Assistance Needed

[Prinz]

Hi All,

I have been given a Prinz Optics scope, No 440,

It has 3 eyepieces 20mm

12.5mm

4.5mm

D= 60mm and F=710mm (is this the length of scope?)

sun filter (quite a bit of fun)

2X barlow lens, what is this for?

6X positioning scope (bit on top!!!)

it has 2 additional lens that i am not sure of, one looks as though it may screw on to a camera but the other has an adjustable lens

1=widest apperture 32=smallest!!

Help please,

What is this scope capable of, i would imagine that it is also a fair age (any ideas)

Thanks in advance for your help guys and girls

[nightfisher]

the prinz scopes are not bad to be honest yours is 60mm objective with a focal length of 710, its best suited to lunar and planets, if the piece that looks like it screws to a camera is L shape, that will be the diagonal, it fits to the focus tube and then you put an eyepiece in other end to view with

[John]

I'm sure you will get some more specific advice soon on the scope. The one thing I will say right away is DON'T USE THE SUN FILTER.

I'm assuming that this is the small circular type about 1 inch across - they are not safe at all and the best advice is to throw it away in case anyone else is tempted.

Sorry about that but I wanted to get that in early

[Prinz]

I have the diagonal attached with a 90 degree attachment then the eyepiece, would this be a correct config?

Advice taken regards to sun filter, I assume there are far safer filters or none at all?

[Bizibilder]

Firstly DON'T USE THE SUN FILTER !! DELIBERATE REPEAT!!!!!!! Its dangerous.

Lecture over.

Now - you have a focal length of 710mm and eyepieces of 20, 12.5 & 4.5mm so you can theoretically get:

710/20 = 35.5x magnification.

710/12.5 = 56.8x

710/4.5 = 157x

Each eyepiece will fit into the Barlow lens (which then goes into the focusser) to give you 2x each of those magnifications ie around 70x, 114x and 300x.

However a 60mm scope will not be able to operate at a magnification of more than about 120x and that is only if the atmosphere is steady and not "boiling" all over the place! Astronomers call that effect "seeing".

Using "high" power, say 12.5mm eyepiece plus Barlow, will give good views of the Moon and will let you see the rings of Saturn. Your "Low" power, 20mm eyepiece alone will be OK for star clusters and some of the brighter DSO's (Deep Sky Objects).

Have fun and I hope this helps you get going!!

[Prinz]

Sun Filter in BIN!!

Wow that all helps alot i seem to have some sort of viewing with what ive got, will have a look to see where mars will be in relation to my location and see what i can get first then take it from there

20mm lens mangaed to pick out a decent cluster that couldn't be seen with naked eye so coupled with barlow lens could see a bit more!

[John]

You can use the freeware software "Stellarium" to see what is visible and when, from your location. Here is the web site:

Stellarium

[Bizibilder]

Don't get the "magnification" bug! Often in Astronomy less is more! If you add the barlow you won't see any more of the cluster, just a narrower field of view. As the magnification goes up you see a smaller area of sky. You will find folk here who spend a small fortune on eyepieces of 40 or 50mm focal length to get the best LOW magnification, wide field, views! Strange but true. Reserve your high magnification for objects like the Moon.

[nightfisher]

without wanting to sound patronizing, regards the sun filter, i think the advice is dont view the sun AT ALL through this scope, on the black sticker where it gives the focal length there will be a small circle with a T or K in it, if its a T its the slightly better optics

[Astro_Baby]

Mars wont show as much more than a red dot in most scopes. However your scope should resolve Saturn quite well. Saturn is in the South East around 9pm and low on the horizon. As the evening goes on to the early hours it will climb higher and presenyt a good target. Look for a yellowy colored 'star' in the south east.

As the year goes on towards august you will also see Jupiter which is another good target for your scope.