Total newbie in need of guidance

[themos]

You can keep increasing the magnification but after some point the views will get worse and worse (blurry). The 114/900 can probably be pushed to 150x, so a 6mm eyepiece might be the limit.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Would a 2X Barlow offer a better (clearer/closer) image than just getting a 6mm EP as the Barlow appears to be cheaper.

How does it fit with the existing 10mm EP?

(not managed to work out how to fit the moon filter yet; think I might have been supplied the wrong one!).

Went out onto the fields just now before the cloud came in; some amazing views and we get very little light disturbance; managed to see Jupitar and its 4 moons, amazing.

Its an open debate as to whether using a barlow gives a better image than if just using the equiv EP without a barlow.

It all depends on the quality of the barlow. Another factor in favour of using a barlow with an EP is the size of the hole you look through. On a 10mm EP the hole you look through is quite big and easy to look through. If you used a 5mm EP the hole is smaller and more difficult to look through. So in this respect......using a Barlow is a good idea.

Now regarding how an EP fits into a barlow. The barlow has a small screw on it?

Turn this screw until it is flush with the casing of the inside of the barlow. Now just insert the 10mm EP into the top of the barlow and then tighten the screw on the barlow again to hold the EP in place. Then insert the whole thing (barlow and EP) into the telescope the same way as you would if just using the 10mm.

The Moon filter simply screws onto the end of your EP. Have a look at the EP................it will have screw threads on it at one end (the end that goes into the scope) Now look at your moon filter. There will be similar screw threads on one end of it. Simply put both ends with screw threads together and turn until tightly together. Then insert the EP (with filter attached) into the scope as normal. The EP+moon filter will also go into the barlow and then into the scope.

I agree with themos. A 6mm EP might be right on the limit of what your scope can handle. A 7.5mm or an 8mm EP might be better.

[Rob wright]

From one newbie to another

Your scope is plenty good enough to get great views however you are expecting alot from it.

I have a 114mm telescope too

You also need to get used to using it and train your eyes to see things, you will see the moons of jupiter and the rings of Saturn what you won't see are huge globes like the photos, they are taken with very big scopes

Also the atmosphere and light polution will affect what you can see

The barlow fits between the eyepiece and the scope (think of it as an extension piece) and a 2 times barlow doubles the mag of the eyepiece 3 times, triples.

Found this for your scope

Quote

The Celestron Astromaster 114EQ is a 114mm reflector telescope which is excellent for general stargazing such as detailed views of the moon and constellations including double stars. It will see other planets in our solar system with an interesting level of detail. All Astromasters come with image erecting eyepieces that make landscape viewing possible by turning the image the right way up but the equatorial mount is better suited to stargazing due to the way it moves

unquote

So your scope does come with a correcting lense.

I went for ages disapointed with what I could see until I found this forum and followed the sdvice and reports on here and have seen more than I could hope for including nebula and galaxies and the planets from Mercury to Uranus.

I also fell foul of the thinking that the bigger the magnification the better, which as you read will realise is not always the case and in fact if looking at star fields a smaller mag is far better.

Keep at it it will come and as you get used to one thing another milestone will show itself for you to achieve

[ian-d]

Wrote a message thanking you all for the help, but my Internet is being a pain tonight! I appreciate all the help you've given me as I'm sure the questions I'm asking are very basic, but only easy when you know. I'm at the very beginning of my journey and currently very far out of my comfort zone, but looking forward to the road ahead!

At the moment I'm using nothing but the target on the top of the telescope to find stars and planets (works well) plus my iphone app to get a general idea of what is out there.

If as suggested 6mm is about the limit of the scope, would the Barlow which effectively increases the magnification x2 be too much on the 10mm EP?

Also, I'm presumably on a basic scope at the moment, but should I eventually move up to a mid-range scope, what sort of magnification is common if I can currently achieve around 150x max.

[ian-d]

Can anyone confirm if this 6mm EP would suit my telescope and does it appear genuine as it is much cheaper than those available in this country (this one appears to despatch from USA)

NEW! CELESTRON 6mm PLOSSL 1.25" Telescope Eyepiece Lens on eBay (end time 24-Jan-11 05:17:34 GMT)

[pvaz]

A 6mm will be usable on your scope. However most find the small focal lenghts cheap plossls to lack in detail and sharpness. Staying in the affordable zone, you should have a look at 6mm TMB clones (or maybe a 6mm Orthoscopic if you don't use glasses to observe).

[Ewok]

Hi Ian.

As already posted the best advice would be to pop along to your nearest astronomy club and see if you can go to a couple of meetings. I am going to my first meeting on Tues night, because I too require some guidance. Ask when they are having an observation night and see if someone can go through things with your scope . Don't be shy just bite the bullet like me, I'm sure hands on with someone with experience can only be a good thing.