Accessories for SW 130p

[scott2 (Scott)]

Hey,

I recently bought my first telescope, the SkyWatcher Heritage 130p. I've used it for a few nights and have been pretty happy with the purchase. I'm really glad I finally decided to buy a telescope as I always loved looking up at the night sky.

I was wondering, what kind of accessories should I consider to get the best use out of the SW 130p?

Also, what's something portable I could buy as a stand?

Thanks

[Sylvain (Jon)]

Hi Scott,

Have you got a planisphere yet?
It's a great inexpensive map to know your way around the sky that can be setup for any day the year, any time of the day. I recommend the David Chandler one, as it has a great readability at night. Make sure you get a Southern hemisphere version though!
This has to be the number one accessory when starting out as it literally is your guide to learning the sky. You can then use a software like Stellarium (free) for finding more specific targets within a well positioned region. It's all about using your telescope and getting familiar with the sky!


Additional accessories I could think of:

- Red light torch: to find your stuff in the dark without ruining your night vision - perfect to read the planisphere too!
- Artificial star or other collimation tool to align the mirrors of your telescope and get the best out of your scope
- Depending on what you already have, perhaps some better eyepieces?
- You could consider a filter such as UHC or CLS for deep sky targets

[creeksky (Pete)]

Originally Posted by scott2

Hey,

I recently bought my first telescope, the SkyWatcher Heritage 130p. I've used it for a few nights and have been pretty happy with the purchase. I'm really glad I finally decided to buy a telescope as I always loved looking up at the night sky.

I was wondering, what kind of accessories should I consider to get the best use out of the SW 130p?

Also, what's something portable I could buy as a stand?

Thanks

G'day Scott good choice for first scope, welcome to IIS.
If you mean a table like stand,you could try a webber type bbq bottom half or a round small portable bbq, very steady and smaller than a table ,so easier to move around in all directions the three pronged legs could push into the ground for more stability, some even use a cat scratch set up.
Enjoy your new scope.

[scott2 (Scott)]

Thanks for the responses!

I'll look into everyone you all have mentioned.

One more thing I want some advice on are some more eyepieces.
The scope came with 10mm and 25mm but I was wondering if there were improvements to be made here. I believe for planet viewing I would want something like 3-6mm but not entirely sure on what brand or type of eyepiece to grab. What retailer would be good for purchasing telescope equipment?

Any tips for taking photos? I remember reading it is somewhat difficult with this telescope though, and I'll only be using my phone.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by scott2

Thanks for the responses!

I'll look into everyone you all have mentioned.

One more thing I want some advice on are some more eyepieces.
The scope came with 10mm and 25mm but I was wondering if there were improvements to be made here. I believe for planet viewing I would want something like 3-6mm but not entirely sure on what brand or type of eyepiece to grab. What retailer would be good for purchasing telescope equipment?

Any tips for taking photos? I remember reading it is somewhat difficult with this telescope though, and I'll only be using my phone.

Scott
Well done on the first telescope. My usual advice with eyepieces is don't rush out and buy anything yet. Have you used the two eyepieces that came with the scope much yet? Particularly, have you noted any ignificant difference between the 10mm and the 25mm?
My guess is you will find that while the 10mm make things "bigger" they do not always appear "better". In a 5" scope like yours, a 10mm ep is starting to push the limits of resolution unless the seeing conditions happen to be very good. Also the ep is harder to use due to a small eyelense and often small eye relief. The shorter focal length eps you are talking about are going to the same effect but even more so.

Malcolm

[Sylvain (Jon)]

I agree with the comment above: a shorter focal length does not always deliver better results - often quite the opposite. When starting out, we all have a tendency to think bigger magnification is best - it often is not the case. You would get better results only on the best nights, but for a beginner, perhaps this is not the best investment to start with. You could always grab yourself a decent X2 barlow - that will always be an accessory you can use down the road and will convert your 10mm and 25mm into 5mm and 12.5mm although the 10mm on top of the barlow might not deliver outstanding results.
But I have found personally a decent mid range eyepiece (say 12mm or so) to be a nice improvement over stock eyepieces and make the overall experience more enjoyable, especially if they come with a bit extra field of view (more than the 50 degrees on the stock plossl). It is a bit of a personal preference in the end, but IMO unlikely to be a purchase you will regret. try not go go too low in focal lengths however, this is a specialised eyepiece that you night not end up using as much as you'd like.

In the end, the best way to improve your experience is to get familiar with the sky and try to get as much out of your existing equipment as possible. If you decide to purchase additional accessories, my opinion is to buy decent quality items, as you will be able to carry them along with you, should you ever decide to upgrade your telescope down the road.

For photos: I know some adaptors exist where you can mount your smartphone on your telescope: it uses a bracket and an eyepiece that let the image focus on your smartphone camera. You won't be making the greatest shots, but it's good for fun. Especially suited for the moon. Don't know about the planets but it would be quite hard I imagine. Forget the deep sky targets with this setup.