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heey, and welcome to IIS.
i dont know how much you know already, so i apolagise if i over simplify (or go too fast)
ok. eyepieces. divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece. lets just say the focal length of your scope is 1000mm, and you chuck in a 20mm eyepiece. 1000/20= 50. therefor: 50x magnification.
the 2x barlow fits between your telescope and your eyepiece. it doubles the magifiction of the eyepiece you use it with: with the 20mm eyepiece at 50x, the barlow doubles that to 100x magnification.
when looking for an object, always start with your lowest magnification eyepiece (the one with the highest focal length). once you've found an object, you can switch to a smaller eyepiece to get a more magnified view.
generally DSO's (deep space objects), such as galaxies and nebula, require low magnification, as they are rather faint and cover a larger area. high magnification is best for the moon and planets.
first thing to do with your telescope (if you havnt tried it already) is to look at the moon. its a nice easy-to-find object that allows you to get the hang of using your telescope, and experiment with differant eyepieces. then you can have a go at finding some of the brighter planets, but you best download some free sky mapping software for your computer before you tackle that.
Jarrod.
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