Thanks, Scott and JethroB.
attending viewing nights with my kit would be a good idea- not sure how many there are before Xmas, though. everyone was extremely helpful on the one night I went to an unofficial club night.
After my fist successful night last night i found:
- the wide FOV (68 degrees AFOV) provided by the super view 30mm excellent for alignment and viewing (M41 looked great
).
- the 20 mm LET was ok but i would have liked a wider FOV. I think M41 would have looked stunning with a wider FOV.
- the 5mm LET, well, i did not really like that one but I have not given it much of a go. 47 Tuc was too small still, M41 was just a bunch of stars in this eyepiece, and I was not thrilled with M42 but the sky was too bright in that area. Teh FOV was very narrow but I do not know if I can get anything better or need to.
As you can see I like the wide FOV- very immersive (but I am sure most people do...)
Since I may not get a chance to have a look through anyone's telescope before Xmas, and I would not mind one astro-related Xmas present, i think i will have to bite the bullet and get one decent eyepiece.
But before I do I will need to look at a few other objects so I choose the best focal length/FOV comobo. The Astronomy 200 Yearbook has a lot of options to choose from on the side of the sky I can easily see.
Thanks again,
DJDD