|
Hi Ross,
The 55mm plossl will work well in your 10" SCT. But there are some things you will need to keep in mind with it. I have a 50mm plossl that uses Pentax glass, and I've used 65mm, 75mm & 85mm plossls in my Newtonians and SCT, and they all have the same things to keep in mind (leaving exit pupil aside).
1, These very long focal length eyepieces won't show you anymore of they sky than your 42mm Superview. No matter what you do, the 2" barrel will be the limiting factor here and to a lesser extent the bore in the primary mirror. So, as you increase focal length, you make the AFOV smaller and smaller. My 50mm Plossl has an AFOV of around 50deg. The 65mm has an AFOV of 38deg. And both show the exact same amount of true field of view of the sky. See what I mean?
2, Such long focal length EPs are only dark sky site propositions. They concentrate the background sky glow of urban skies so much that it washes out fainter stars. But, under a dark sky, man-oh-man, they are lovely!
3, Eye relief on such EPs is VERY LONG. The eye relief on my 50mm plossl is close to 30mm - move in closer and you won't see the whole field of view. The 85mm I tried had eye relief of some 70mm! That's how far your eye had to be from the eye lens to look into the eyepiece! I don't have a problem with this, and it just takes a little getting used to.
I can't speak for the Eye Opener as I'v never used one. Someone else may be able to help. The focal reducer won't help you as the AFOV will just be tiny as a result. Exit pupil will exceed 7mm with it, but I am no conformist when it comes to exit pupil - I am happy to use my 50mm plossl in my 17.5" f/4.5 dob. This combo gives me an exit pupil of 11mm, but the image this plossl throws up is gorgeous! Sure you can use the Power Mates with the 55mm, but why would you? You are just adding more glass between you and the sky when other shorter eyepieces will work better.
On its own the 55mm would be a fine piece in your scope. With the other eyepieces you have, coupling it up to other bits and pieces really won't help. I hope this helps you.
Mental.
|