Meade 10" with recommend eyepieces??

[jeff8022]

Hi
I am just starting astronomy.. and just got my self a 2nd hand meade 10" telescope and 3 eyepieces.. 40mm, 32mm and 26mm and also a 3x barlow..

And i am thinking to buy few other higher power eyepiece..

My question is what power i should get?? I am thinking to buy 8-24 zoom baader eyepiece, would it be good opinion??

I want to do deep space watching but of course would start some planets first..

Thanks a lot

Jeff

[Stefano (Steve)]

Buy a parracor and 8mm ethos and 3.7mm ethos ,and a meade 21mm MWA and your done, ....keep looking up.....Steve 🎰

[astro744]

Is this a Meade 10" SCT, Schmidt Newtonian or Newtonian? What is the focal ratio?

If f10 you are pretty much set with what you have; use the eyepieces as is for low power and add Barlow for high power.

[jeff8022]

Originally Posted by astro744

Is this a Meade 10" SCT, Schmidt Newtonian or Newtonian? What is the focal ratio?

If f10 you are pretty much set with what you have; use the eyepieces as is for low power and add Barlow for high power.

I have the meade 10 lightbridge f5
http://www.meade.com/lightbridge-10-...dobsonian.html

Thx

[astro744]

A Paracorr at f5 is a personal choice. Assuming highly corrected eyepieces the remaining visible primary mirror coma is going to be small.

As far as eyepieces go; what is your budget? Best to join an astronomical society and try and get to a star party and see what you like as there are just so many different eyepiece designs to choose from.

There are many questions you should ask yourself. Do you require glasses for astigmatism when at the telescope? If so you will want to look at longer eye relief eyepieces.

(Silly iPad just posted this before I finished!). I'll leave it at that for now.

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

[jeff8022]

My budget is 500$ AU
And just want to know where i can join the astronomy society in melbourne??
Thx

[astro744]

Originally Posted by jeff8022

My budget is 500$ AU
And just want to know where i can join the astronomy society in melbourne??
Thx

http://asv.org.au

Assuming 1250mm focal length your 26mm + 3x Barlow will give you 144x. This is good for planets on most nights but 170-200x is better for a slightly bigger image. A 7mm Eyepiece will give you 178x and a 6mm eyepiece will give 208x. With planetary observing every mm counts and what you choose for a particular night will depend on the seeing conditions. A 5mm eyepiece will give you 250x and be about the limit on most good nights but a 10" is capable of higher on exceptional nights.

There are many combinations of eyepiece focal lengths, Barlows, Powermates and preferred apparent field of views that choosing is not easy and looking through a potential eyepiece before purchasing is highly recommended as you may or may not like the eyepiece for whatever reason.

Your suggestion of a 24-8mm zoom may work well for you when combined with a 3x Barlow as it will give you a feel for what focal lengths you prefer for planetary observing. (A 2x Barlow or Powermate may be better; I'm not sure how well the Baader zoom Barlows and I don't have one to try). Once you determine what focal lengths work best you may want to get fixed focal lengths in those sizes or if the view is acceptable with the zoom just stay with it.

The Powermate has the advantage of maintaining eye relief and allowing the eyepiece to perform exactly as it would without having the Powermate but at higher power. A Barlow extends the eye relief and can sometimes cause vignetting.

Having a Barlow or Powermate in the optical train does make for a less than elegant solution but it does work well for higher power views. You budget is your limiting factor because you could easily spend it all on one eyepiece. I highly recommend the Naglers but that will blow your budget but they are a lifetime purchase. I've not used lower cost alternatives in the focal lengths you want so perhaps others can recommend something.

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

[dannat (Daniel)]

Asv.org.au to join the Astros society, I would use what you have for now then upgrade when you know what yo like

Where in vic ar you?

[jeff8022]

Originally Posted by dannat

Asv.org.au to join the Astros society, I would use what you have for now then upgrade when you know what yo like

Where in vic ar you?

yes, i am in vic .. but my telescope it is too big to move around.. i guess it is good to join first..

thx

[jeff8022]

Originally Posted by astro744

http://asv.org.au

Assuming 1250mm focal length your 26mm + 3x Barlow will give you 144x. This is good for planets on most nights but 170-200x is better for a slightly bigger image. A 7mm Eyepiece will give you 178x and a 6mm eyepiece will give 208x. With planetary observing every mm counts and what you choose for a particular night will depend on the seeing conditions. A 5mm eyepiece will give you 250x and be about the limit on most good nights but a 10" is capable of higher on exceptional nights.

There are many combinations of eyepiece focal lengths, Barlows, Powermates and preferred apparent field of views that choosing is not easy and looking through a potential eyepiece before purchasing is highly recommended as you may or may not like the eyepiece for whatever reason.

Your suggestion of a 24-8mm zoom may work well for you when combined with a 3x Barlow as it will give you a feel for what focal lengths you prefer for planetary observing. (A 2x Barlow or Powermate may be better; I'm not sure how well the Baader zoom Barlows and I don't have one to try). Once you determine what focal lengths work best you may want to get fixed focal lengths in those sizes or if the view is acceptable with the zoom just stay with it.

The Powermate has the advantage of maintaining eye relief and allowing the eyepiece to perform exactly as it would without having the Powermate but at higher power. A Barlow extends the eye relief and can sometimes cause vignetting.

Having a Barlow or Powermate in the optical train does make for a less than elegant solution but it does work well for higher power views. You budget is your limiting factor because you could easily spend it all on one eyepiece. I highly recommend the Naglers but that will blow your budget but they are a lifetime purchase. I've not used lower cost alternatives in the focal lengths you want so perhaps others can recommend something.

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

thx.. i understand now, i would just buy baader zoom first, as it is in my budget.. and see how it's go..

[mark3d]

I have that scope, and when changing eyepieces I often lose the object; I think a Baader zoom is a good choice. Any supposed loss of image quality would be worth it for convenience.

[jeff8022]

Originally Posted by mark3d

I have that scope, and when changing eyepieces I often lose the object; I think a Baader zoom is a good choice. Any supposed loss of image quality would be worth it for convenience.

thx, i found that problem too. and i have order one baader from GB
cost just under 400 with barlow 2.25x

i think it is very good deal

thx again
jeff

[gaseous (Patrick)]

I don't think you can go wrong with the Baader zoom - it's a very handy eyepiece that you should get a lot of use from.