Question about Magnifications.

[Cloengaa]

Hey there.

I have a Skywatcher Explorer 130M telescope.

Looking at Saturn last nite with my (at the moment max magnification) 2xbarlow and 10mm eyepiece which gives 180X mag.

I was a little disappointed at how small Saturn looked.

So here is my question. Should I consider getting a 5mm lens for higher mag or should I get a barlowx3 ?

It seems my scopes max mag would be 260x.

[NGC404]

180x should be plenty

Just wondered if you are waiting for Saturn to get high in the sky, and if you are allowing your scope to cool down properly

[John]

You will get a better (sharper) image with less magnification - going higher than 180x would not improve things at all. There is a thread running here on max magnification - as you can see, the max mag figures for scopes are meaningless - it's the seeing conditions that control things:

http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/134368-maximum-magnification.html

I was getting nice views of Saturn the other night at 150x with my 6" scope.

Edit: good suggestions from DN18 there as well.

[Cloengaa]

My scope is actually stationary outside, so at outside temp all the time. I guess Saturn was pretty low on the Horizon around 21pm last nite.

But the problem is more the size....its very little in my eyepiece.

[brantuk]

The question is not so much the size of ep - but more the quality. My 130P with the supplied ep's is aweful. Like you say - either way too small, or with the barlow very faint. You have to remember that magnifying the object also magnifies the atmospheric conditions at the same time.

First step is a clear night and a well elevated object (there's more atmosphere towards the horizon). Next step is a step up in ep quality. I use Hyperions which are quite expensive new (around £90) but s/h they go for around £60. Also Radians are nice at around £100 s/h. Even a step into the £30-£50 ranges will help the view - Meade do some v.nice ones, TMB's I hear are good vfm, and Tal do a nice 2x and 3x barlow. You'd be amazed at the difference.

Use your local astro soc or attend a starparty and folk will be only to happy to let you try some different ep's to see what suits you. Hope that helps

[Cloengaa]

Thanks Brantuk.....Sounds like I need to upgrade my eyepieces instead.

[brantuk]

You're welcome - bear in mind as mentioned above that clear small objects are often better than magnified objects - at 12mm jupiter is like a ball bearing in my 130 but it's amazing the crispness of detail I can see. With a Tal 2x it's not quite so crisp but a lot lot better than a supplied 10mm with barlow. The Tals are great vfm

[Cloengaa]

I will look after some better EPS and maybe 2xbarlow too. I also have to move out to a dark spot soon.....just to see how much better it gets out there than on my balcony. Big scope to move around though hehe.

Hey Brantuk have you tried any of the SKyliner Dobsonians ???? like to 200 or 250 and if so whats your experience with them ?

[brantuk]

Well - I have the SW 300P Flex-Tube - you shoulda seen M42 through it on Sunday night with a Hyperion zoom set at 12mm - it was as clear as looking at clouds in the sky with a very distinct hole bearing pinpoint trapezium stars. I was well impressed.

I upgraded the "auto" to "goto" very easilly for just over £100 and it works great - little bit of backlash in both axes but nothing that can't be solved cheaply and effectively. But yes - heavy to move around - most of our viewing is done at a dark site 15 miles up the road - makes a huge difference to the views through it

[Cloengaa]

Man Brantuk when can I stop by ?? hahaha

Yeah well I am working on my 130m and will see what I can accomplish with it..

Havent even set the ra motor on it yet....

[Cloengaa]

Brantuk do you have any pics you have taken with the 300p ? that you could post. Want to see what you can accomplish with a more expensive aperature like that.

[Merlin66]

x180 is a pretty good magnification, the real issue is training your eye to see the detail in the image. Believe me, the detail is there, but it takes time and practise - lots of practise... to "tune" your eye and brain to get the most out of what you see.

Bumping up the magnification won't do much, other than getting you even more frustrated.....

[sixela]

Saturn may look small, but if you do the math Saturn at 180x is actually four times as large (in area) than the naked eye moon, on which you can still see quite some detail.

The trick is to observe for long enough to get over that initial subjective impression of smallness. And to make sure the seeing is good, focus is good and that the scope is well collimated, so that you see detail in that image.

[John]

x180 is a pretty good magnification, the real issue is training your eye to see the detail in the image. Believe me, the detail is there, but it takes time and practise - lots of practise... to "tune" your eye and brain to get the most out of what you see.

Bumping up the magnification won't do much, other than getting you even more frustrated.....

Great post Ken

My 4" Vixen will show great things at 150x on the planets - if I'm prepared to put the effort in

"the more you look, the more you see"

[NGC404]

Most of my planetary viewing is at just 125x

(10" light bucket + 10mm TMB + home made aperture mask)

[Cloengaa]

DN18 what do you use the light bucket for ??? does it add light to what you see or ?

[ItIsOnlyMe]

DN18 what do you use the light bucket for ??? does it add light to what you see or ?

Light bucket = Generic term for big telescope.

light bucket - Wiktionary

or

Light bucket = Generic term for carrying implement that doesn't weigh much.;-)

5L Natural Bucket & Lid --- Opaque - Clear Plastic Storage Containers Bottles and Accessories supplier: Ampulla Ltd Online Cheshire UK

[brantuk]

Wish I could - but haven't really got into AP yet - and if I used the dob it would only be plnetary anyway. Hope to make an earnest start at Kelling