Hoping to get a ballpark idea what 525x magnification offers

[Christian]

Please pardon my naiveté. I am new to astronomy as well as this forum but suspect I am about to ask a well answered question. Can someone tell me, given my telescope what I can expect to resolve; I’ve got a shiny new entry level telescope (a Tasko model 49076700 reflector). Its specs as reported in the manual are:
Mirror Diameter = 76mm
Focal Length = 800mm
Several eyepieces and a 3x Barlow
Max calculated magnification = 525x

I dug around sites and was hoping to find a list of “observable objects per magnification” but had no luck. So, given my new telescope, what can I expect to resolve; rings around Saturn, nebulae, Neil Armstrong’s scuff marks, nothing but the neighbors wash? I’ve had a look at the moon which was impressive. Now I’m wondering what to point the scope at next. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[mick pinner]

sorry Christian but forget about the 525x mag, high magnifications are for very special nights of seeing with good quality instruments. one rule is 50x mag per inch of aperture so your limit really is about 150.
the figures quoted on the telescope box are theoretical not actually achievable while maintaining any visual quality.
stick to low power observing and do not use the barlow, it will be cheap quality and only degrade the image.
if the scope is collimated you will be able to observe the moon and at times some larger planets and star clusters with some success.

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

Originally Posted by Christian

I dug around sites and was hoping to find a list of “observable objects per magnification” but had no luck.

No, you wont find anything along those lines. Mostly objects are given or listed by magnitude (brightness) and what magnitude you can see is determined by your aperture: 76mm in your case. Mick has already explained about magnification limits above.

Roughly, you should be able to see that Jupiter has 4 bright moons, that Saturn does have rings and to enjoy some of the larger and brighter deep sky objects such as open clusters and globular clusters. There are a few galaxies you should be able to detect as well - if they can be seen in binoculars you'll be able to see them too.

Get yourself some good charts or a good book with some finder charts in - there are oodles of books out there, just choose one or two that make sense to you - and start poking around the sky. Doesn't matter what size scope you have a little practise goes a long way.

[acropolite (Phil)]

The best place to start without having to spend any money is http://www.skymaps.com/ there you'll be able to select a printable (southern hemisphere) skymap with a list of suitable targets for the current month.

Some good targets to start with are M42 (M is for Messier) in Orion (near the middle of the handle of the pot), Omega Centauri (may be an after midnight target in WA) and 47 Tucannae near the Small magellenic clouds. If you want to see what these targets look like and the surrounding area this site will help

[Christian]

Thanks for the clear feedback guys. I’ll remove the Barlow tonight and use the sky charts program I’ve got to try and locate some of the objects mentioned.

[Ian Robinson]

A very faint blurry wobbly image .... 525x with that telescope is pointless.

Most you magnification you can really benefif would be no more than 2x the size in mm = 160x.
http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htm

The problem is the telescope magnification is limited by :
- the optical resolution
- seeing conditions.

[leon]

I reckon that manufactures shouldn't be allowed to put such high magnification on the box, so many new people to Astronomy get very confused and disappointed, when they actually try for those limits.

Leon

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by leon

I reckon that manufactures shouldn't be allowed to put such high magnification on the box, so many new people to Astronomy get very confused and disappointed, when they actually try for those limits.

Leon

The companies that do so focus almost exclusively on "toy telescopes" and really don't give a toss if their claims are unrealistic or outrageous so long as they sell lots these scopes at Xmas , they aren't interested in selling to return customers or building up amateur astronomy.

[NewToStars (Jase)]

give u an example.
when i had my 8" dobsonian telescope on an exceptionally clear night. i bumped my magnification up to 400X.

now at this magnificatin every little bump or morement you don't even realise your doing affects the image through the eyepiece.
for all of about 5 seconds viewing it was great, but the image moved out of the FOv (field of view) too quickly. not to mention if you lost the image you were zoomed in so far it was hard to get it in the FOV again.

140 - 160X mag max like the others have said is about the most you'll get, but also the best images will appear.
40 - 80x mag will be your most used magnification and will show you the best results.

good luck with the hobby.

[renormalised (Carl)]

As the others have said, you max practical magnification for a 3" scope is around 150-160X. Now, when they talk about the magnitude (brightness) of an object, a 3" scope will get you down to around mag 12-12.5, for most magnifications, and about 12.8 at the topmost practical magnification. It's primarily determined by the light gathering capacity of your scope's optics, namely the size of the mirror/lens. That should allow you to see quite many of the NGC objects on good nights, all the planets. Not Pluto (except at perihelion). All the Galilean moons, plus Titan, Rhea, Dione, Enceladus and Tethys (Saturn). So, you'll have plenty to look at.

What's most important is that you have fun looking and that way, you'll learn quickly