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Astromania 1.25" 2.5mm 58-Degree Planetary Eyepiece for Telescope?
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Hello :-)
A decent 4mm is great for planets, e.g. the HR Planetary clones (58°, $50 locally, <$30 via Aliexpress), dual-ed (60°).
...But stay away from short Plössl under 10mm due to poor eye-relief (https://imgur.com/FkEaOBG) and the bad cheap 4mm 62° you'll see in a lot of places.
> barlow
A barlow can work, but kit eyepiece plus budget barlow is just not great (http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/awb_Heritage_Magnifications_small.png).
For deep-sky, it depends on the target. In the 25mm (or a 32mm Plössl) large clusters, nebulae look nice under dark skies.
For globular clusters, some smaller planetary nebulae, double stars, 5-10mm can be nice (e.g. the 6mm 66° or 9mm 66° "gold-line" sold under various names for $29 off Amazon, $18 via Aliexpress).
More magnification might make things too dim or some DSO won't fit into the view anymore.
> trial and error
Do get a good guide such as "Turn left at Orion" :-)
Binoculars can help a great deal to locate your first DSO, as they show a much larger field.
Else things can be frustrating.
No need for expensive, high power ones to get started (e.g. Cometron 7x50, or some decent 10x50, depending on budget and how dark the sky gets. Saw andromeda, Orion nebula, M13, in $8 6x21mm binoculars...)
> not dish out lots of money on super high mag eyepieces due to the fact that some scopes can't handle it
Very true. The 4mm is a bit less than what the telescope could do, but you're on the safe side regarding seeing and the telescope's capabilities. There's no use magnifying higher, even if it seems like it would be nice, if there is just no detail gained...
> Does this mean my scope (130mm, 5.1in) maxes out at around 100-150x magnification? Is that what I should be aiming for?
I've used a 3.2mm and 2.5mm. The 3.2mm works okay (I've got one with a fairly decent mirror, at least the (early) Heritage 130p were varying a bit), the 2.5mm is just too dim really. So the 4mm works well. Noticeably more than what the 6mm would give you or kit eyepiece plus 2x barlow even, while giving good contrast and still a decent view in most nights.
Also, you don't need a huge amount of eyepieces. 3-4 good ones go a long way. Especially in the lower magnification range, there's no use in getting baby-steps.
> ideal eyepiece for viewing deep sky objects.
I could ramble on about exit pupil, light pollution, and so on, but the TL;DR: Low and mid-range magnification.
You can observe perfectly fine with 4mm58 - 10kit - 25kit eyepiece when starting out, those covers the basics.
Ideally, 4mm58° - 6mm66° - 9mm66° - 15mm - 32mm52° on a budget. But even then, this already increases the cost drastically and you could start simple and see for yourself what you need and want (The budget wide-angle eyepieces over ~10mm won't be sharp to the outer field in an f/5 aperture ratio telescope, but given the price of the eyepieces it's alright.).
You can look at the apparent size of some objects in
https://www.sternfreunde-muenster.de/ocalc.php (At least tries to simulate & warns of over-magnification)
https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ (Amazing tool but even less realistic, good to compare the true field, fails at directly comparing the apparent field of view though)
Clear skies :-)
From a reply just a little while ago:
Nice little bucket :-)
The kit eyepieces are okay-ish to cover wide-field and some medium magnification (star clusters, nebulae...). What's lacking the most is a planetary eyepiece.
For planets, a...
Decent 4mm 58° eyepiece
A barlow can work but reduces the contrast. $20 barlow + kit eyepiece is not going to turn your blind, but you'll fair better with a decent eyepiece :-)
Avoid short 4mm Plössl 52° apparent field of view-type (poor eye-relief) or the bad cheap 62° 4mm.
A 32mm Plössl ($18-$30) would show a bit more field. A 6mm 66° ("gold-line") and 15mm 66° are also nice, the 9mm 66° to eliminate the cheap 10mm kit eyepiece. But there's no need to get it all at one :-)
A good guide (e.g. "Turn left at Orion") and binoculars (even some cheaper 8x or 10x50) help finding things a lot. As well as a dimable red light to preserve night-vision.
As "mount" (as the Heritage is a table-top) some use the Ikea Kyrre (I use the Bekväm), or a crate/box. Camping tables are usually too wobbly.
~~A shroud helps with contrast if there's direct light, and with dew. My simple cardboard shroud, pencil, scissors, tape / Another solution.~~
Clear skies :-)
Hello :-)
> saw
> 10 mm
Great! Impressive considering you've used the 10mm mit eyepiece and 45x, where details just about are visible! :-)
> aware
Yeah, the short reflectors aren't great at overly high magnification, but you can certainly go up a bit! :-)
> magnification
The HR Planetary (clones) with 58° are great eyepieces without breaking the bank. Unlike short cheap Plössl/52° type you'll find in kits, even the short ones have decent eye-relief.
450 / 4.5mm = 100x
450 / 4mm = 112.5x
450 / 3.2mm = 140x
450/ 2.5mm eyepiece = 180x
180x would be pushing what this shorty is capable of (IMHO).
https://www.amazon.com/Astromania-58-Degree-Planetary-Eyepiece-Telescope/dp/B013S7H6T4
From other brands/sellers you can often find them for $35-$40, sometimes half when on sale. From China (Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Aliexpress) even more often.
(Example but different focal length, Marketplace seller, not Amazon directly. YMMV. https://www.amazon.com/Goshyda-1-25inch-Planetary-Multilayer-Observation/dp/B08R3YBFHR)
The cheap 66°/68° eyepieces are also good but only available down to 6mm=75x. ($17-$20 from China, $29-$35 locally). You can modify them though if you like to tinker (http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/?p=820)
Avoid the cheap 4mm 62°, and cheap 4mm 52° Plössl (poor eye-relief).
A ~$20 achromatic barlow would work too, but reduces the contrast.
More magnification isn't better. The image will get dim and dull.
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/barlowandstuff.png
Clear skies :-)
So the 130mm with 650mm focal-length?
Then you need a decent 4mm eyepiece. Avoid the cheap poor 4mm62° and short Plössl-type (52°) under 10mm due to poor eye-relief (https://imgur.com/FkEaOBG).
Field of view simulation 130/650
> So, tonight I pointed it at jupiter and with a whole lot of "wiggling it around" basically, I was able to find it without the finder using the 10mm eyepiece that's in it. It was....basically a white dot.
Yeah, it's possible but annoying :-) You can just make a iron sight / use some tube as a rough finder (and align it during the day).
> see and I'd be able to see cloud banding and some colors maybe
You should see it like this at lower magnification, https://images.app.goo.gl/4k8xqLLWMDdxXDUYA - https://images.app.goo.gl/fWG7AciWyc58GeDJ9
But especially the short focal length of a 130/650 requires a good short eyepiece. 650mm focal length, 10mm eyepiece is only 65x, you can ideally see some planetary detail, but it's much easier with over 100x magnification.
Yes, but it can be subtle, depending on the conditions. And you need a good eyepiece.
A barlow can work but isn't great (http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/130-650-high_3.png).
4mm 58° hr planetary clone eyepiece, long eye-relief
Hi :-)
I use my Heritage 130p (US: Also AWB OneSky) on either a crate or an Ikea Bekväm, some an Ikea Kyrre.
It just needs to be stable. Most camping tables are too shaky though. I've used it on a park bench, car hood, tree stump. A small folding fishing stool is also useful.
There's also the XT4.5 that's a bit taller, but at that point the XT6 / DT6 / Skywatcher 6-inch don't cost that much more, but more capable.
Any telescope will lack of a (decent) planetary eyepiece.
E.g. the 4mm 58° HR Planetary clones for the Heritage / OneSky / Z130.
For planets, a...
Decent 4mm 58° eyepiece
A barlow can work but reduces the contrast. $20 barlow + kit eyepiece is not going to turn your blind, but you'll fair better with a decent eyepiece :-)
Avoid short 4mm Plössl 52° apparent field of view-type (poor eye-relief) or the bad cheap 62° 4mm.
Does she have binoculars? They already show a lot of clusters, larger nebulae, galaxies, and make getting oriented easier.
As well as a good guide ("Turn left at Orion" for example).
Clear skies :-)
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