The best for my scope

[johnkirkpatrick]

Im looking for good eyepieces for viewing the planets and nebula. I only have the standard eyepieces that came with my scope ( see sig) 20mm erecting and 10mm eyepiece. also anything else thats useful to have in my kit. also is it really possible to see detail on the planets with my scope and view other galaxys and other DSO?

[John]

You can do all the things you list with your scope - it just takes patience, practice and perserverence (the three P's !). A 32mm plossl eyepiece would be good for low power "sweeping" and viewing the larger DSO's like M31, the Andromeda galaxy. You will also want a bit more power than the 10mm eyepiece can deliver so a 5mm plossl will do that for you. For nebulae, especially planetary nebulae, a UHC filter will help enhence their contrast - I found the Baader UHC-S filter worked well in smaller scopes.

For DSO's wait until the moon is not in the sky as they get drowned out easily. Catch Mars now before it starts receeding at the end of the month - it will appear to get smaller quite quickly then and it's challenging enough to see detail on it now !. Saturn is rising in the early hours and is a "must see".

The thing is though, apart from the moon, the other stuff needs to be worked at - it does not just "jump out at you" because you are using a scope. Once you have found an object try and spend some time observing it. The details will come as your eye gets trained and picks up the details in the short glimpses of good seeing that our skies give us.

Also get a good sky chart and / or planetarium software such as Stellarium (freeware) so that you can see what is in the sky at a particular time and plan your observing sessions.

[pvaz]

With what you got you have a widefield EP on the 25mm (26x) and a medium mag on the 10mm (65x).

At 26x you can fit big objects in the FOV such as andromeda galaxy (M31), orion nebula (M42/M43) or the double cluster (NGC869 and NGC884). So try starting with this 3.

You can add a 2x barlow lens so you can double the possible combinations/magnifications. That will allow you to get 130x (10mm ep + barlow lens) and it will be ideal for Saturn/Jupiter and of course the moon. A few good barlows you can choose from: Tal 2x, Orion Shorty, Celestron Ultima. (Never owned any of them but they have a very good reputation.)

Then observe for a few nights, practice finding things, learn what you like or you'll soon be with a lot of kit you don't need and a slimmer wallet.

Once you learn what you want, through experience, then buy it. Astronomy haves a bit of a learning curve, take your time find a couple of objects and spend time looking at them to let your eye adapt and pick up detail that, at 1st, doesn't seam to be there.

[yeti monster]

And most importantly of all, enjoy every moment of your stargazing!

[TheThing]

Good advice, but I would add the caveat that M31 can be a very difficult target if you suffer from light pollution (i.e. round main cities - London, Manchester etc).

[johnkirkpatrick]

Thanks for the great advice from all ,good job I joined this forum its proved invaluable, looks like I have a wanted list the length of my arm lol. first is the x2 barlow and possibly a 3x barlow.

[pvaz]

Good advice, but I would add the caveat that M31 can be a very difficult target if you suffer from light pollution (i.e. round main cities - London, Manchester etc).

Yes. It's very hard near the city or under moonlight. I can see M31 naked eye from my backyard, but the nearest town is 20km away.

If you live under light pollution try some clusters: M44, M38, M36, M37, NGC457. These are nice!

M44 (beehive cluster) can be detected naked eye, it's a brighten patch of sky in the middle of cancer, close to where Mars is now.

[johnkirkpatrick]

A few good barlows you can choose from: Tal 2x, Orion Shorty, Celestron Ultima. (Never owned any of them but they have a very good reputation.)

My budget for one of these would be £20 max do you know of any at this price?

[John]

My budget for one of these would be £20 max do you know of any at this price?

All are more than that new I'm afraid. The TAL's are £35.00 I think. Used you might find a TAL for £20 but you don't get a good one new for that price to be honest. The Ultima is £80+ new and £45 or so used but it's optically excellent - you do get what you pay for in this game generally .....

[John]

Just spotted this coming up soon on E.Bay:

Antares x2 Barlow Lens on eBay (end time 28-Jan-10 17:13:46 GMT)

It's still a bit over your budget and possibly not quite as good optically as the TAL but Antares is a decent brand and the seller (Rother Valley Optics) is reputable. I strongly suspect it's the best you are going to do in that price bracket.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Do not despair about M31: I can quite often spot it with the naked eye, and it is an easy object in even my binoculars. I live in a suburb of Groningen (not a huge place, but still 185,000 souls) not too far from the centre. We are however sheltered from the worst light by a row of trees, so that does help. Of course, it is better to sling my scope in the back of the car and go outside the city.