just lke you. I believe your scope is f/8, BTW.

Oh, get a planisphere (starfinder) or the current edition of any astronomy magazine, for the sky chart that you can carry outside with you to identify the current stars and constellations above you.

[Taz]

thanks

[Taz]

so am i right in saying the smaller the size of eyepiece i.e. in my case 6mm is the most powerfull ? i'm getting confused here ?

[Psychobilly]

Nope your not... well apart from the fact its the Focal length and not the size... Shorter focal length EP's will give higher magnifications. Similar effect can be achieved usign a Barlow lens - so 6mm or 12mm with x2 barlow will give the same magnification...

Depending on your eyesight the 12mm + 2x barlow might be a lot easier to use though...

Peter...

[Taz]

ehh ???

i found the barlow i have (tasco) to distort the image quality a bit, the clearest image seemed to be the 12mm eyepiece, please explain in simple terms with big pictures which eyepiece is the most powerfull i.e. biggest magnification please cause i'm lost ?

[Psychobilly]

Hmm Tasco...hmmmm

Sammler the focal lenght of the EP (lens) the higher the magnification you will get.. however short focal length EP's the smaller the diameter of the lens you look through and also the shorter the eye relief...

Using a barlow (a half decent one) with an EP effgectively "shortens" the focal lenght of the EP but you still have the wider "lens" and longer Eye relief...

Peter...

[Taz]

my head hurts now, where is the big picture version ?

so simply is my 6mm lens lower mag than my 25mm lens or vice versa ?

yes I know the tasco barlow lens leaves a lot to be desired, the images it produces are a waste of space, i am going to buy at least 2 plosll lens/eyepieces but i need to know which sizes I need, i was going to plump for a 12mm and a 5mm and maybe a better quality barlow x2 ?

[The Warthog]

Your 6mm ep will give roughly four times the magnification of the 25mm. In your scope, the 6mm ep gives 163x, the 25mm gives 40x. The 6mm is the most powerful ep you should try with that scope, as most 114mm scopes don't reward any more magnification than that.

Since you already have a Barlow, you could add a 16 - 18mm ep to your kit, giving you magnifications of 163, 111, 80, 56, and 40. A nice set.

If the Barlow is truly unsatisfactory, you could add a 10mm and a 16mm ep, to give you a nicely balanced set.

[Taz]

thanks at last i understand

I was looking through my scope today and realised that after 30 years of shooting and using scopes of differing quality and size, to be honest I have been spoilt by using the likes of Swarovski rifle scopes etc because compared to my rifle scopes my telescope is horrible and i am very dissapointed, it looks ace , it looks a million dollars with all it's weights and turny things but my rifle scopes allthough less powerfull (max 24x zoom) blow the telescope away, i'm not sure what to do now ?

[iancandler]

Your right Taz, you've been spoilt, and without spending a lot more money on an APO scope and/or a top end set of eyepieces your set up wont compare with what you see through your top end sight.

You do also have to make allowances for our dirty atmosphere, which comes into play when you look heavenwards, unlike at ground level and over the short distances you use when shooting.

Just keep going at it, and enjoy what you can see.

Ian from airgunbbs

[The Warthog]

Swarovski makes rifle sights? Oy!

[steve_bham]

I got turn left at orion, and its a great book, one that you will use often on clear nights.