Sunday, 21 April 2013

the moon - Which eyepieces I can use it for best viewing experience using my exisiting telescope?

Every scope has a minimum and maximum useful magnification (minimum on your scope is 18X and maximum is 152X - from specs on Telescope.com). Anything outside of those numbers will compromise your ability to see well through the scope. To figure out how best to make use of your scope within the restrictions of useful magnification, you need to start with how to calculate magnification from focal length.



The magnification is equal to the focal length of the telescope divided by the focal length of the eyepiece. For example, your 25mm eyepiece would allow you to get 28X magnification (700mm / 25mm = 28X). Using the same formula, your 10mm eyepiece would allow you to get 70X magnification. For an easy way to get close to 152X, you could purchase a simple 2X Barlow. (700mm / 10mm) * 2X = 140X. For now, start with your 25mm eyepiece and get used to the night sky through it. You can always step it up a bit with other eyepieces later.



So you want to see Jupiter? I think you should just barely be able to make out the dark bands in the atmosphere around 100X (so maybe a 6mm or 7mm eyepiece for your scope). You will definitely be able to see the Galilean Moons though. And speaking of moons, you should get a moon filter to cut down on the brightness when looking at our Moon. I've found it's best to observe the edge of the Moon where light turns to dark. The shadows created along the craters and mountains are magnificent to see. Enjoy!

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