Saturn?

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by mbyrr

Ah interesting point, Malcolm, I didn't know that.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was Venus, tho obviously the seeing of craters seems unlikely. As Holly said, it must have been "grit".

There is often confusion about what various accessories such as Barlows and filters actually do. Personally, I am not a big fan of barlows. I have had a couple (both good quality Televue ones) and sold them in favour of good quality eyepieces. A really good EP of the power you want will beat a barlowed EP any day in my opinion.

Malcolm

[mbyrr (Antony)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

There is often confusion about what various accessories such as Barlows and filters actually do. Personally, I am not a big fan of barlows. I have had a couple (both good quality Televue ones) and sold them in favour of good quality eyepieces. A really good EP of the power you want will beat a barlowed EP any day in my opinion.

I have heard that alot actually.

I'm not sure if I need any other EPs tho, besides the ones I got with the dob:
- 15mm and 9mm Fully Multi-coated Plossl Eyepieces (1.25")
- 26mm Wide View Eyepiece (2")

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Antony
That set should do you for a long time. Maybe if you have really nice conditions, you may barlow the 9mm for some planetary work, but otherwise stick to the ones you have. For most DSOs the 26mm will be your go to gear!
Once you have a bit more knowledge under the belt, try some better EPs. They do make a difference. I am a huge Televue fan (as my sig shows!!), but there are lots of other choices.

What scope do you have BTW, it isn't in your sig.

Malcolm

[mbyrr (Antony)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Antony
What scope do you have BTW, it isn't in your sig.

I only have a Bintel 8" dob and Bintel 2x barlow, so not enough for a sig. :p
Perhaps when I get the binos I'll make a sig...

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Antony
The 8" has a focal length of 1000mm, so your EPs will give the following

26mm 38x 76x with barlow
15mm 67x 134x with barlow
9mm 111x 222x with barlow

So you have a reasonable range of powers there. You may have heard of maximum possible magnification of 50x per inch? If that was the case you can go to 8x50 or 400x. But that is a theoretical case only and even in very good conditions 20x per inch is the best that be used most of the time, or 160x. With my 8" f4 I find a 15mm GSO superview ep gives really nice views at a very reasonable price.

[mbyrr (Antony)]

Thanks Malcolm.

In regards to the EPs I have, what is each best used to view?
I usually find myself switching between them whenever I'm looking at something.

cheers
A

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

It is very much personal. Small targets like planets seem to want a lot of power so the temptation is whack in the barlow and the high power EP, but being bright they are very much affected by the seeing (air turbulence) and I often find medium power (in your case 67 or 111x) is enough.
Most DSOs work OK at low power, open clusters, the brighter galactic nebulae (M8, M20, M17 etc) but a bit more mag can darken the background and improve contrast if needed. Planetary nebs tend to be small so moderate to high power is often needed with them.

My strategy is always try low power first and work upwards.

Malcolm

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Also Antony, don't be afraid to put your gear in your sig. I know some don't like it, but it helps if you asking for advice as a responder will know what gear you have without having to ask.

Malcolm

[mbyrr (Antony)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Also Antony, don't be afraid to put your gear in your sig. I know some don't like it, but it helps if you asking for advice as a responder will know what gear you have without having to ask.

Done