help with scope please :)

[The_PSY3NTIST]

Hey finally got first light on the scope Amazing! I have 10mm and 25mm EP and a x2 barlow but cant get mars bigger than a tiny disc that is really bright. What EPs do i need to see it large? amazing views but a bit disappointed been able to see the planets properly. Thanks

Dave

p.s. focal length on my 200 is 1000mm

[Beyond_Vision]

The maximum magnification of your scope is roughly 400X but the atmosphere would be the limiting factor where it may on average only support 200-250x magnification.

Therefore your setup could use down to a 2.5mm eyepiece but a 5mm would be the most you would go down to on a typical day.

Regards

Kevin

[brianb]

What EPs do i need to see it large?

You need a bigger scope to see Mars large!

200x is about as much as most people can use. I've been able to use 300x on my 11" exactly twice since I got it a year ago. Mars is small, that's just the way it is. If it's any consolation, Jupiter is about 4x as big, and Saturn's ball is about 1.5x the size Mars is at the moment, the rings make it much bigger in total.

[yeti monster]

We always NEED a bigger scope!

What size EPs do you have at present?

[russ]

Mars shows a reasonable size disk once you push up to 250x plus. I was out last night my 200P and Meade 8" SCT. Both were able to push to 300x and 332x respectively. Mars was sharp in both scopes although there wasn't a heap of detail to see this time. Polar cap was clearly seen and a dark marking running around the polar cap.

Mars is very high in the sky so the usual 200x is not really applying on the whole. I've more than not been able to attain a good sharp detailed view at 300x.

I would think about replacing the 10mm that came with the scope. The 25mm and barlow are surprisingly good but the 10mm is the weak link. A good 5mm would be a good planetary investment for your scope as it will give 200x.

Russ

[The_PSY3NTIST]

Thanks guys. Just I was expecting to see the detail of the polar cap and have seen many images online that claim to be from a 8 inch scope that show it to be quite large. I used the 10mm with the x2 barlow which us x200 isnt it? Think a good eye piece set needs ordering today