Help on eye pieces

[june]

Well, I finally got a good night out tonight I was out there for about 2 hours and saw my first planet...WOOOHOOOOO, I absolutely love our telescope.

I think it was jupiter we saw, not sure, can any one tell me:shrug::lol:it was most magnificant , just couldnt really see detail, moved pretty fast, I think I was expecting to be able to see a bit more detail, we have an 8' dob, don't get me wrong I absolutely love it and I'm wrapt. I used a 25mm, I'm new to all of this so please bare with me.

So which would be the best eye piece for me to use? Tonight I used them all 15,9 and 6, I even chucked on the nebula filter but didn't really need it. I liked the 15mm and my other half just loves the 25, I was really hoping to see some detail like what you guys have seen, I just have no idea at all.:D:D:D:D

I am just over the moon with the sight of that beauty planet...I will now sleep like a baby, speaking of which I best jet for shut eye, got to get some work done, tomorrow instead of bludging:lol::lol::lol::lol: may have to buy more additions for our telescope...:Poohhh and do you guys think we need a barlow lens, oh and a colimation thingy? Thanx guys MERRY XMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mental4astro]

Congrats on the new scope. Your excitement is only JUST noticeable, :rolleyes:, :D.

Collimation thingy: yes.

It will optimise the alignment of the optics and give the best possible image quality.

Barlow lens: :scared2::scared2:, yes.

I normally don't advacate the use of barlow lenses. They make things more fiddlie, put more glass in the way, and another thing to drop in the dark.

However, in this case, I think a barlow lens would be OK. Your scope being 8" has a max practical magnification of 400X ( rule being 50X per inch of diameter). This also happens to be as high as the atmosphere will allow and then only rarely. I've only had good enough conditions for 360X for an extended time only twice this year, and using my 17.5" dob. 150X is more the norm for max power.

A barlow lens would be the cheapest and quickest way to achieve your highest power. No use going higher, the scope's optics and the atmosphere won't allow good image quality to be visible. You will achieve this 400X by using your 6mm EP with the barlow.

Andrews Com has a decent barlow for $29 plus postage. Most barlows out there would be the same one rebadged.

Learn to use the eyepieces you have first. Each offers different visual characteristics, not just differing magnification. You can use them for wide sweeping views (long focal length), decrease sky glow to bring up details in DSO's (mid focal), and discriminate details with certain DSO's like globular clusters (short focal).

If money is not a problem, you have many, many options. If it is a factor, or just stepping out, I would suggest one other eyepiece: GSO Superview 30mm at $69. Excellent EP for the price. If you can lay out some more: TMB Paragon 30mm, around $300. I have the former (love it) and will get the TMB after I remodel my dob this Christmas (love it more).

Jupiter can be very glarely, making details difficult to see. A little trick here is to make a cardboard mask to fit over the scope effectively to make the apeture smaller! This is one instance when bigger aint better because the focal ratio of diameter to focal length is small. Make the mask to a diameter of about 7" diameter opening should make a real difference.

Mental.

[mswhin63]

Sometimes when the moon come out I use the scope cover and remove the 2" cap, this reduces the light capture which is very strong especially for the moon. It may also work for some of the planets especially Venus. I have a 12" being bigger so the light is much more excessive. It is a cheap way to try.

As far as buying lenses, I waited and joined an astronomy club, chatted and only bought 4 new lenses which arrived only yesterday. This is 9 months after buying the scope. It is one of the most important purchaces for visual observing as i have made one mistake prior to this.

Gratz on your first start, there is so much more out there.

[Vartigy]

Yes Jupiter is a fantastic viewing.
You should also be able to see it's moons.
And some surface/atmo features of jupiter too.
With my 8" I can make out some of the brown equatorial lines.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this to you or not. But dobs being open as they are, can collect dust easier than other scopes.
Not only do I have the elastic protector over the top half when not in use, but I've gone and placed another shower cap over the bottom of the tube at all times.:thumbsup:

Have fun with your scope.

[june]

Thanx for the info advice anfo....am loving the scope, had it not been for work last night I would have sat out there all night. I thought I'd chuck on the moon filter last night viewing jupiter as it was so blinkin' bright, it seem to have worked and I got to make out some faint brown lines:lol::lol::lol:. I had an :eyepop::eyepop:ing night last night and that was in our suburban backyard, imagine when we head out to the country, can't wait for Christmas holidays:stargaze: all night with the family, kids will love it.

[june]

Thanx Malcolm, really enjoying the view, tonight is no going out there as the weather will not permit, I will give it a go and thanx a bunch for your advice, much appreciated....:cheers:

[june]

Hey Mental (Alexander),
Thank you so much for your advice, very helpful. I will be sure to ring Andrews tomorrow to order a collimating tool and I'm just tossing up between purchasing a barlow or 30mm Superview first:shrug::lol:.

As the weather is pretty crappy at the moment so good time for me to make that cardboard mask. Thank you so much for your valuable time and advice, I'm so excited, I can't wait to get out there again.

Last night was just awesome and I can't wait to get to the country with the family, our son is dying to have a look we told him school holidays, they can all have a look, so we are all counting down the days until christmas holidays then off to the country..we even keep the box for transportation:lol::lol::lol::lol:.

Thank you once again and a very Merry Christmas and prosperous NEW YEAR...I'll keep you posted and good luck with your mod's to your scope...and I didn't realise you could get dob's that big...its absolutely mind blowing to me....As you can see I am very new to this:):):):cheers:

[mental4astro]

Superview 30mm 1'st!!!