EP's for Nexstar Evo 6 SCT

[Blybo]

Hi Guys,

Just bought our first ever scope and of course the clouds came in the last 2 nights before we could do much viewing. Love the ease of using this scope compared with you tube videos I've seen of people using counter weights and battery packs, cables everywhere... And the Skyportal app is brilliant for novices like us who are more interested in seeing stuff than learning heaps of technical information.

I know the use of Dob's is the best bang for buck, but for us, we semi regularly travel to the inlaws hobby farm out in Garfield and go camping so we wanted a scope that could easily travel with us, the kids and dogs without being our prime consideration.

My wife is the one really keen on astronomy, I have an interest but to be honest I'm more interested in the technology involved.

The Nexstar Evo 6 came with 40mm & 13mm Plossl ep's as standard. What other basics in EP's and filters would you suggest. Is a lunar filter really beneficial? The moon's been setting so soon after dusk this week we haven't tried viewing it yet.

We got a nice view of Jupiter last night with the 13 and what I assume were 2 of it's moons, but we'd love a more magnified view. The OTA has a focal length of 1500mm, what would be the best sized EP for planetary viewing and which construction style of EP will give us the best ease of viewing? I've read the plossl style isn't the best for ease of viewing. We have a reasonal budget but at such an early stage do not want to spend on stuff we won't use. I assume a 2x barlow would be beneficial if only wanting 3-4 ep's?

Also is there a "dumbies guide to EP construction pros & cons"? Also interested in potential benefits of 3rd party diagonals and going to 2"

[Constant (David)]

Surprisingly the "full metal" plossels on EBay are good value. I saw only today a set of five eyepieces at $50 odd dollars. The $50 includes freight, excellent value in anyone's language.
Once you settle in the sky is the limit, but till that time the "full metal" generic pieces devliver tremendous value.

[Blybo]

Originally Posted by Constant

Surprisingly the "full metal" plossels on EBay are good value. I saw only today a set of five eyepieces at $50 odd dollars. The $50 includes freight, excellent value in anyone's language.
Once you settle in the sky is the limit, but till that time the "full metal" generic pieces devliver tremendous value.

Thanks Constant. Do you have a link? Frustrated again last night, clouded over just until we had friends over to watch a European bike race, clear skies then of course

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by Blybo

Hi Guys,

Just bought our first ever scope and of course the clouds came in the last 2 nights before we could do much viewing. Love the ease of using this scope compared with you tube videos I've seen of people using counter weights and battery packs, cables everywhere... And the Skyportal app is brilliant for novices like us who are more interested in seeing stuff than learning heaps of technical information.

I know the use of Dob's is the best bang for buck, but for us, we semi regularly travel to the inlaws hobby farm out in Garfield and go camping so we wanted a scope that could easily travel with us, the kids and dogs without being our prime consideration.

My wife is the one really keen on astronomy, I have an interest but to be honest I'm more interested in the technology involved.

The Nexstar Evo 6 came with 40mm & 13mm Plossl ep's as standard. What other basics in EP's and filters would you suggest. Is a lunar filter really beneficial? The moon's been setting so soon after dusk this week we haven't tried viewing it yet.

We got a nice view of Jupiter last night with the 13 and what I assume were 2 of it's moons, but we'd love a more magnified view. The OTA has a focal length of 1500mm, what would be the best sized EP for planetary viewing and which construction style of EP will give us the best ease of viewing? I've read the plossl style isn't the best for ease of viewing. We have a reasonal budget but at such an early stage do not want to spend on stuff we won't use. I assume a 2x barlow would be beneficial if only wanting 3-4 ep's?

Also is there a "dumbies guide to EP construction pros & cons"? Also interested in potential benefits of 3rd party diagonals and going to 2"

Congratulations on buying your first scope and a pretty decent one at that! From my experience, Plossl EPs work well with SCT scopes.

However, if possible, join an Astronomy Group and burrow their equipment first and see for yourself what works.

I would not rush to buy filters till you and your wife have more experience in using the scope. I think that U will find that U do not need a Moon filter. However, some of the planetary observers really like their filters.

Regarding 2" diagonals and EPs, the SCTs were invented in the days when widefield EPs were uncommon and really have not been designed to give an image over a really widefield. (The newer SCT Edge design are better). Looking at my 6" SCT optical assembly, I doubt that it is even possible to fit a 2" diagonal.

Regarding a dummies guide to EPs, there is plenty of such information on the Web. However, it can be difficult at times sorting out fact from spin and that's why I recommend at least visiting an Astronomy Group.

[Constant (David)]

[QUOTE=Blybo;1242114]Thanks Constant. Do you have a link? Frustrated again last night, clouded over just until we had friends over to watch a European bike race, clear skies then of course [/QUOTE

In this era of instant gratification, covered grandstands,the simple fact that astronomy is absolutely weather dependant comes as a shock to the non astronomer. I have found it best to load caveats into all Astro nights, also warn that if viewing is good then jump at the opportunity, it's difficult to plan ahead with Astro-stuff
The cheap EP's can be found with a simple EBay search. The only real issue with these "full metal" EP's is that they have zero resale value. They are excellent in that you get to play around with varnish eyepieces. Have a look at Vision King, I think they maybe a 3PM for some well known brands.
The general and most sound recommendation is to attend an Astro Club. The knowledge base in Astro Clubs is huge! In no time flat your understanding of the complexities of Astro-stuff will simply jump!

[Blybo]

Thanks guys, as luck would have it I live within 1km of Optics central so bought a Saxon 8mm 68 degree EP along with a Barlow and a moon filter, I just found the moon way too bright without it. I think that will cover us for awhile.

I guess I've also become accustomed to the instant gratification of my HiFi forum where questions are answered within an hour usually, so have found a few astronomy fans there too. That's not to say I'm disappointed with the response here, I just tend to be a bit impatient

I know there is a astronomical society down in Mt.Martha VIC but not sure if i really want to jump in the deep end just yet.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Sweet first scope , yes sir .

Good buy that 8mm ( I had one a few years ago and it was very good ) and Barlow these will give you a very wide spread of magnifications also , the advice given here is spot on , Plossls perform excellently in SCT's and join a club if possible to learn from all the advice freely given .

Above all and enjoy the journey .

Brian.

[raymo]

If you are impatient, I doubt you will be a keen star gazer for long, especially if you move into imaging. I would rate patience as THE most important
asset for astronomers [amateur or professional]. Who knows, you may be so
taken with your new hobby, that you may be able to curb your impatience.
Happy viewing,
raymo

[Blybo]

Originally Posted by raymo

If you are impatient, I doubt you will be a keen star gazer for long, especially if you move into imaging. I would rate patience as THE most important
asset for astronomers [amateur or professional]. Who knows, you may be so
taken with your new hobby, that you may be able to curb your impatience.
Happy viewing,
raymo

Gee, thanks for making me feel welcome ... Impatience with having questions answered has nothing to do with gazing. We saw our best viewing conditions yet on Saturday evening. We will be on the Melbourne Gippsland fringe on Sunday for mothers day. Fingers crossed for a clear night. We'll take the scope if weather looks promising.

[raymo]

Blybo, no offence was intended; I was just pointing out a truth, that this
hobby requires [for several reasons] more patience than any other hobby
I can think of. To be fair, you said you tend to be a bit impatient, not with
any particular thing.
How do your Hi-Fi forum questions usually get answered in an hour or less?
Do most of the members not have jobs to go to, or are there so many of them that there is always someone available to answer your question?
Anyway, welcome to the forum.
raymo

[Blybo]

Originally Posted by raymo

Blybo, no offence was intended; I was just pointing out a truth, that this
hobby requires [for several reasons] more patience than any other hobby
I can think of. To be fair, you said you tend to be a bit impatient, not with
any particular thing.
How do your Hi-Fi forum questions usually get answered in an hour or less?
Do most of the members not have jobs to go to, or are there so many of them that there is always someone available to answer your question?
Anyway, welcome to the forum.
raymo

Stereonet often has up to 5000 members online at anyone time, at times today I was almost having a conversation with another member I know well. I guess so many work these days is in front of a computer they can have a window open on the side, just like young kids and facebook.

Thanks for clarification.