Little moths

[matt]

Ok ... this is probably one of those really basic questions, but this morning when I was out having a look at Saturn I kept seeing what looked like little flies or moths flickering about in the EP ... even though I knew there was nothing inside the tube.

What's that about then?!?!?!!? It really looked like there was some kind of bug inside the tube

Obviously some EP trick of the light/ optical thingo, but what's causing it and can it be fixed?

[iceman (Mike)]

What eyepiece were you using?

It's internal reflections, and some eyepieces can suffer from it, especially widefield designs and especially on bright objects.

Unfortunately I don't know of any way to eliminate it, except for keeping your head still!

[matt]

Mike

I was using the 6mm Vixen LV in my Skywatcher 8" f/5.

That's not a widefield design????

[Dennis]

Hi Matt

I sometimes see what we call "floaters" in my eyes when using certain eyepieces. There is a medical explanation but it escapes me right now. It appears that they may be small particles in the optical fluid in the eye?

Cheers

Dennis

[matt]

Dennis

These are definitely not floaters, which are pretty common and visible also during the day. Just lay on your back and look at the blue sky and you'll see plenty of 'em. They're dead cells in your eyeball fluid.

No, what I'm talking about only happens at night ...

It's something to do with the eyepiece, methinks

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I think I know what your talking about Matt.
If the reflections move around quickly with small movements of your eye its reflections off your eye, onto the lens of the eyepiece and back again.

[matt]

Geoff

That pretty much fits the bill.

Is there anything I can do to fix it? Are some EPs more prone to that characteristic than others???