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Walmeck- Astronomical Telescope Eyepiece Broadband Green Film Eyepiece 1.25INCH 58 Degree Planetary Eye Lens 2.5MM / 3.2MM / 4MM / 5MM?
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4 reviews of this product found across Reddit:
Hello :-)
Awesome :-)
Rule one: Use as is.
Rule two: Get a guide and a planetary eyepiece :-)
-> 4mm eyepiece; The HR Planetary clones have decent eye-relief, contrast, aren't overly expensive.
Amazon, China Marketplace 1 / 2 ($49 directly from Amazon, at that point you can consider the more modern bst explorer, dual ed and similar)
(Don't get a short Plössl under 10mm due to poor eye-relief, don't get a bad cheap 4mm 62° copper top)
Ideally, maybe a 15mm Plössl or 66° gold-line (from $15/$22) and use the kit eyepieces for now. A 32mm Plössl can show a bit more field, $18-$25. A 6mm 66° is nice too ($17) but no need to go all out right away :-)
> Accessories
(I forgot, does it include a collimation cap?)
If you'd like a better collimation tool, a Cheshire (Also: Tools guide & No tools guide)
> first accessories
"Turn left at Orion" - the missing manual :-)
A dimmable red light (or a dollar-store bike-tail light and a couple of layers of translucent tape :-) ).
A "table" if you need one, e.g. the Ikea Bekväm (someone also suggested the Kyrre).
And a small dollar-store fishing stool on the go, or foam seat pad if you have nothing to put the OneSky on and need to sit on the ground :-)
Clear skies, enjoy the little bucket! :-)
Hello :-) Awesome!
The moon and planets should be easy enough for the 8 year old to find and track, I'm sure the 6-year old will catch up too :-)
> "Turn left" in the mail
Awesome :-)
> tips
Kids will be mostly interested in planets, consider a decent 4mm eyepiece,
-
- Max magnification
- https://aliexpress.com/item/32923085731.html (China)
- https://aliexpress.com/item/32795137915.html (China)
- https://www.amazon.com/Walmeck-Astronomical-Telescope-Broadband-Planetary/dp/B0852TMP38/ (NOTE: Not from Amazon but Marketplace, ships from China. Get the 4mm, do not get the short 2.5mm it's not worth it.)
(Random links, check seller ratings, ymmv. Do note that cheaper short 4mm Plössl have poor eye-relief, and the bad 4mm 62° seem cheap enough to try, but they aren't good at all.)
the 6mm 66° is cheaper, $17-$20 from China, $29 from Amazon directly, but only 108x magnification. You can modify them though to reach more magnificaton if you like to tinker.
Binoculars -
Keeps the kids occupied, are an amazing introduction as they are intuitive to use. AND they can already spot some clusters, nebulae, galaxies under dark skies :-)
For kids 30-35mm are easier to hold, and under 10x magnification (e.g. 6x30.). The best bang for the buck are probably the 7x50 Celestron cometron when on sale, $30, but not ideal for younger kids.
(Or even a small spotting scopes if you happen to have some tripods)
And of course teach your kids the sun's dangerous!
> tricks
Cardboard shroud,
to shield from direct light, enhances contrast, http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/DSC_07391-e1483442518269.jpg#awb_heritage_cardboard
> Eq. mount
An EQ Platform? Awesome :-)
Though with wide-angle eyepieces and the large field of view of the OneSky, not mandatory. Even the kit 25mm eyepiece give a decent field. A $17 32mm Plössl a bit more of course.
Clear skies, have fun! :-)
Hello :-)
As the others mentioned, Venus won't show much detail, even in larger telescopes you just see the phases.
When conditions allow and they are up, Saturn and Jupiter are great targets though.
The short 650mm focal-length and 10mm kit eyepiece will give you 65x magnification, enough to see and recognize the planets, but for a bit more detail you could get another eyepiece.
For the OneSky, a decent(!) 4mm is a good thing to have.
But don't get a Plössl (52°) due to poor eye-relief, or the 62° copper-top/fake-celestrons (poor quality).
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/130-650-high_3.png
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/awb_Heritage_Magnifications_small.png
https://www.amazon.com/Walmeck-Astronomical-Telescope-Broadband-Planetary/dp/B0852TMP38/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=4mm+58+eyepiece&qid=1588032545&refresh=1&sr=8-2 (not from Amazon, but Marketplace/China)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B07HD4S939/ref=dp_olp_afts?ie=UTF8&condition=all (they were cheaper a while ago, prices are kind of wonky during this crisis)
Shorter than 4mm will push the telescope to it's limits and only works if seeing is great anyway. It may feel like you want even more magnification, but I wouldn't push it :-) I have the OneSky/Heritage, and I've tried both 3.2mm and 2.5mm HR Planetary eyepieces, it's just not going to show more detail.
Clear skies!
Hello :-)
Get a cheaper 4mm 58° HR Planetary clone,
$27-$29 via Aliexpress (sometimes cheaper, Example, note the $1 coupon inside),
$33 via Amazon Marketplace (China = Slow). $49 directly from Amazon, then other eyepieces are a better bargain (the newer dual ed, bst explorer etc.)
The apparent field of view is a tad larger, but it's not that much.
I have the 2.5mm, 3.2mm HR Planetary clones, these magnify a bit much in the 5" table-tops. The 3.2mm is still usable, but things already get quite a bit dim. Also, Atmospheric seeing is often poor. Collimation has to be spot on. The quality of these mirrors can vary.
While it will seem tempting to go for more, it just doesn't really show more in the end.
Other options. 6mm 66° eyepiece, modify it (add some spacer tube between barrel and top part, it will turn it into a 3-5mm eyepiece. Or a barlow can be a budget solution, but reduces the contrast noticeably in this price-range = don't).
TL;DR: IMHO the 4mm 58° is a good compromise :-)
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