Choice of first scope

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Originally Posted by yagon

Thanks for the feedback. Are there any other accessories that I should get at this stage, such as filters?

If it doesn't come with a finder, I'd get a red dot finder (or a green laser).

Good choice,

Brian.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Yagon, I had a think about eyepiece (EP) options for the ED80. (I'm actually thinking about re-aqcuiring one, but the skies around here just don't justify it. But once I move... who knows ... anyhoo...)

The ED80 is best at getting wide views of deep sky objects (DSOs), esp. star clusters and brighter nebulae. Under dark skies it's better than a 8-10" Dob under light polluted suburban skies. Although it can give surprisingly good high power views of planets too, the 80mm aperture limits its use in this respect (though its performance is very impressive for 80mm!). For star clusters I feel you need a good coverage of the mid-to-low power range.

I would be partial to wide or semi-wide angle EPs with the ED80. Must have is a long focal length 2" EP for the widest true field of view (FOV). The 42mm Superview is probably one of the best choices on your budget. Make sure it reaches focus and that you can return it if it does not. (my 30mm had trouble, but it was the long barrel version)

Here are a couple of recommendations from someone who does not really know:

Budget wide field kit:
42mm, 20, 15, 10mm Superviews
GS ED 2" barlow (try myastroshop for this one)

Best quality for buck (semi-) wide field kit:
42mm Superview
14, 9mm Meade 5000 Plossls
GS ED 2" barlow

... and eventually a 6-7mm EP for pushing the power to the limit in the barlow (maybe 6mm Burgess planetary or Vixen LV).

I don't know how well the 1.25" 10-20mm superviews would work. They are reported to be poorer performers than the 2" superviews in fast scopes. But the ED80 is not very fast, though it is not as slow as SCTs either. (btw: Scope 'speed' = f-number = focal length / aperture = 7.5 for the ED80.) Research and get more experienced members' opinions.

I don't know how good the ED barlows are either, but the normal GS 2" is said to be allright, so the ED (= less false colour) should be good. But you never know till you try...

Meade 5000 plossls seem very nice, though I only tried them briefly. Longer eye relief than a normal plossl and wider and a much nicer 60 degree FOV. Try to buy 2nd hand if possible. (I have a 14mm on the way from Astropolak, and I will probably pass on the bargain to someone else. I just want it for long enough to be able to critically assess performance because I'm interested in other FLs in this range.)

If the choices are all too confusing, and you just want something inexpensive to begin with, buy the 42mm superview and a couple of GS plossls: 20mm and 12mm, or 15mm and 9mm. (get AOE to match Andrews' price on the plossls $39 ea).

PS. I'll second the 1x red dot finder. They cost under $US20. Donno how much they are here, probably too much. Ask AOE, they might have them even though it's not on the website.

[mickoking]

G,day Yagon,

I have an 80mm short tube refractor and the eyepieces I use the most are a 20mm superview (wide angle), 16mm plossl and 9.7mm plossl. But all observers are different and they have certain observing prefrences (I'm 90% deep sky). What I would reccomend as some others have previously mentioned is 3 eyepieces. Low power 20mm and above, Medium power 10-20mm and high power below 10mm. Some people also like Barlow lenses so that might be something to consider as well?

Another thing about eyepieces is they are your companions what ever telescope you own. I have still got my old style 13mm Nagler (hand grenade) I purchased 15 years ago with my first serious telescope. So money spent on a good eyepiece is money well spent, eyepieces are forever

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by janoskiss

The ED80 is best at getting wide views of deep sky objects (DSOs), esp. star clusters and brighter nebulae.

I very much agree.

Under dark skies it's better than a 8-10" Dob under light polluted suburban skies.

I dont think I agree with that.
Having a greater aperture allows you to use a higher magnification without running out of light. You cant go very high in the ed80 before the views start getting very dim. FWIW, I find the ed80 of very little use in suburban skies unfortunately.

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Hi Yagon,

I think you mentioned that you wanted something for terrestial use, so perhaps a (2-inch) 45 degree erect image diagonal should be on your list. With that, I find the Andrews 30mm 2-inch UWA eyepiece is simply brilliant for daytime use.

Cheers,

Brian.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

You are right, Geoff. I spoke in haste. My comments about ED80 under dark sky bettering Dobs under light polluted sky are only valid in the limited context of wide views of large DSOs (e.g., wide views of 47tuc, omega cent, orion neb). On planets, on small but relatively bright clusters, and on any greater than approx 80x views of the heavens, the Dobs will rule, dark sky or not...

I guess by "better" I meant "more entertaining" in my earlier post. To rephrase: I'd rather be under mag 6.5 skies with an ED80 than under mag 4 skies with a 10" Dob.