Lenses and filters

[shallowskies]

Hello there

Recently purchased an explorer 150 pl and I have been very pleased with its performance. Already I have seen Jupiter and four of its moons. However I am seeking advice on lenses and filters. I would like to purchase a lense which would be suitable for planetary use. I have also realised my Nikkon D90 does not attach to the direct dslr connection. Is there an adaptor for the Nikkon available? Finally I would like to get a moon filter but I'm not too sure on what would be suitable. Is there filters which produce better viewing of the planets? Before I forget I'm on a limited budget too. Thanks for any forthcoming advice. I

David

[Steep]

What budget and what eyepieces do you already have? Eyepieces range in price from £30~ to hundreds of pounds so knowing what you can spend would help guide you to something that might be better than you have.

[Steep]

I should say, my own choice was to spend a fair bit of cash on a good quality zoom eyepiece, the Baader Hyperion 8-24 and I've not been disappointed with it yet.

[shallowskies]

I already have the 10mm and the 25mm that came with the scope. The Baader Hyperion 8-24 is way out of my price range. I would love to splash out but I just bought my scope last week and my wife would probably leave me.My budget would be around £50.

[Capricorn]

By planets I am assuming Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter will be reasonable at 80x and Saturn needs more like 120-150x. At 1200mm focal length that would mean a 15mm for Jupiter and a 8mm for Saturn.

Next it depends on your budget. Telescope Service have a range of planetary eyepieces, Astronomica do TMB planetary's at £45, Sky's the Limit do TMB and TMB clones at £38ish.

I would probably go down the TMB line for the eye relief they offer, makes looking down them more comfortable.

If you try for Mars when it wanders back you will need 150x for it, and possibly a fair bit of luck.

If budget is TIGHT then a reasonable plossl of the above lengths should be good. Trouble is a good plossl is pretty much the same cost as the StL offerings.

Filters, no idea. If it is too bright is there not a removable section from the front cap to cut down the incident light?

[Dave Smith]

If you are on a budget, I would forget about filters. I did have a set of colour filters to help bring out contrast on the planets, but sold them through lack of use. I have a polarising filter for the Moon but it rarely gets used, even when I had a 12" scope. It is not often that you need to keep night vision at the same time as observing the Moon. If the Moon appears too bright, just go indoors with the light on for a few minutes and then it will be fine.

Dave

[shallowskies]

Thanks for the advice. Now I have a bit of direction I am sure I can now find a lense which is suitable for me.

Cheers

David

[shallowskies]

Sorry one more question,. Would it be beneficial for me to think about purchasing a 3x Barlow?

Cheers

David