Telescopes?

[CrunchBerries]

So I am doing a dual major on physics and space science. Space science is pretty much physics but you focus on orbital mechanics and take space mission courses instead of quantum mechanics and subatomic courses. We don't have access to the school telescopes this year because of covid, and I figure it would be nice to be able to look at a few things in space.

Does anyone here have experience with telescopes? I am thinking about getting one but I have no idea what constitutes a decent telescope. What are the main price brackets and what can I expect for each of those?

I don't know my goal yet, but it would be cool to be able to see the moon in better detail, and possibly a planet if that's even doable. Any idea about what to look at is also welcome.

Thanks!

[Thurston]

I'm interested in this too. From what I've seen there's a lot to consider.

[ajaxlepinski]

I owned a 16" Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain Reflector and I still have an 80mm Stellerview Apochromatic Refractor. I sold the Reflector, a few years ago, because it was just too big to lug around and store.
I don't think Meade makes a 16" anymore.
My g/f and I were looking at Jupiter and Saturn a few weeks ago. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are up right now. Pluto too, but it's too far away to see with the eye.

A few tips about telescopes:

1) the bigger the better! The longer the the focal length and the wider the diameter, the more powerful lens you can use.

2) You MUST get either a laser spotter or, a red dot spotter scope to mount on your telescope. If you don't have one, it's a real bitch trying to aim the scope. You can also get a mini-refractor telescope to use as a spotter, but the red dot and laser spotters are easier to use. My 16" Meade came with a mini-refractor spotter scope but I never used it. When you start trying to find an object, use a weaker lens with a wider field of view. After zeroing in on the object, you can switch to a more powerful, narrower field lens.

3) Be careful when buying lenses. The focal length and diameter of your telescope will determine the maximum (and minimum) power of the lens. Some of the more powerful and wide field lenses won't work on smaller scopes. Also, I seem to remember that my 16" scope could not use some of the weaker lenses that my 80mm refractor could.

4) Don't expect to see things like the Hubble Space Telescope! The Moon looks cool, especially as it goes through its phases. You can see the polar caps on Mars and its moons. You can see Jupiter's red spot, two stripes and its moons. You can see the space between Saturn and its rings and its moons. Planetary moons look like stars that don't twinkle. I saw Uranus and Neptune with the 16"... not sure if you can see them with a smaller scope. They look like a tinted dot and you can't see their moons. The Ring Nebula looks like a tiny smoke ring. The Andromeda Galaxy looks like a small puff of smoke. Still, it is REALLY cool seeing objects with your own eye.

5) If you're planning on taking photos, you'll need a motorized, German Equitorial tripod. If you're only interested in viewing, get a German Equitorial tripod without a motor. Equitorial tripods rotate to follow the trajectory of the planets and stars as the Earth rotates. What ever your looking at will rotate out of view fairly quickly and the Equitoral tripod will follow the object a lot more easily than a non-Equitorial tripod. Non-motorized Equitorials have two knobs that you twist to keep the object in view. The tripod has a tube that you look through and you must line it up with the North Star, to ensure that it follows the Earth's rotation properly.

6) You can get a computerized tripod that will automatically rotate the position of your scope to point at the desired object. My 16" scope had a computerized tripod but, if you have a laser or red dot spotter mounted on your scope, it's easy enough to find what you're looking for. I never used the computer to find anything.

7) Get a sun filter and a nebula filter. Colored filters are only useful for photography. I think I have a moon filter?

8) Don't leave your telescope lenses uncovered and near a window. Fires have been started that way.


There are three types of telescopes available to hobbyists:

1) Refractor - the kind you see pirates using in movies. The focal length is about the same size as the body.
a. Apochromatic Refractors have a higher quality lens
b. Fluorite lens Refractors offer the most accurate viewing color. You can see a bit of rust red in Mars and Jupiter's red spot, and Uranus has a blue tint but, color is only visible with time lapse photography. Fluorite refractors are big bucks and only worth the money if you're taking serious photos.

2) a. Schmidt Cassegrain Reflector - this design uses two mirrors to nearly triple the focal length in comparison to the body.
b. Maksutov Cassegrain Reflector - Same as the Schmidt Cassegrain but it has a corrector plate where the light first enters.

3) Newtonian Reflector - has one mirror in the base - the viewing lens is at the top. This design doubles the focal length.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: I had a 16" Schmidt Cassegrain, not a Maksutov Cassegrain.

[ajaxlepinski]

Funny story...

I had an Astronomy Permit that allowed you to go to the beach at night but, you had to have a pair of binoculars at a minimum.
The first time I went, my buddy came along. As we were setting up the 16" Meade in the parking lot, we noticed about 10 or 12 other cars but, no one else had a telescope set up. We also noticed guys jumping in and out of each other's cars.

A little while later, a park worker came by in his truck and said, "It's a queer night... ooops, I mean it's a clear night, tonight."
I replied, "Hey, we're just here looking at the stars!!!"
He laughed and drove off.

A little while later, a guy came walking up to us from the beach to say hello and he commented that he never saw anyone at the beach with a telescope. We didn't answer and he asked, "I wonder if you can walk down to the water?"
I replied, "Hey, we're just looking at the stars!!!"
He asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Well, we just happened to be looking at Uranus!!!"
Which was true and we let him take a look.

[ajaxlepinski]

You can download astronomy apps to your cell phone. They let you know what's up and where to find it.

Saw the Hale Bopp comet years ago and the last one that paid us a visit earlier in the summer.

[BroSlinger]

You’re supposed to kill yourself when the hale bop comet comes around. Your soul joins it when it flies by.

[ajaxlepinski]

Don't you have to cut your beanbag off first... you know, to join the group?

[CrunchBerries]

Thanks man, I have been doing some searching around and it looks like the Celestron 127eq is pretty good for the price... 5 inch mirror

[Ry Manchu]

As Ajax was saying, Aperture is the size of the hole at the top where the light comes through and it is way more important in telescopes than magnification. It is very important for brightness and clarity. But, you have to double the aperture diameter to make a significant difference. A 12" telescope is about the biggest that you are going to want to take anywhere by car. Focal length is the length of the telescope, specifically the distance from where light enters to where the image is formed. This is achieved differently by different types of telescopes. The focal ratio is the focal length divided by the aperture and is probably the most important number in telescopes. Te f ratio of most telescopes usually ranges from F/4 to F/14. Lower ratios provide a wider field of view and are preferred for astrophotography. Higher focal ratios have a narrower field of view, but higher magnification, so are preferred when looking at planets. You can see Saturn with 50X magnification, but it takes 150X to see the rings. You can see Jupiter with 200X magnification. The maximum effectiveness for an eyepiece’s magnification is about 50x for every inch of your telescope’s aperture. The smaller the focal length number on an eyepiece, the greater the magnification. The largest focal-length eyepiece you can use is calculated by multiplying the focal ratio by 7. You also have to consider exit pupil size. Exit pupil size = aperture / magnification or eyepiece focal length / f ratio. It's best not to go lower than .5. So with 130mm or 5.1" telescope, it is best not to exceed 260X and with a 102mm, it's best not to exceed 204X.

Refractor telescopes are the historical pirate type of telescope. They have a lense at either end of the focal length and tend to be longer and slightly more expensive than Reflector telecopes. Reflector telescopes were invented by Isaac Newton and use two mirrors, a primary mirror on the bottom which reflects to a secondary mirror which creates the plane of view. A variation on the Newtonian reflector is the Dobsonian reflector which instead of using a tripod, use a mount with a lower pivot point for a lower center of gravity than a Newtonian on a tripod. Reflector telescopes give you the most for your money, but they do have some drawbacks. Then you have the Cassegrain, aka compound, aka catadioptric telescope which is a hybrid of the two previous types and uses a combination of a mirror in the back and a lense in the front. There are two types of Cassegrain telescopes, Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain. There seem to be more Maksutov telescopes for sale, but I don't really know which is better.

Then there are mounts. There are three main types. The first is like a photo camera-style mount, but reinforced with blocks or rings, this is known as an altitude-azimuth or alt-az. The Dobsonian mount is a variation on the alt-az. The second is the equatorial mount, these are set up by lining the mount with the North star and then they only turn on one axis, not two like the alt-az. Equatorial mounts are better for looking at planets or for astrophotography. Finally, the go-to or motorized mount is hot right now. They have a handheld controller that lets you pick the celestial object you want to view. Unless they have gps, you have to go through a set up procedure that takes several minutes. I think the technology will get there, but at present the money would be better spent on a better telescope and eyepiece.

Newtonian Reflector telescopes usually have an open tube, so their cool down time is quick. Having the temperature at ambient temperature is important for planet watching. Due to its wide angle of view, you need to use quality eyepieces. The mirrors can get bumped out of alignment. It only takes a couple of minutes to fix, but you should find someone to teach you what to do. 6" and larger Refractor telescopes are the bees knees for looking at galaxies, nebulae and planets. They are not as well suited to astrophotography as Cassegrain or Refractors. They have an open tube, so dust and other things can get inside.

Cassegrains are more compact, comparably 1/3 the length of Newtonian, and make for a good all-purpose telescope for deep sky viewing, planetary viewing and astrophotography. They are relatively maintenance-free. They are usually more expensive than Reflector telescopes, but usually come with motorized goto functionality. They have a closed tube, so they take longer to adjust to ambient temperature.

Refractor or the traditional style of telescopes have excellent image quality. You are going to want at least a 3" aperture to see Jupiter or Saturn. Refractors get expensive when you go larger than a 4" aperture and require expensive mounts. You would want to get one that is apochromatic. This fixes an issue, where some objects have a light-ring around them. They are sealed and relatively maintenance-free.

Eyepieces are very important. There are several different types, but the three most common are Plossi, Orthoscopic and Kellner aka MA. Plossi eyepieces are the most common, are relatively inexpensive and are a good all-around eyepiece. Orthoscopic or Abbe eyepieces have a narrower field of view, but produce a better image and are a better choice for lunar and planetary viewing. Kellner eyepieces use a three-element design, that is they have three lenses. Kellner also known as "MA" (modified achromat) are a budge eyepiece that can turn in a good performance with scopes of long focal ratio, such as Cassegrains and refractors. They do not work well with telescopes of short focal ratio. Eyepieces in the 2 - 4.9 mm range work better with refractors and Cassegrains. 5 - 6.9mm eyepieces are good for planetary viewing in long focal length telescopes. 7 - 9.9mm eyepieces are good for planetary and lunar viewing in short focal length telescopes. 10 - 17.9mm eyepieces are good for viewing galaxies and nebulae in all focal lengths. 18 - 24.9mm eyepieces are good for galaxies viewing in short focal length telescopes. 25 - 30.9mm eyepieces are good for locator eyepiece , nebulas on longer focal length and lunar viewing on shorter focal length.

So what do I recommend?

The cheapest decent Cassegrain is the Celestron NexStar 127SLT at $550: https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-NexSta ... uage=en_US
It comes with a motorized go-to mount. It has a 1500mm focal length, so with a 5mm eyepiece, you should get 300X power.

The cheapest decent Refractor is the Explore Scientific FirstLight Tube Refractor AR102mm at $329: https://www.opticsplanet.com/explore-sc ... te-2064156
It has 1000mm focal length and a 4" aperture. It comes with a 25mm eyepiece and an equatorial mount. With a 5mm eyepiece, you should get 200X magnification.

The cheapest decent reflector is the Orion 09007 SpaceProbe 130ST at $310: https://www.amazon.com/Orion-SpaceProbe ... uage=en_US

The 130ST has an 5.1" aperture and a 650mm focal length. It comes with 10mm and 25mm eyepieces and an equatorial mount. For $93 you can add a Celestron X-Cel LX 5 mm eyepiece which should give you 130X magnification. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OP1EJM?ta ... th=1&psc=1

If you are able to spend more, the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ at $597 has a 5.1" aperture and 1000mm focal length. It comes with 10mm and 20mm eyepieces and an equatorial mount. Pairing it with a Celestron X-Cel LX 5mm eyepiece would give you 200X magnification.

Instead of a viewfinder, use a 32mm eyepiece. This one at $99 has a 70 degree field of view: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M89H72?ta ... planets-20 The apertura is nice too: https://www.highpointscientific.com/bra ... iece-swa32

It will also be a good idea to get an eyepiece in the 15-18mm range and a Barlow lense. A Barlow lense is paired with your eyepiece to double or triple your magnification. Depending on the celestial object you're looking at and sky conditions, sometimes these are a nice addition.

[ajaxlepinski]

Thanks man, I have been doing some searching around and it looks like the Celestron 127eq is pretty good for the price... 5 inch mirror

Cheers!
Celestion makes good scopes and I'm sure you'll be happy with a 5" Newtonian. Newtonians are cool because the eye piece is up top and easier to look through.

[CrunchBerries]

Funny story...

I had an Astronomy Permit that allowed you to go to the beach at night but, you had to have a pair of binoculars at a minimum.
The first time I went, my buddy came along. As we were setting up the 16" Meade in the parking lot, we noticed about 10 or 12 other cars but, no one else had a telescope set up. We also noticed guys jumping in and out of each other's cars.

A little while later, a park worker came by in his truck and said, "It's a queer night... ooops, I mean it's a clear night, tonight."
I replied, "Hey, we're just here looking at the stars!!!"
He laughed and drove off.

A little while later, a guy came walking up to us from the beach to say hello and he commented that he never saw anyone at the beach with a telescope. We didn't answer and he asked, "I wonder if you can walk down to the water?"
I replied, "Hey, we're just looking at the stars!!!"
He asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Well, we just happened to be looking at Uranus!!!"
Which was true and we let him take a look.

That was pretty epic hahaha

[CrunchBerries]

As Ajax was saying, Aperture is the size of the hole at the top where the light comes through and it is way more important in telescopes than magnification. It is very important for brightness and clarity. But, you have to double the aperture diameter to make a significant difference. A 12" telescope is about the biggest that you are going to want to take anywhere by car. Focal length is the length of the telescope, specifically the distance from where light enters to where the image is formed. This is achieved differently by different types of telescopes. The focal ratio is the focal length divided by the aperture and is probably the most important number in telescopes. Te f ratio of most telescopes usually ranges from F/4 to F/14. Lower ratios provide a wider field of view and are preferred for astrophotography. Higher focal ratios have a narrower field of view, but higher magnification, so are preferred when looking at planets. You can see Saturn with 50X magnification, but it takes 150X to see the rings. You can see Jupiter with 200X magnification. The maximum effectiveness for an eyepiece’s magnification is about 50x for every inch of your telescope’s aperture. The smaller the focal length number on an eyepiece, the greater the magnification. The largest focal-length eyepiece you can use is calculated by multiplying the focal ratio by 7. You also have to consider exit pupil size. Exit pupil size = aperture / magnification or eyepiece focal length / f ratio. It's best not to go lower than .5. So with 130mm or 5.1" telescope, it is best not to exceed 260X and with a 102mm, it's best not to exceed 204X.

Refractor telescopes are the historical pirate type of telescope. They have a lense at either end of the focal length and tend to be longer and slightly more expensive than Reflector telecopes. Reflector telescopes were invented by Isaac Newton and use two mirrors, a primary mirror on the bottom which reflects to a secondary mirror which creates the plane of view. A variation on the Newtonian reflector is the Dobsonian reflector which instead of using a tripod, use a mount with a lower pivot point for a lower center of gravity than a Newtonian on a tripod. Reflector telescopes give you the most for your money, but they do have some drawbacks. Then you have the Cassegrain, aka compound, aka catadioptric telescope which is a hybrid of the two previous types and uses a combination of a mirror in the back and a lense in the front. There are two types of Cassegrain telescopes, Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain. There seem to be more Maksutov telescopes for sale, but I don't really know which is better.

Then there are mounts. There are three main types. The first is like a photo camera-style mount, but reinforced with blocks or rings, this is known as an altitude-azimuth or alt-az. The Dobsonian mount is a variation on the alt-az. The second is the equatorial mount, these are set up by lining the mount with the North star and then they only turn on one axis, not two like the alt-az. Equatorial mounts are better for looking at planets or for astrophotography. Finally, the go-to or motorized mount is hot right now. They have a handheld controller that lets you pick the celestial object you want to view. Unless they have gps, you have to go through a set up procedure that takes several minutes. I think the technology will get there, but at present the money would be better spent on a better telescope and eyepiece.

Newtonian Reflector telescopes usually have an open tube, so their cool down time is quick. Having the temperature at ambient temperature is important for planet watching. Due to its wide angle of view, you need to use quality eyepieces. The mirrors can get bumped out of alignment. It only takes a couple of minutes to fix, but you should find someone to teach you what to do. 6" and larger Refractor telescopes are the bees knees for looking at galaxies, nebulae and planets. They are not as well suited to astrophotography as Cassegrain or Refractors. They have an open tube, so dust and other things can get inside.

Cassegrains are more compact, comparably 1/3 the length of Newtonian, and make for a good all-purpose telescope for deep sky viewing, planetary viewing and astrophotography. They are relatively maintenance-free. They are usually more expensive than Reflector telescopes, but usually come with motorized goto functionality. They have a closed tube, so they take longer to adjust to ambient temperature.

Refractor or the traditional style of telescopes have excellent image quality. You are going to want at least a 3" aperture to see Jupiter or Saturn. Refractors get expensive when you go larger than a 4" aperture and require expensive mounts. You would want to get one that is apochromatic. This fixes an issue, where some objects have a light-ring around them. They are sealed and relatively maintenance-free.

Eyepieces are very important. There are several different types, but the three most common are Plossi, Orthoscopic and Kellner aka MA. Plossi eyepieces are the most common, are relatively inexpensive and are a good all-around eyepiece. Orthoscopic or Abbe eyepieces have a narrower field of view, but produce a better image and are a better choice for lunar and planetary viewing. Kellner eyepieces use a three-element design, that is they have three lenses. Kellner also known as "MA" (modified achromat) are a budge eyepiece that can turn in a good performance with scopes of long focal ratio, such as Cassegrains and refractors. They do not work well with telescopes of short focal ratio. Eyepieces in the 2 - 4.9 mm range work better with refractors and Cassegrains. 5 - 6.9mm eyepieces are good for planetary viewing in long focal length telescopes. 7 - 9.9mm eyepieces are good for planetary and lunar viewing in short focal length telescopes. 10 - 17.9mm eyepieces are good for viewing galaxies and nebulae in all focal lengths. 18 - 24.9mm eyepieces are good for galaxies viewing in short focal length telescopes. 25 - 30.9mm eyepieces are good for locator eyepiece , nebulas on longer focal length and lunar viewing on shorter focal length.

So what do I recommend?

The cheapest decent Cassegrain is the Celestron NexStar 127SLT at $550: https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-NexSta ... uage=en_US
It comes with a motorized go-to mount. It has a 1500mm focal length, so with a 5mm eyepiece, you should get 300X power.

The cheapest decent Refractor is the Explore Scientific FirstLight Tube Refractor AR102mm at $329: https://www.opticsplanet.com/explore-sc ... te-2064156
It has 1000mm focal length and a 4" aperture. It comes with a 25mm eyepiece and an equatorial mount. With a 5mm eyepiece, you should get 200X magnification.

The cheapest decent reflector is the Orion 09007 SpaceProbe 130ST at $310: https://www.amazon.com/Orion-SpaceProbe ... uage=en_US

The 130ST has an 5.1" aperture and a 650mm focal length. It comes with 10mm and 25mm eyepieces and an equatorial mount. For $93 you can add a Celestron X-Cel LX 5 mm eyepiece which should give you 130X magnification. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OP1EJM?ta ... th=1&psc=1

If you are able to spend more, the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ at $597 has a 5.1" aperture and 1000mm focal length. It comes with 10mm and 20mm eyepieces and an equatorial mount. Pairing it with a Celestron X-Cel LX 5mm eyepiece would give you 200X magnification.

Instead of a viewfinder, use a 32mm eyepiece. This one at $99 has a 70 degree field of view: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M89H72?ta ... planets-20 The apertura is nice too: https://www.highpointscientific.com/bra ... iece-swa32

It will also be a good idea to get an eyepiece in the 15-18mm range and a Barlow lense. A Barlow lense is paired with your eyepiece to double or triple your magnification. Depending on the celestial object you're looking at and sky conditions, sometimes these are a nice addition.

I read your post several times and checked all those telescopes for puechase in Canada. I think I may be able to gey a celestron in the 114 model for my price point. I have about $200 US, maybe a bit more if i push. I also saw a Sky Watcher 130, it seemed decent. It has the extension piece and is a tabletop mount. Its a bit tough to select the right telescope.

Also its hard to pick between watching planets, and watching deeper sky stuff. What objects are most interesting to look at? Should I focus a bit more on a planet viewing scope?

Thanks

[ajaxlepinski]

Even with my 16" Schmidt-Cassegrain, deep sky objects looked like wispy puffs of white smoke and star clusters look like... clusters of stars.
Planets look the same with the 16" S-C as they do through my 80mm Apochromatic Refractor... just a bit smaller in the 80mm.

It's really a flip of the coin, between a telescope designed for deep sky or planets. If you're not planning on getting into astrophotography, it doesn't really matter.

I think you made an excellent choice with the Celestion Newtonian 127eq. It goes up to 250x which is actually pretty good.
Ry's recommendations are also excellent choices.

Here's a good article. Keep in mind that the pictures of the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and the star clusters were taken with a camera and they've been enlarged a bit... but, they give a good idea of what you're going to see through a telescope.
http://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/wh ... scope.html

This is pretty accurate:

[Ry Manchu]

I think I may be able to gey a celestron in the 114 model for my price point. I have about $200 US, maybe a bit more if i push. I also saw a Sky Watcher 130, it seemed decent. It has the extension piece and is a tabletop mount. Its a bit tough to select the right telescope.

Also its hard to pick between watching planets, and watching deeper sky stuff. What objects are most interesting to look at? Should I focus a bit more on a planet viewing scope?

Thanks

There is a lot of cool stuff to look at, like nebulas, star clusters, Jupiter, Saturn, galaxies and Magellenic clouds. Jupiter and star clusters are always fascinating.

For $210 USD you could get either the Celestron AstroMaster 114 EQ or the Orion StarBlast II 4.5 EQ. For $248 USD you could get the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD
https://www.cameraconcepts.com/celestro ... drive.html Totally worth the extra $38. It comes with 10mm and 20mm eyepieces and a motorized equatorial mount.

Add a Celestron X-Cel 7mm lense at $93 USD for 93X magnification. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _7_mm.html
Add the Celestron X-Cel 3X Barlow at $95 USD and you are at 278X magnification https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... arlow.html
Add the Meade 8X50 viewfinder at $69 USD https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _Blue.html

This would make for a really nice setup.

[Pepi]

After many telescopes ... Reflector, Refractors and mirror scopes I ended up with a simple Celestron C90 Maksutov-Cassegrain and like it. Light and easy to move around. I had a 80mm Stellerview Apochromatic that was very good but just too much to move around


https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/c ... rain-r2295

[ajaxlepinski]

After many telescopes ... Reflector, Refractors and mirror scopes I ended up with a simple Celestron C90 Maksutov-Cassegrain and like it. Light and easy to move around. I had a 80mm Stellerview Apochromatic that was very good but just too much to move around


https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/c ... rain-r2295

What do you use the C90 for? Looking into your neighbor's windows?
I'm just teasing, of course, but the C90 is only 65x so, I guess it's ok for moon watching.

[CrunchBerries]

I am looking at used telescopes at this point, I am in Canada. Other than kijiji(canadian craigslist), where should i check for decent used telescopes?

[ajaxlepinski]

I just did a Google search for used telecsopes and found one that looks legit:
Astromart https://astromart.com/classifieds
There's always eBay. I sold my 16" on eBay.

[CrunchBerries]

Update: Got a Meade Autostar. Its 130mm primary at 1000mm focal (Bird Jones), it says f/10. Only came with a 25mm lense. The tipod is damaged, leg pin broke off - can be worked around. It also has a motor/computerized mount with a "tour" mode. Works. Got it for $40 Canadian.

It has ok reviews, looks like it sold for around $400 when it came out (not sure when).

My question is which other lenses should I get? I am thinking 2 lenses, a 4mm (x250) and a 6mm (x167)... or should I do 5 (x200) instead of the 4?

I would like to view planets for now.

Thanks

[Ry Manchu]

With that telescope you don't want to go higher than a 3mm eyepiece. So either a 4mm eyepiece or a 6mm with a 2x Barlow or a 9mm with a 3x Barlow. If it were me, I'd do the 9mm with a 3x.

[Pepi]

I got tired of the grainy views of Mars, Venus .... on just about any Reflector or Refractor scope under 2k The best views I've ever seen was through a Dobsonian. These are heavy and a PITA but man they are nice. I use my little scope mainly for photography and the moon like ajax said. I did do this time photo a few years ago with my little scope ...

[CrunchBerries]

With that telescope you don't want to go higher than a 3mm eyepiece. So either a 4mm eyepiece or a 6mm with a 2x Barlow or a 9mm with a 3x Barlow. If it were me, I'd do the 9mm with a 3x.

Thanks, I will look at pricing and see what I can find in Canada. Any suggestions in terms of budget / bang for the buck eyepieces? I will post what I have access to here.

[CrunchBerries]

I got tired of the grainy views of Mars, Venus .... on just about any Reflector or Refractor scope under 2k The best views I've ever seen was through a Dobsonian. These are heavy and a PITA but man they are nice. I use my little scope mainly for photography and the moon like ajax said. I did do this time photo a few years ago with my little scope ...

Thats a cool shot, how long was that exposure?

[Pepi]

No Crunch I'm kidding

[Loop Bizkit]

Dammit. This thread.


I just spent like half an hour researching "Best telescope for viewing Saturn".


Now I want a really nice Celestron...