Hi stargazing people,
I've just had a stroke of good luck. Bizarrely, at my local tip, there was a Celestron Firstscope 114 sitting lonely on its every-way adjustable tripod in the junk shop area of the yard, next to the pile of rusty bicycles and 3-legged tables.
I'm an engineer married to a science teacher, we have a pleasingly inquisitive 7 year old daughter. Obviously, that 'scope is now mine.
It seems to be in reasonably good shape - a little bit out of alignment, but seems relatively clean internally. But it has no eyepiece, just the plastic cover. I figure this is how it came to be at the tip - rediscovered at the back of a garage, with "bits missing" and nobody interested in making it work.
We have negligible astronomy experience, but a reasonable background in theory and instrumentation. I dabble in photography, so I'm not completely new to optics. And now with what appears to be a half decent beginner's telescope, and access to some relatively dark rural skies, we might have found a new family hobby
So. My question. Where to get an eyepiece for this telescope?
It's a Model #31044 :
http://legacy.celestron.com/portal/c...telescope.html . Discontinued, no idea how old. Apparently they were sold with two 1.25" eyepieces, low and high magnification.
Are 1.25" eyepieces an industry standard, common across brands? Or do I specifically need to look for a Celestron part, for this particular model? What specs and features am I looking for?
There looks to be some useful reading material available to download from that Celestron page I liked to above, which I'll get on with. Anything else I need to know before pointing my mirror at a distant galaxy?
tim