Great video, I’ve screenshot your choices for eyepieces. Instead of jumping off the deep end and buying several eyepieces at once, I will gradually make small purchases here and there . So that way my wife won’t get mad at me! LoL
Hey Michael, Thank you so much for sharing such an awesome video filled with so much useful information. Everything that you said in that video actually answered most of my questions that I had been searching for quite a long time. Thank you so much, now I am sure about what I need to view(in terms of magnification) and which EP would suit my needs. Can't thank you enough. Subscribed to your channel now :)
I very much appreciate you taking the time to let me know that! This is such a wonderful hobby and I'm glad I could help answer some questions for you about eyepieces and magnification!
@@LateNightAstronomy hey I'm in a big dilemma I don't know what is the best telescope for beginner astrophotography should I get the Celestron NexStar 130 SLT or the 127 SLT one ?
Thank you. Just starting out, ordered an Orion Xt8. Comes with a 25mm and a Barlow. Your video helped trying to figure out what eyepieces to add. Subbed. Thinking I need a moon filter as well. Cannot wait!
get your self one of those variable density filters, you can adjust them to tune down the glare. because to me those dark green moon filters rob to much light and clarity!.
I would suggest a zoom eyepiece. I have a nice 8mm -24mm that I use all the time. You can easily change magnification without switching out eyepieces and also save money by not having to buy so many different eyepiece. Also I can add a 2x Barlow lens to it and cover 4mm - 7mm range.
Modern zoom eyepieces are still looked upon with suspicion by those of us who had been traumatized by what we saw when we looked through the older ones. Not so today! I'm just now getting back into the hobby and my first eyepiece will be a good used zoom 8-24! Honestly if you're a lunar planetary observer or simply don't care about Ulta wide field vistas, and you had a slower scope, you may never need much more. I couldn't believe how the Badder at our observatory was keeping up with some good fixed focus glass! Just imagine a few generations and a 20mm eye relief zoom that has a one hundred degree field across the board and is dead sharp and contrasty to the edge of the FOV! But try not to imagine the initial price tag!
svbony makes some nice eyepieces for around 20 to 40 dollars first time I used a 25mm svbony super plossl with my 114mm powerseeker, it was such a crisp and clear view of the moon I felt like I was floating in space!.
Good to know. I'll have to look into that for some potential future purchases! Aren't those moments just the best. It's like your looking out the window of a ship flying to it!
OK, I’ll be that guy. It looks to me like eyepieces that come with most consumer telescopes are crap (I haven’t bought a telescope yet, but it seems like most people upgrade eyepieces first.) I believe in the “buy the best you can afford” principle. First, I plan to go to night viewings at my local astronomy club, so I can hopefully try a variety of scopes and eyepieces. I bought a pair of Canon 15x50 IS binoculars (which weren’t cheap) to start learning the night sky, and give me time to look at the options for telescopes/mounts/eyepieces. I’ll spend the most money on a good mount, as it seems to me the ones the telescopes come with are well on their way to becoming overburdened. It looks like Sky-Watcher has the best consumer grade mounts. For telescopes, one of the 8” Celestron SCTs look like the best mix of ability to me, who doesn’t want to own a bunch of scopes. With this, I’m looking for eyepieces for planets (~9mm), DSO (~24mm), and a 2x Barlow to give me some options. The thing is, I don’t want to spend less now, when I know I’ll be dissatisfied later and spend more then, and once I buy a more expensive eyepiece, why would I look at these? After all, if you buy these, will you look through the stock eyepieces that came with the scope again? The hard part, when looking through telescopes on the watch parties, will be figuring out what part of the image is from the scope, and what part is due to the eyepiece? Does anyone have a method that won’t burden people who are willing to let me look through their scopes. I guess I’ll talk to them about it, as it seems like everyone loves to talk about the tools of the trade. Thanks for your video!
I really appreciate you writing such a detailed and well thought out comment on this subject. The only eyepiece I used regularly that came with my 8 inch dobsonian was the 25mm plossl. After a decade of using the eyepieces shown in this video with my 8 inch dobsonian telescope I have just upgraded to more "premium" eyepieces for a new 12 inch dobsonian I bought last year. I made both of these upgrades because I knew this was a long term hobby for me. Also my new scope is an F/4.9 which puts more pressure on needing well corrected eyepieces to get a nice sharp image. I'll be making review videos on the new telescope and my eyepiece choices in the coming months. My new telescope is a 12 inch Sky-Watcher 300p and the eyepieces are the APM 30mm UFF and from Tele Vue their 24mm Panoptic, 14mm, 10mm and 6mm Delos line. All perform incredibly well but were much bigger purchases that what is shown in this beginner video for those just getting into the hobby and are looking to dip their toes into new eyepieces.
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks for your response! I’m 63 and know that I’ll enjoy astronomy. I also have enough to buy what I’ll eventually want. Finally, my eyesight won’t improve with age, so I want to enjoy it for as long as I’m able. Thanks for contributing your experience for us noobs to learn this fascinating subject!
The sweet spot for that telescope is going to be around 100x magnigication for the planets. I would recommend a nice 6mm eyepeice which would give you around 110x magnification. The Celestron 93317 Omni Series 1.25" (6mm) Eyepiece or the 6mm Orion Expanse Telescope Eyepiece look to be a popular eyepieces on amazon.com. The Expanse Eyepeice would be a more comfortable view with it provided a wider field of view, but that also comes at a bit of a higher price. Thanks for your question and let me know if I can help you with anything else!
Late Night Astronomy thank you so much for your reply you are awesome. What about for like nebulas or deep space should I consider a Barlow lens or just stick to the 6mm. I will definitely get that 6mm one
@@optimumbreaker For Nebulas and Deep Space objects you will typically want lower magnifications depending on the target. I tend to view most deep sky objects with my 8inch telescope between 48 and 100x magnification.
That's a nice looking telescope you've got! If you are new to astronomy I would recommend the Orion 7-21mm Zoom eyepiece. That will give you between 31x and 93x magnification. A great range for bright galaxies, the Moon and some up close views of Jupiter and Saturn later this year.
i recommend plossl & super plossl on my channel for the beginner's which are very good eps. the only reason to get better if you want larger field of view (FOV) but as you say wait at least a year or longer. A super plossl may be all that a lot people need. cheers
Thank you for the helpful video. I’m very new to all this as well. Helpful stuff! I’ve been confused by the different eyepieces - thinking higher mm = better, deeper views. I just bought a 8” Dob 8txi and supplemented by buying a 2x Barlow. The telescope came with 25mm and 10mm lenses. I was surprised my tiny 10mm gave me deeper views of the moon. Can you summarize the trade off between the 25mm and 10mm again? What does the 25mm offer that the 10mm doesn’t? Wider views?
Great questions. First of all, I own the XT8i and it is an excellent telescope that I've enjoyed for over 10 years. Your telescope has a 1,200mm focal length meaning that a 25mm eyepiece will provide you with 48x magnification. 1,200/25=48x magnification (wider views as you said). This will be good for deep sky objects and the moon. Basically things when you want to see a larger part of the sky. Your 10mm eyepiece will give you 120x magnification. 1,200/10=120x magnification. This will be good for zoomed in views of the planets or close up features on the moon's surface. You were smart to buy a 2x barlow. That will double the focal length for everything you own. Meaning you now have a telescope that can see at 48x, 96x, 120x and 240x magnification. 240x is as high as I would go on most nights with the telescope you and I own. My best views of the moon and planets fall within the 100x to 200x magnifications.
Late Night Astronomy Thank for the awesome reply. I welcome all of the possible advice. Very helpful. For some reason I couldn’t get a crisp view of Saturn and Jupiter last night after adding the Barlow. Without it the images were smaller but crisper. Is this normal?
Yes that is normal. A lot of it depends on how steady the atmosphere is for that evening. On some nights 100x is my limit. On others that are very clear and steady I can easily get sharp views at 200x.
@@akshayakshayv5559 That's actually a really nice combination to start with because you will be getting magnifications of 81x and 160x (x2 Barlow) magnifications with your telescope. 70 to 80 times magnification is about as low as you can go with that telescope so you are starting out with a great eyepiece for deep sky observing.
This video was so helpful. I bought the Skywatcher Ocular Super MA 10mm and 25mm used for 11$ each. This way I can convince my wife and kinds that admiring stars and planets is not that expensive. Awesome graphics with explaining magnification - really helped.
Don't even play around shopping for eyepieces, just get Aperturas from High Point Scientific. You get impressive quality 52 degree plossls in the $30-$40 range. I bought a 9, 15, 20, 25, 32 and 40mm for my first set and could not be more satisfied. They blow the kit eyepieces away, not even the same league.
Yes, these eyepieces will work very well for that telescope because it is very similar to the one I use in this video for the demonstrations. When you buy the telescope, please consider using my affiliate link for highpoint scientific in the description of this video. They are a great company to work with and I also earn a small commission as well! Take care and let me know of any other questions you may have.
Hi, I ordered my first reflector, Skywatcher Skymax 127...I wear eyeglasses and can you recommend a lens in the 25mm-35mm range that will accommodate me. Thanks.
Congratulations on your new purchase! If you wear glasses, I would recommend you look for a lens that has around 20mm of eye relief. The Orion Sirius 32mm has around 20mm of eye relief and costs around 40 dollars. My guess is that telescope will already comes with a 25mm eyepiece.
Hi, I just started stargazing! I have a Celestron StarSense explorer 130mm, it came with the 25mm and the 10mm. I really want to see planets closer, which eyepieces would you reccomend and where can I get them? Thanks!!
I would say your best bet is to stick with what you have for now and buy a nice 2x barlow lens for 30 or 40 dollars. After that you could look to upgrade to more premium eyepiece like the ones mentioned in my video. The 5mm Orion Planetary eyepiece would give you about 130x magnification. That should show some nice detail of the planets while still keeping a sharp view through your telesocope on most nights.
@@brianw1697 The cloud belts of Jupiter, land features on Mars while it is near opposition, the rings of Saturn and the Cassini division. All of these will be possible when the sky is clear and steady at about 130x magnification.
I'm a bit late here but I've got the same scope with the same eyepieces. Thinking about also starting with just a Barlow lens. Wondering what you did end up trying?
Thanks for the video...great info. I recently bought my first telescope after using binoculars... I purchased a Apetura AD12 Dobsonian which came with a 30mm and a 9mm eyepiece, what else would you recommend for optimal and or even great viewing of planets? New sub...
You've got a solid telescope there. I would suggest you get yourself a solid 2x barlow lens (Check out my video on that) and possible a 12.5mm Orion Planetary Eyepiece. That combination along with what came with your telescope should provide some nice views of the planets.
I did the same start off wiv pair binoculars 7x10 then 1 day I saw telescope forsale in charity shop 50quid only a beginners one like brand new best 50 quid I spent in long time I love going out stargazing wiv it princless meade ng-60sm
I am trying to build a telescope to view the upcoming C/2022 E3 ZTF comet. I am using a 50mm achromat doublet objective lens (700 mm focal length) and an 8 mm eyepiece. Is it possible to view the comet, as the aperture is just 50 mm? Also, would I be able to capture a shot with an android with 100x optical zoom?
Yes. If the comet reaches the brightness expected it may even be visible to the naked eye a a dim object in the sky under dark skies. this sounds really exciting. Keep me updated on how you telescope and observations go.
keep in mind that the image circle may be too large deppending on the focal ratio of the scope and the eyepiece focal length. There are online calculators for finding out how big the circle will be and if its bigger than about 7-8mm, you start to loose some of the light since your pupil when fully adjusted to the dark is about 7-8mm wide. Above a certain point, going with a longar focal length eyepiece in order to produce a brighter image is pointless
Does using a 18mm with 3x barlow will have bigger Fov and brighter image than using 6mm eyepiece without barlow? in that case both of them will have the same magnification.
I found an Infinity model 114 E Q, 114mm telescope with a broken tripod in the trash and it was just too cool to throw it away. I took time and repaired the tripod and re-assembled the telescope and started watching videos to learn more about the exciting prospect of looking at the stars and our moon.Long story short there wasn't an eye piece with the scope and I was wondering if you could tell me the best budget one for a beginner.I really would appreciate it.
Nice find and cool story. If it has a 900mm focal length I would say a 24/25mm plossel would be a good starting point. From there a 15mm/16mm eyepiece and finally probably a 8/9mm eyepiece would cover most of your basis.
Best eye pieces for the Orion StarBlast II 4.5 Equatorial Reflector Telescope. One for viewing planets And one that you think would be good? Was also looking at the Zoom eye pieces. Any opinions on those would be great also. Thank You!
I would recommend the Celestron 8-24mm zoom eyepiece and a 2x barlow for pumping up the magnification on clear nights for the planets. an 8mm on your scope will give you 56x magnification and the 2x barlow would push it up to 112x. A Good medium and high magnification for that telescope.
Hi Michael, Firstly thank you for sharing the information. I have got my first telescope Celestron Powerseeker 127eq. I love watching the moon and I have bought a moon filter for a better experience. The filter cannot fit on the eyepiece that came along with my telescope. Could you suggest any other alternative eyepieces for moon and planet viewing? I am really excited about it. Thank you.
Thanks for the comment! I think a good starting point for you could be the Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Telescope Eyepiece. That will give you between 42x and 125x magnification which should work well for your telescope on the Moon and Planets in particular. You can pick it up over at amazon.com for around 60 dollars. If you are looking to save money or don't care for zoom eyepieces you could look to get the Celestron 9mm Omni Series Telescope Eyepiece. It runs around 25 dollars and would give you 111x magnification. Let me know what you end up going with!
Late Night Astronomy I have the same telescope and I was just looking at Saturn & Jupiter with a 20mm eyepiece what’s a good lens for planet viewing? I have a 3x Barlow also that I just got
@@Clippnet For that size telescope a lens that would give you around 100 to 125x magnification would be nice for the planets. A nice 8mm or 10mm eyepiece would work well.
I have a telescope Astroscan® Millennium Dobsonian Reflector Portable. Objective-114mm.Focal Length-450mm..Price 200$..Are the 32mm -25$ and 4mm-12$ eyepiece is good idea to buy? With the telescope i have 10mm and 17mm and not seeing much. Thank you!
I actually think a good purchase for you would be to get a 2x barlow lens for around 30 or 40 dollars on amazon.com (I own the Astromania 2x barlow lens). This will double the magnification you already have with the provided eyepieces. What types of things do you like viewing with your telescope?
@@LateNightAstronomy I would really like to view a deep sky objects and galaxies such as Orion Nebula,Sombrero,Pinwheel,Andromeda. Thank you very much for the good advice on 2x barlow lens i will buy the same one as you own..Also have an a question what about 3x or 5x barlow lenses are they worth it to buy or for now just stay with 2x?
Your videos are extremely helpful and easy to understand. I just got the Orion XT6. I wanna buy an eyepiece over 25 mm, and I read that for my 6 in telescope 40 mm would be too much. Can you or somebody from the comments here advise ?? Thank you so much!
Thanks for your comment and good question. Lowest useful magnification is good to know for telescopes. Most resources I've found will tell you to calculate the lowest useful magnification by taking your aperture in inches and multiplying it by 4x. That puts your lowest useful magnification around 24x magnification. Based on that, I would recommend you look to get a 1.25 or two inch eyepiece somewhere between 34mm to 38mm. Let me know if you have anymore questions and clear skies!
I actually have a 17mm Kellner that came with my Zhumell100mm that is great for the Moon with a light Moon filter in my C6-N 152mm scope. Clear view to the edges. I use a 32mm Zvbony for finding objects and then switch to a 15mm Super Plossl Star Guide for viewing deep space objects or DSO. Same 15 works well with my 100 Zhumell as does my 6mm ultra wide view, but the 6mm doesn't work as well for my 6 inch scope for some reason (probably bcuz it's cheap), but my used Baader 9mm works great in it even with a Barlow at 166x. The 6mm doubled up to 3mm at 250x isn't a good enough lens to give a clear picture. I have 4 eyepieces, but if I hadn't found that 9mm Baader at a garage sale for $35 I'd only have three. Keep in mind I have a nice Celestron Barlow that the bottom lens unscrews from it and screws directly onto the EPs thus giving me 1.5x magnification so my 9mm @ 83x becomes 125x. So I literally have 4+4+4 EPs after being boosted by 1.5x and 2x. The Barlow isn't used for everything as the Zhumell100mm or 4 inch doesn't give good views at 166x in its 400mm focal length or F4. It either isn't capable or it needs better eyepieces. I can borrow an expensive lens from my astronomy club and see before I buy and find out my scope isn't good enough. I have Bortle 2-3 skies 20 miles to the West of me and if I go up into the mountains where it is Bortle 1 and it is cool, 200x magnification works without shimmering unless it is very windy. Being above 6,000 feet is also helpful.
So my telescope box kinda doesnt make sense to me could someone explain? Its says "70mm aperture travel scope 400mm az mount" is it saying the telescope is 70mm and the bipod is 400 or am i wrong?
Thank you for the information, nice video. I have a question, for a 127mm GoTo maksutov cassegrain, 1.25” with focal length 1500mm, f12 what eyepieces could you recommend me?
Nice telescope! Is it the Orion cassegrain? If you are looking for your first eyepiece to add beyond what came with it I would recommend a zoom eyepiece like the Celestron 8-24 or Orion 7-21. Each will provide a nice level of medium and high magnification for your telescope, particularly nice for the Moon and planets. Mars is putting on quite a show right now! If you are looking to just by single eyepiece to slowly start a selection, I would suggest something like the 14.5mm Orion Planetary Edge On. These are basically the exact same eyepieces I show off in the video. That specific eyepiece would give you around 100x magnification in your scope which is probably going to be the sweet spot for observing the moon and planets on most nights with how the atmosphere and wind can be. On nights when the sky is crystal clear and steady you could buy a 2x barlow lens (like Orion's Shorty Barlow) and that would double that eyepiece to 200x. Let me know if I can help you with anything else!
The thing with Eyepieces for Scopes , is the same as for Binoculars , the design of it should reflect your Eye pupil , so if one has 6mm Eye Pupil , and say 70mm Aperture scope , then the eyepieces should be 12mm , so if scope is say 400mm focal length that makes the magnification power 36x , Then that Scope is perfect for you . Nothing can make it better But ppl are swayed with marketing and they buy stuff randomly , what happens then is that those EPs once tried end up not used , becouse if they are not within this range then usability suffers , and that leads to rare use of EP . At least that is the case for me .
And the view is only as good as the atmospheric conditions will permit no matter how premium the product being used. tis the bane of all astronomers, hence Hubble.
I've been stressing out about buying a $35 Svbony part lol. That or go with a zoom for a bit more. I just don't want to feel like I'm looking through a straw or struggle to view things in it. I have a small 90mm Meade infinity and I want to make the most of what it can offer.
Yeah, those are all reasonable things to consider. I would go ahead and get the Celestron or Orion zoom lens. Should work well for you know and also would later if you ever upgraded your telescope.
Hey Mike happy new year lately I’ve been checking out the Orion nebula which is really cool I’m trying to find M31 Andromeda I was lucky enough to see the conjunction one night which was on my birthday so that was quite a birthday present Hope all is well you look forward to hearing from you Rob
That's about as nice of a Birthday present as we can ask for in astronomy! I'm heading out tonight on a clear (but very cold) night to view Orion. Nothing compares to study the core of that thing! Thanks for your observing report and stay in touch!
Thanks for the video, really helpful for people new to this hobby. Found some extra useful info in your replies to other people's comments. Clear skies!
I would reccomend a good zoom eyepiece to start off your collection. Orion and Celsteron offer a nice one. If you are looking for something more "premium" you could get the Orion Planetary Edge On Eyepieces recommended in this video. If you are into planetary viewing, would suggest the 6mm.
@@LeeeB0 That is one of the most popular ones out there. I've never owned it but some friends of mine in my local astronomy club have spoken highly of it.
bought zhumell z8 dob came with 2 inch 32 mm eyepiece and a 9 mm both plossl 9 is good view but 32 will notgive clear view scope is collumted perfect moon will almost focus but planet look like headlights with watering eyes new to the hobby can any one tell me what im missing
That's a nice scope. I particularly like the roller bearing system for rotating and moving it to different objects. Sometimes an eyepiece won't line up with the focus point of the mirrors. I would suggest that instead of putting the eyepiece all the way in, put it about half way down into the scope and then tighten the bolts. That extra distance from the eyepiece to the secondary mirror may solve your focus problem. Let me know if not and we can trouble shoot some more!
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks for quick reply sorry for my slow 1 computer given me hell that worked what a differance been using 9mm plossl with 5 x barlow talk about no field of view thank you so much J.Knight
I do not have any experience with a zoom eyepiece but the Celestron 8mm-24mm Zoom eyepiece on amazon is a popular choice that a lot of people get goo use out of. Do you currently own a telescope?
Thanks for the video. I have a quick question, we bought our son a starter telescope, Celestron 70mm Travelscope, if he wanted to see more planetary surface detail are there any lenses you would recommend? Or is it best to look at a better telescope? Thanks.
I would say that depends on the age or your son and how long he has been into amateur astronomy. If you don't mind sharing those details it would help me to guide you towards an answer to your question. The 70mm scope is going to provide nice views of the Moon but may be difficult for high magnification views of Jupiter and Saturn for example. A nice starter eyepiece is the Celestron 8mm-24mm Zoom Eyepeice but the maximum magnification that would give you for the 70mm scope is about 50x magnification.
@@chrislazo817 Thanks for the information. The spotter scope you have and the scope you have just ordered are a nice way to get into the hobby for views of the Moon and Planets. In fact, I grew up with a 114mm telescope and got many years of use out of it. The zoom eyepiece I mentioned earlier would work well for the 114az in particular. It's neat being able see the difference in zoom from setting to setting. Hope this helps and let me know if you have anymore questions!
@@LateNightAstronomy 50x magnification is the max for a 70mm? Where do you get your information from. A good 70mm refractor can easily do 150× in good seeing conditions. Sometimes more in exceptional circumstances. The rough guide is 50x per inch in aperture. A 70mm is equal to 2.75". This isn't a hard and fast rule as seeing conditions and quality of optics do play a part as well. But even a simple beginner scope from Celestron in the 70mm range can easily go above 50x. I have been into amateur astronomy for years owning many telescopes from 50mm to 12" Newtonians and speaking from experience.
Hi Michael, great video it helps to make things more clear. I have one old meade etx 90, D=90mm F=1250mm f/13.8. WHat is the max magnification do you recommend for this scope? BR
Thanks for your comment! The highest useful magnification will be impacted by with the size of your telescope and the quality of the sky the night you are observing. Given those factors, your scope on most normal nights will probably get nice high magnification views at around 100x. On nights that are crystal clear with no wind, I bet you could push that up to 150x for the moon and planets with nice results.
@@LateNightAstronomy Hi, thanks for your reply, it really helps. For amateurs like me i really recommend this website astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ .
Thanks for your feedback. I considered this to be an entry level video for those just getting into astronomy. Everything you mentioned are good topics to cover but can get very technical. Do you own a telescope and enjoy observing anything in particular?
That's a good point. I'm sure when I move up to a larger telescope with more premium options I will have to do some updating to my eyepiece collection.
@@LateNightAstronomy Quality requirement for eyepieces isn't about telescope's aperture, it's about focal ratio. Long focal ratios like especially f/10+ are easy for eyepieces, while f/6 starts demanding good quality for eyepiece to be sharp to edges. Again f/5 has quite high demands and f/4 would be extremely demanding. But when choosing right ones good quality eyepieces for f/5 telescope can be gotten for far below premium prices.
@@LateNightAstronomy I also have a question, I’ve been using a refractor scope for about a year now and I’m looking for a good telescope that is under $500 What would you recommend?
@@glitchs3an707 I would recommend a 6 or 8 inch dobsonian telescope. Take a look at what they have over at telescopesplus.com, telescope.com and skywatcher.com. Get back to me with any questions on a specific scope.
So, I am new to telescopes since August 2022. I purchased a Celestron Nexstar 8se. I have added a few eye pieces. My question, is there a 38mm in a 1.25, or do they all come in 2"? Thank you
@@LateNightAstronomy Last weekend the Orion Nebula and Sirius. I'm trying to spot Sirius B. No luck yet. If skies are clear this weekend I'll try again with my 12 inch Dob.
Hi. does using a 18mm with 3x barlow will have bigger Fov and brighter image than using 6mm eyepiece without barlow? In that case both of them will have the same magnification.thanks
Good question. Depending on the quality and design of the barlow lens it can be a benefit for eye relief and comfort of viewing. A Sold 2x or 3x barlow lens is always a great addition to an eyepiece line up.
Image brightness (on same telescope) depends only on magnification. FOV depends on A(pparent)FOV of the eyepieces in guestion and for same AFOV eyepieces is same, no matter if that magnification is gotten by shorter eyepiece focal length or Barlow. (TFOV = AFOV / Magnification) But for cheap eyepiece designs like Plossl or Orthoscopic (or worser Kellner) 18mm one has lot better eye relief than 6mm one making Barlowed approach far more comfortable.
I'm reaaaally bad at maths. It's worse than Chinese for me, I've always struggled since I know Maths exist. But I'm fascinated by space and I could have cried the first time I saw Venus. Anyway I have an Orion Equatorial Reflector Telescope 130ST EQ, provided with two Orion Sirius Plössl: one is 25mm and the other 10mm (I use that one a lot). I'd love to have even further... zoom ? But all I can find on the internet are tutorials on how to calculate to find the correct one. Descriptions are a mystery to me. Logically I'd say that because my 10mm provides a better zoom than the 25mm, a 6mm would zoom even more right ? I don't really care about having a wider field view as all I want is: more details. What should I buy ?
You are correct that a 6mm will provide more zoom than a 25mm. One thing to figure out is what the highest useful magnification is for your telescope. For your size telescope on most typical observing nights, I would recommend not going much higher that 125x magnification. To achieve that magnification the easiest thing would be to buy a 2x barlow lens that would give your 10mm eyepiece a new magnification of 126x. That will probably be the sweet spot for your telescope and should provide some nice views of Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. Here is the 2x barlow I own and have gotten good use out of. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0140UACM6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Hello Nesterou, the rule is kind of this, the diameter of telescope in inches times 60, that gives you its limits, ex for a 6" telescope its limits would be 360x but that is in theory. In practice is less, how much? Depends your kind of telescope, conditions etc. To calculate the limits with the eyepiece... take the focal distance of your telescope...there should be a little plate on your telescope that shows it. So divide that focal distance with the fd of the eyepiece...and you get the "power x" remember do not go over the limits of your scope.
@@Nesterou Hello, you have a nice telescope, you can push it to its limits with a 5mm eyepiece and a 2x barlow lens, and is good for moon and planets. If you get serious about visual and astrophotography, I'd recommend you to get a EQ goto mount and keep the scope, with it, is enough for deep sky objects like nebulas and open clusters. Clear Skies...!!!
The used market is a great way to upgrade your eyepieces without splashing out on brand new stock. Eyepieces that are well cared for will last for years and serious visual astronomers are always looking to increase the quality of their eyepieces, leaving their old stock available to bump up the quality for the rest of us.
@@LateNightAstronomy Only mid grade Celestron at the moment - like many visual astronomers, I realized I can get MUCH better views by switching to astrophotography and I've only just started down that route. Why spend $1,000 for a televue eyepiece when a used DSLR body for $200 can provide better views?
@@junglejim7664 That's a great point. What we can do now with deep sky imaging is incredible. I've been focused more on imaging the planets the past few months but will be switching back to deep sky imaging in the next few months with my tracking mount and DSLR.
Good question. The main difference will be optical quality. If you have an expensive telescope with premium optics you may not want to use a zoom eyepiece because it tends to not have quite as sharp of a view due to the design of the lens. If you have a budget telescope however, a zoom lens can be a great way to get many magnifications out of it for a good price. I personally own a 2x barlow lens for observing but have not owned a zoom lens for my telescope. Although I have read that the 8mm-24mm zoom eyepiece made by Celestron is a good bargain.
It depends on the specific telescope you have. With my inch dobsonian the 25mm provides around 48x magnification which will reveal the moons and cloud belts. Do you currently own a telescope?
Hi very helpful !! I have a Celestron C70 and just wanted to watch the planets, what would be in your opinion the best eyepiece option thank you very much for your help.
Thanks, Henry! I would recommend trying a 9mm and 12.5mm eyepiece. This will give you 83x and 60x magnification for the 750mm scope that you have. Those are pretty reasonable high and medium magnifications for the size of your C70. Telescopesplus.com has some pretty good prices on the Celestron Omni Series eyepieces that are well reviewed. Thanks for the question and let me know if I can help with anything else!
Hello~ I m from Macau. Thanks your video n it just a really good guideline for me. I would to ask- I hv the LCM90, and would like to upgrade my eyepiece. any suggestions of the eyepiece Len size if I want to observe the moon. Thinking to buy the 2.3mm. (In my view, this is the strongest and the closest to see the moon) However, I don’t see ppl here were talking about 2.3mm. Or should I buy the 7mm or other size of Len is the best? Thank you !
The most I would push your telescope is to around 100x magnification on most nights. I would recommend to you look to get a 6mm or 7mm eyepiece. Perhaps one like the planetary series that is mentioned in this video.
Help, the 20mm eyepiece I got with my telescope is broken, I can't look through the centre of it, there's a segment that I have to look through at a specific angle, it's pain to photograph with it
I reviewed a zoom eyepiece put out by SVBONY a few months ago and found it to be a nice product. Go take a look at that video and see if it is something that may interest you!
@@LateNightAstronomy thank you so much. I got my telescope the other day and I was looking at Jupiter and it’s moons but it was really small so I was looking for a new lense thx
Hi, which Barlow make and model would you recommend for a beginner? I don't want to break a bank but I think Barlow will help me with greater eye relief and I can use it with a lower magnification eyepiece. Is my understanding correct here?
I’ve got a video coming out on that in June, but I’ll give you a sneak peak at my answer. I have really enjoyed the Astromania 2x barlow lens sold on amazon.com and have read good things about svbony’s 2x barlow as well.
Hello, there are a few options for the astromania 2x barlow on amazon.com, which one would you recommend with xt8i? The options I see are: Astromania 2" 2.5X Barlow Lens - Allows The use of Both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces Astromania 1.25" 3-Elements 2X TeleXtender Premium Barlow Lens - apochromatic Barlow Lens Giving an Excellent Image Astromania 1.25" 3-Elements 2X Barlow Lens Fully Multi-Coated Optics Appreciate the help! Thank you.
@@xrvgamers1189 I would go with something as simple as the "SVBONY 2X Barlow Lens 1.25 inch" over on amazon.com for less than 20 dollars. It is probably the same Astromania Barlow I have just made by a different company.
My telescope has 900mm focal length, and I want to use it to see the planets in detail like your images, and also deep sky like Orion nebula.. I'm wanting to maybe get like 2 eyepieces, and a 2x barlow to go with it, any suggestions for that kinda viewing? Thanks in advance!
TMB planetary eyepieces are a good value, a 6mm used with a 2x Barlow will provide your scope with 300x of magnification, which is often the most that sky conditions will allow. If you only get one other eyepiece, I'd suggest a focal length anywhere from 15mm up to 26mm. You want at least one low power/wide field one, for either scanning & star hopping or for wide views of large objects like galaxies, nebulae, & star clusters, and one high power eyepiece to crank up the magnification on objects like the moon & planets. Let's face it, selecting 2 or 3 eyepieces from the hundreds sold can initially be a nightmare. Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for, and also remember that you can keep your new eyepieces forever & use them on your future scopes.
@@knightclan4 For a telescope with a 600mm focal length I would say the best bet for you with low powered wide field viewing would be around a 25mm 1.25 inch eyepiece. What eyepiece came with the telescope and what specific brand/model is it?
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks for sharing your knowledge That refractor I ordered was put on back order until the apocalypse, so I ended up getting a 10” dobsonian. It should be here soon. I’ll take your advice and wait a couple of weeks to upgrade. I can’t wait to see things closer than my cheap binoculars.
Many thanks for the tips! I didn't wanted to buy expensives eyepieces, but I still didn't really knew what to get next as eyepieces upgrade. So this video helps a lot!
@@mgjonbalaj3605 Yes, they would be. I would suggest you get an eyepiece for the planets that gets you to around 100x magnification for your telescope. That would have you buying something around a 6mm eyepiece. Or better yet, buy a 12mm and a 2x barlow lens. Then you have a good medium and high power.
@@FabricFolk That's a nice scope. I tend to prefer 1.25inch eyepieces due to their weight. My most used eyepiece in an 8 inch dobsonian like yours is a 12.5 mm planetary eyepiece with nice eye relief. I believe it is one of the ones mentioned in this video.
i just bought an Orion 127mm Mak on ebay which looks to be in decent shape and I got a set of 1.25" Meade eyepieces to pair it with for $20 (the set comes with 6- 8 -12 - 20 and 25 mm) and I thought that would be good to start with. I just started to find objects in the sky and it gives me so blurry visuals that i don't even know what I am pointing it to. Dont know if this is a problem with the telescope or the eyepiece or what. I am using the 25mm to begin with as that is the lowest magnification I have. I must say though that I do not have a finder-scope on the telescope and that is something I am going to buy next. Any suggestions/advices are welcome? Am I doing something wrong?
Did the telescope come with a right angle prism? Also, you could take it out during to day and test it out by trying to find and focus on the top of a tree or a telephone pole (just make sure the Sun is no where near or even better has just set). It seems like it may be an issue with focusing distance. Give those things a try and stop back by to let me know how it went.
@@LateNightAstronomy Hi thanks for the reply. No it not come with a diagonal or anything just the tube and a cradle ring for the finder scope nothing else. I checked with the Mead cust' service team and they suggested I get in touch with one of their dealers here on the east cost (closest is in NJ) They said it is backordered and would take 8 to 10 weeks minimum. Any other ways I can get this paired with something to put it on a tripod? I have a T ring for my Fuji cam and a 1.25" adapter which I use with my other 5" telescope, i tried to loosely insert it in the bigger 8" SCT and tried to focus it at a distant object and it did achieve a bit of focus (holding it in your hands while focusing is not easy). I think if I could collimate and acclimate it to the outer temp it would probably give out a better result.
@@Astro_Gyani If the diagonal is missing it's probably an issue with focus distance for visual observing. Do you have a local astronomy club you could take it to and get some input on that issues and the stand?
@@LateNightAstronomy I am situated in New Haven CT. I will check out which clubs are nearest and will probably take it there. I think that is a great idea and would save me a lot of time and frustration. Thanks!
I've always used those terms interchangeably since an eyepiece is a specific type of ocular lens and haven't noticed any confusion before from beginners here. I'll keep your point in mind though for future videos. Thanks for your input and take care!
@@LateNightAstronomy: Certainly. The reason I mention that is because when you get more Advance you start talkin about a lenses and lens elements within the eyepieces and then it can get confusing when you start using the word lamb for a multiple of a number of things. Other than that though there won't be a lot of confusion but it's best to keep the confusion a down. But if you haven't been I'm having any confusion, then that's wonderful.
Hey, I have bought 8 inch Orion Dobsonian telescope, in the package, I got one deep view eyepiece, 1.25 Barlow lens, and 25mm eyepiece. Can you please suggest to me which other eyepieces I should buy to view crisp views of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and other planets.
That is the exact telescope I've owned for 10 years. You made a great choice. I have found that most nights my best views of Jupiter, Mars and Saturn come at 100x and 200x magnification. I would suggest you look to buy around a 12mm eyepiece and a 2x barlow lens. This 12.5mm Orion Edge-On Planetary Eyepiece will give you incredible views of the planets. Match it with a 2x barlow lens and you've just added some great planetary views for your telescope. Let me know if you have any more questions and clear skies!
@@LateNightAstronomy, First of all, Thank you for your guidance, Here we have an option of 6.3mm (190x) N 10 mm(120x) Sirius Plossl and Wanted to know, can we see moons revolving around Jupiter and there shadows on Jupiter with Orion xt8 DOB. If yes, then tell me the eyepiece I need. If possible please provide me any tutorials or video for more interesting things I can learn to explore.
A 6.3mm eyepiece would be a nice magnification for viewing the planets. Yes, at about 200x magnification you will make out the moons of Jupiter, on really clear nights some of the larger ones will even show hints of bring very small spheres and not just pin points of light. At 100 and 200x magnification I have viewed the moon traveling across it's surface and leaving what appears to be a pin point black dot on it from their shadow. Awesome stuff. I have a video coming out next week on how to image Jupiter with a telescope and camera. Feel free to subscribe or come back and check it out. I was able to capture the great red spot on the night i was imaging it.
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks, and I already subscribed to you. Now waiting for your video. And could you please tell, that eyepieces filter for planets is worthy to buy?
just subscribed very helpful video looking at the Orion 10" f/3.9 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector Telescope do you have or know how eyepieces youve mentioned might work with it? thanks Tom
Thanks for the compliment and your support! Of the ones mentioned in this video, I would encourage you to get the 12.5 mm planetary and a 2x barlow. That would give you 80x and 160x magnification with your telescope. Great medium and high options for most nights of observing.
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks heres what it comes with including filters Includes five 1.25" Sirius Plossl Telescope Eyepieces Five Sirius Plossl eyepieces are included to provide a comprehensive variety of viewing magnifications. Plossl eyepieces feature four-element optics that are multi-coated and a pleasantly wide 52° apparent field of view (43° for the 40mm eyepiece).The 40mm focal length eyepiece will show a very wide area of sky in most telescopes. The 17 and 10mm eyepieces provide a moderate viewing power for taking in more detail on target objects. The high magnification 7.5mm and 6.3mm Plossl eyepieces yield very high viewing powers. Shorty 2x Double magnifying power with the included 1.25" 2x Shorty Barlow The included Shorty 2x Barlow doubles the magnifying power of any 1.25" eyepiece used with it, providing an easy way to effectively double the number of magnification options at your disposal. The Shorty's 2x amplifier lens is an achromatic glass doublet that is multi-coated with anti-reflection coatings to ensure excellent light transmission. The machined and anodized aluminum housing is internally baffled to eliminate unwanted reflections and increase contrast, and features filter threads to accept any 1.25" Orion eyepiece filter.. thanks still thinking about the baader planetarium 8-24 but if i need a telescope ill have to save for that later .Thanks again
@@tomthetank924 I've typically stayed away from kits like that and have bought things one accessory at a time but the products included seem to be well reviewed. One problem you might find is that the 6.3mm, 7.5mm and 10mm may not be too comfortable to use due to poor eye relief (how close your eye has to get to the eyepiece to see what you are looking at). That is one benefit of the planetary eyepieces mentioned in my video. But that also is why they cost a good bit more per eyepiece. If that kit works for your budget, I'm sure you will get some great experiences observing with it!
Take your focal length ÷ by focal length of eyepiece, then take the FOV of the eyepieces ÷ by the magnification. For instance if you have a 900mm focal length of your telescope and a 10mm eyepiece 900÷10= 90x magnification. If that 10mm eyepiece has a 50 degree field of view ÷ that by the magnification you came up with. So 50 ÷ 90 = 0.55 AFOV. Actual FOV with a given eyepiece and magnification.
I would look at something like the Orion edge on eyepieces I show in this video. At 1,000mm focal length and a 4.5 inch telescope you are going to max out around 125x magnification on most nights. That would have you buying perhaps a something between the ranges of 14.5mm edge on for medium power views and a 9mm edge on for high magnification views.
I was wondering if any1 cud help me plz in new to stargazing I got myself a 6inch telescope and I got a 25mm plossl eye piece and a 9mm eye piece aswell I was wondering wat the best eye piece to buy for better views of stars .I be greatful for ur help and wat the best eye piece to buy for viewing planets aswell don't get me wrong the 25mm plossl eye piece is gd
@@LateNightAstronomy my telescope is a Meade No-60sm it came wiv two basic eye pieces just says made in china one a 25mm and other 9mm but I did buy a 25mm plossl eye piece I use that most of time I did start wiv a pair of with a pair of binoculars 7.by 50 then after a mth or so I walked past a charity shop and saw telescope forsale hardly being used so I brought it best 50 quid I ever spent I have seen most planets wiv it and Orion nebula. I like looking at stars
@@jasoncox7783 If you have a solid 25 mm plossl eyepiece I would just buy a nice budget friendly 2x barlow lens to go with it. The max magnification on most nights with your telescope will be around 60 to 70x magnification. A 25mm will give you 28x and a 2x barlow on top of the will give you 56x magnification. I've got a video on budget barlows if you have an interest in checking it out.
@@LateNightAstronomy yea I will do .thanks for that information I buy 2x Barlow as I do notice the big difference between my 25 plossl eye piece compare to that cheap 25my eye piece wat came wiv telescope 👍
Hi Michael, at that point, new scope, orion XT10i, super nice bought used. Comes with Orion Sirius Plossl 10mm and 25mm. Was about to order a set, and from reading and recommendations wanted on one hand a zoom piece, and the Celestron Zoom 8-24mm is on sale for $62, which seems decent. I thought pairing with a 3x barlow I would get a full range of 50X all the way up to 450X (realize most highest ones over 90% of the time won't be practical). This is nice except for the FOV, which goes 40 to 60 as you move through the range. On the other hand, I like a set of accesible Svbony eyepieces where you get 6mm 9mm 15mm 20mm redlines, 68 deg AFOV for about $105. these could also use the 3X barlow or a 2X one, and for barlows seeing some Svbonys for about $20, or Celestron Omni for $25-$30. What do you think?
Great scope and great questions. I was using the Celestron Zoom 8-24mm that a friend has at an astronomy outreach even the other night and was impressed by it for the price. The field of view changing is noticeable and that tends to shy me away from using a zoom eyepiece regularly. For long term use, I would encourage you to buy 2 or 3 fixed focal length eyepieces with a 2x barlow. I have not used the svbony eyepiece but have found several of their other products to be of good quality for the price. That set looks to be a nice range for your scope. With the 6mm giving you 200x and the 20mm giving you 60x. See if cloudynights.com has a review of them and let me know know if you have any more quesitons!
What size is your dobsonian? I just grabbed my 8 inch from my parents place. I haven't used it in 7 or 8 years but i lost all my eyepieces so i need to restart my collection.
@@LateNightAstronomy I found my eye pieces! I have a 6.7mm explore scientific and a 25mm celestron x cel lx. The explore scientific has some tiny scratches in the coating. Will that make a massive difference in clarity?
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks man! I bought everyone about 7 years ago. I'm glad I'm getting back into it. I got some nice looks at Jupiter tonight with the 6.7mm. What should i do to reduce glare from Jupiter?
@@JohnDoe-zd6qdWith those eyepieces you are getting 100x at 10mm and 200x at 10mm plus the 2 x barlow attached. Part of the problem is that right now no major planets are visible to see. Mars is moving farther away from us and is much smaller than it was on October and Neptune and Uranus are going to be nothing more than a dim star through most telescopes. Wait until, Jupiter and Saturn come back into view this Spring/Summer and I think you will be more impressed with what your telescope can do with the planets.
Hi Sir, need a information for eyepieces, i have orion xt8 inch Dob telescope. Is explore scientific eyepiece 52° LER 10mm AR 1.25" eyepiece is good to use with my telescope, performance wise ???
Just going off of the specs it should provide some nice medium magnification views at around 120x magnification for your telescope! Let me know how it turns out if you end up getting it.
Hi my friend Thanks and Congrat for all instructions and recommendation! Actually, it's looks like definitive to make my new Eyepiece acquisitions !! I really intent start learning about that using my new Dobsonian F/6 115 mm. Which Lens and camera do you recommend to start my jorney like novice in this area ?
I would suggest you connect a smart phone to the eyepiece of your telescope to take some pictures and videos of the Moon and Planets. Check out this video I made to see if it helps you out. ruclips.net/video/C8EIyocVRJI/видео.html
I have the Orion 130ST but I would like a stronger eye piece to see Saturn a bit better. I currently have the 25mm, 10mm, and the 3.5mm eye pieces. Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks for your question. A solid eyepiece I like to recommend to people who are getting into astronomy is the Celestron 8mm-24mm Zoom eyepeice on amazon.com. My guess is that the 3.5mm eyepiece you have is a really tight view and probably shows Saturn to be pretty blurry. The 8mm focal length of the zoom eyepiece will give you about 80x magnification, which should show off a sharp view of Saturn in your 5 inch telescope.
What would render a better image quality: a 15 mm, good quality, medium power eyepiece attached to a 2X Barlow lens or a 7.5 mm medium quality eyepiece ? I’m in a budget and very interested in planetary observation
A 2x barlow is always a great purchase if you are on a budget. Go that route and check out my video on barlow lenses if you have anymore questions. Any specific brand you are looking at right now?
I have a Jason 408 mercury telescope which included the eyepieces(F-4mm and F22mm) that were included and I'm tired of them. Which are the best eyepieces I need for that telescope?
I would suggest you look at a nice zoom eyepiece such as the Celestron Zoom 8mm-24mm eyepiece. That will give you a range of 30x to 88x magnification. Should provide some nice views of the Moon and Planets for sure!
Hi great video! What eye pieces would you recommend for a celestron CPC 800? My goal is to see great detail on planets and be able to observe clear images of deep sky object. THANKS!
Glad you enjoyed the video. For that telescope I would suggest something like the 9mm Orion Edge On Planetary Eyepiece for planets. That will get you around 225x magnification. For deep sky object go lower power for most and look to get a standard 25 to 32mm plossl eyepiece for deep sky hunting.
i already have a 12.5 mm eyepiece and i found my 1.5x barlow lens this means if i combine a 12.5 mm eyepiece with 1.5x barlow lens then how much will the eyepiece mm be and my parents thought the finderscope was broken because they didn't know how to use a finderscope and a focuser which is important especially the finderscope which we lost
You are getting about 65x magnification with that eyepiece. For something like the 130eq you could push it to probably 150x for solid magnification on a clear night. Perhaps look to get a 2x barlow lens for the eyepieces that came with it. Ones made by Celestron and Orion can be bought for around 40 to 50 dollars. This will expand your magnification for now and could also be used for any eyepiece you may buy down the road.
Hello! Are all these accessories that you presented in the video suitable for the Celestron Nexstar 4SE? At the moment I use the common 25 mm eyepiece.
I'm pretty sure an eyepiece is an ocular lens. I've always heard and used the terms interchangeably when discussing telescope eyepieces. Take care and clear skies!
I don't have any experience using this telescope but reviews for it seem to be positive and I think it is an interesting mixture of using smartphone technology to help you manually point to different objects. If you are brand new to astronomy it could be a nice way to learn the sky. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Hi there I'm not sure if I should get eyepieces or a 2x Barlow lens. I have a celestron travelscope 80 (400mm focal length) and I'd like to see the craters of the moon up real close 3:23 in your video for example. Is that even possible with a telescope such as mine? I have a 20 and 10mm eye piece currently. Any help is appreciated ☺️
Thanks for watching the video! A 200x magnification view is going to be hard to get on most nights with your telescope, but you can still get some great views of the Moon. In fact, most of my lunar observing tends to be between 50x and 100x magnification. I think a short style 2x barlow lens offered by Celestron or Orion would be a good choice for you. They run about 40 dollars and you could use it for any future eyepieces you bought in addition to the 20mm and 10mm that came with your scope. The 2x barlow with your 10mm would get you about 80x magnification.
@@LateNightAstronomy Oh I don't think my one can do 200x zoom, I heard the maximum is double whatever the aperture is in mm, in this instance maximum zoom is 160x. Oh okay yeah those seem good, the only ones I can use are 20x and 40x zoom with my current eyepieces. Yeah I was lucky to find a Celestron 2x Omni Barlow for $37 and as you stated it would give me 80x zoom max. However I also found a Celestron 4mm eye piece for $17 which would yield 100x zoom! I'm wondering as that is cheaper and more powerful should I go with that? I heard eye relief is the only draw back. I dont intend to purchase any more eyepieces in the future, only perhaps solar filters.
@@TheDragonballboy For a 3 inch aperture telescope like yours I would say on most nights you are looking at 100x to 125x magnification being the max to push it. It all depends on the atmosphere and turbulence. That's a good price for a Celestron 4mm. Definitely worth a try at that price.
@@LateNightAstronomy Oh okay yeah 100x and 125x still do sound very impressive coming from a basic 40x haha, oh wow I'll look into atmosphere and turbulence I know light pollution is very bad. Ah wow thank you so very much for your help I think I will settle with the Celestron 4mm eyepiece ☺️
Great video, I’ve screenshot your choices for eyepieces. Instead of jumping off the deep end and buying several eyepieces at once, I will gradually make small purchases here and there . So that way my wife won’t get mad at me! LoL
You are a smart man :)
I've just bought my first dob and I was considering to buy new eyepieces.
This video gave me a starting point. So thanks a lot. :)
I appreciate that. Thanks for the comment!
@@LateNightAstronomy hey what 3x Barlow should I buy for a zoomion 200 EQ? Please leave a link.
@@savtheastroguy I own an Astromania 2x and 3x barlow lenses and have gotten great use out of them. They are available at amazon.com
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks for letting me know
Hey Michael,
Thank you so much for sharing such an awesome video filled with so much useful information.
Everything that you said in that video actually answered most of my questions that I had been searching for quite a long time.
Thank you so much, now I am sure about what I need to view(in terms of magnification) and which EP would suit my needs.
Can't thank you enough.
Subscribed to your channel now :)
I very much appreciate you taking the time to let me know that! This is such a wonderful hobby and I'm glad I could help answer some questions for you about eyepieces and magnification!
@@LateNightAstronomy hey I'm in a big dilemma I don't know what is the best telescope for beginner astrophotography should I get the Celestron NexStar 130 SLT or the 127 SLT one ?
Savjol Kanto What are your goals for astrophotography? Moon, Planets, Deep Sky Objects?
@@LateNightAstronomy Moon,Planets and deep sky observation like Nebulas and hopefully Galaxys
@@LateNightAstronomy what do you think? 127 or 130
Thank you. Just starting out, ordered an Orion Xt8. Comes with a 25mm and a Barlow. Your video helped trying to figure out what eyepieces to add. Subbed. Thinking I need a moon filter as well. Cannot wait!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and found it helpful! Enjoy your new telescope and clear skies!
get your self one of those variable density filters, you can adjust them to tune down the glare. because to me those dark green moon filters rob to much light and clarity!.
@@davidbrandenburg8029 I've got one of those myself and have found them incredibly useful for the Moon and even Venus when it is at it's brightest.
I would suggest a zoom eyepiece. I have a nice 8mm -24mm that I use all the time. You can easily change magnification without switching out eyepieces and also save money by not having to buy so many different eyepiece. Also I can add a 2x Barlow lens to it and cover 4mm - 7mm range.
I couldn't agree more. I reviewed one of those in 2021 and was impressed by how easy and fun it was to use.
I'm glad I read your comment. I was looking to get a few eyepieces, but just went for a svbony sv171 instead. Thanks man 🙏
Modern zoom eyepieces are still looked upon with suspicion by those of us who had been traumatized by what we saw when we looked through the older ones. Not so today! I'm just now getting back into the hobby and my first eyepiece will be a good used zoom 8-24! Honestly if you're a lunar planetary observer or simply don't care about Ulta wide field vistas, and you had a slower scope, you may never need much more. I couldn't believe how the Badder at our observatory was keeping up with some good fixed focus glass! Just imagine a few generations and a 20mm eye relief zoom that has a one hundred degree field across the board and is dead sharp and contrasty to the edge of the FOV! But try not to imagine the initial price tag!
As a new stargazer, this was super helpful. Thank you!
Thanks for your feedback. I'm glad you found it useful.
svbony makes some nice eyepieces for around 20 to 40 dollars first time I used a 25mm svbony super plossl with my 114mm powerseeker, it was such a crisp and clear view of the moon I felt like I was floating in space!.
Good to know. I'll have to look into that for some potential future purchases! Aren't those moments just the best. It's like your looking out the window of a ship flying to it!
OK, I’ll be that guy. It looks to me like eyepieces that come with most consumer telescopes are crap (I haven’t bought a telescope yet, but it seems like most people upgrade eyepieces first.) I believe in the “buy the best you can afford” principle. First, I plan to go to night viewings at my local astronomy club, so I can hopefully try a variety of scopes and eyepieces. I bought a pair of Canon 15x50 IS binoculars (which weren’t cheap) to start learning the night sky, and give me time to look at the options for telescopes/mounts/eyepieces.
I’ll spend the most money on a good mount, as it seems to me the ones the telescopes come with are well on their way to becoming overburdened. It looks like Sky-Watcher has the best consumer grade mounts. For telescopes, one of the 8” Celestron SCTs look like the best mix of ability to me, who doesn’t want to own a bunch of scopes. With this, I’m looking for eyepieces for planets (~9mm), DSO (~24mm), and a 2x Barlow to give me some options.
The thing is, I don’t want to spend less now, when I know I’ll be dissatisfied later and spend more then, and once I buy a more expensive eyepiece, why would I look at these? After all, if you buy these, will you look through the stock eyepieces that came with the scope again? The hard part, when looking through telescopes on the watch parties, will be figuring out what part of the image is from the scope, and what part is due to the eyepiece? Does anyone have a method that won’t burden people who are willing to let me look through their scopes. I guess I’ll talk to them about it, as it seems like everyone loves to talk about the tools of the trade.
Thanks for your video!
I really appreciate you writing such a detailed and well thought out comment on this subject. The only eyepiece I used regularly that came with my 8 inch dobsonian was the 25mm plossl. After a decade of using the eyepieces shown in this video with my 8 inch dobsonian telescope I have just upgraded to more "premium" eyepieces for a new 12 inch dobsonian I bought last year. I made both of these upgrades because I knew this was a long term hobby for me. Also my new scope is an F/4.9 which puts more pressure on needing well corrected eyepieces to get a nice sharp image. I'll be making review videos on the new telescope and my eyepiece choices in the coming months. My new telescope is a 12 inch Sky-Watcher 300p and the eyepieces are the APM 30mm UFF and from Tele Vue their 24mm Panoptic, 14mm, 10mm and 6mm Delos line. All perform incredibly well but were much bigger purchases that what is shown in this beginner video for those just getting into the hobby and are looking to dip their toes into new eyepieces.
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks for your response! I’m 63 and know that I’ll enjoy astronomy. I also have enough to buy what I’ll eventually want. Finally, my eyesight won’t improve with age, so I want to enjoy it for as long as I’m able. Thanks for contributing your experience for us noobs to learn this fascinating subject!
@@skeller61 Best of luck to you and clear skies!
@@skeller61 Jesus loves you thanks for advice!
Hello Good evening what eyepiece or combo would you recommend for a celestron nextar 130 slt to get some good views of Jupiter. Thank you in advance.
The sweet spot for that telescope is going to be around 100x magnigication for the planets. I would recommend a nice 6mm eyepeice which would give you around 110x magnification. The Celestron 93317 Omni Series 1.25" (6mm) Eyepiece or the 6mm Orion Expanse Telescope Eyepiece look to be a popular eyepieces on amazon.com. The Expanse Eyepeice would be a more comfortable view with it provided a wider field of view, but that also comes at a bit of a higher price. Thanks for your question and let me know if I can help you with anything else!
Late Night Astronomy thank you so much for your reply you are awesome. What about for like nebulas or deep space should I consider a Barlow lens or just stick to the 6mm. I will definitely get that 6mm one
@@optimumbreaker For Nebulas and Deep Space objects you will typically want lower magnifications depending on the target. I tend to view most deep sky objects with my 8inch telescope between 48 and 100x magnification.
You probably won’t see this but what eyepieces would you recommend for a Orion space probe 130 st
That's a nice looking telescope you've got! If you are new to astronomy I would recommend the Orion 7-21mm Zoom eyepiece. That will give you between 31x and 93x magnification. A great range for bright galaxies, the Moon and some up close views of Jupiter and Saturn later this year.
I normally capture all my moon pictures with my camera . I have not much knowledge about telescope..
i recommend plossl & super plossl on my channel for the beginner's which are very good eps. the only reason to get better if you want larger field of view (FOV) but as you say wait at least a year or longer. A super plossl may be all that a lot people need. cheers
Great points all around! Clear Skies!!!
Thank you for the helpful video. I’m very new to all this as well. Helpful stuff! I’ve been confused by the different eyepieces - thinking higher mm = better, deeper views. I just bought a 8” Dob 8txi and supplemented by buying a 2x Barlow. The telescope came with 25mm and 10mm lenses. I was surprised my tiny 10mm gave me deeper views of the moon. Can you summarize the trade off between the 25mm and 10mm again? What does the 25mm offer that the 10mm doesn’t? Wider views?
Great questions. First of all, I own the XT8i and it is an excellent telescope that I've enjoyed for over 10 years. Your telescope has a 1,200mm focal length meaning that a 25mm eyepiece will provide you with 48x magnification. 1,200/25=48x magnification (wider views as you said). This will be good for deep sky objects and the moon. Basically things when you want to see a larger part of the sky. Your 10mm eyepiece will give you 120x magnification. 1,200/10=120x magnification. This will be good for zoomed in views of the planets or close up features on the moon's surface. You were smart to buy a 2x barlow. That will double the focal length for everything you own. Meaning you now have a telescope that can see at 48x, 96x, 120x and 240x magnification. 240x is as high as I would go on most nights with the telescope you and I own. My best views of the moon and planets fall within the 100x to 200x magnifications.
Late Night Astronomy Thank for the awesome reply. I welcome all of the possible advice. Very helpful. For some reason I couldn’t get a crisp view of Saturn and Jupiter last night after adding the Barlow. Without it the images were smaller but crisper. Is this normal?
Yes that is normal. A lot of it depends on how steady the atmosphere is for that evening. On some nights 100x is my limit. On others that are very clear and steady I can easily get sharp views at 200x.
What will be a good eyepiece for celestron nexstar 8se for deep sky objects?
What eyepieces came with the telescope and do you currently own a barlow lens?
@@LateNightAstronomy I got a single 25mm fully coated lens and I do own a barlow lens, would that be good?
@@akshayakshayv5559 That's actually a really nice combination to start with because you will be getting magnifications of 81x and 160x (x2 Barlow) magnifications with your telescope. 70 to 80 times magnification is about as low as you can go with that telescope so you are starting out with a great eyepiece for deep sky observing.
@@LateNightAstronomy Ok thank you so much
Very good my friends
Thank you very much
This video was so helpful. I bought the Skywatcher Ocular Super MA 10mm and 25mm used for 11$ each. This way I can convince my wife and kinds that admiring stars and planets is not that expensive. Awesome graphics with explaining magnification - really helped.
I appreciate you saying that and am glad you found the video helpful. Take care and stop back by for any questions you may have!
The 10mm is really bad and you should be thinking about replacing it ASAP
@@Astronurd It's "really bad" telling someone to upgrade eyepieces when you don't even know what the telescope is.
Don't even play around shopping for eyepieces, just get Aperturas from High Point Scientific. You get impressive quality 52 degree plossls in the $30-$40 range. I bought a 9, 15, 20, 25, 32 and 40mm for my first set and could not be more satisfied. They blow the kit eyepieces away, not even the same league.
Great advice. Thanks for your comment. What types of things do you enjoy observing with your telescope?
Still going to buy a telescope looking at the Skywatcher 8" Dobsonian. Do these eye pieces work on all types of different scopes ??
Yes, these eyepieces will work very well for that telescope because it is very similar to the one I use in this video for the demonstrations. When you buy the telescope, please consider using my affiliate link for highpoint scientific in the description of this video. They are a great company to work with and I also earn a small commission as well! Take care and let me know of any other questions you may have.
Hi, I ordered my first reflector, Skywatcher Skymax 127...I wear eyeglasses and can you recommend a lens in the 25mm-35mm range that will accommodate me. Thanks.
Congratulations on your new purchase! If you wear glasses, I would recommend you look for a lens that has around 20mm of eye relief. The Orion Sirius 32mm has around 20mm of eye relief and costs around 40 dollars. My guess is that telescope will already comes with a 25mm eyepiece.
Mr. Martin, that was very informative. There are so many alternatives on all aspects of a telescope, it gets very confusing.
I appreciate that! I hope to have some new videos coming out in the next few months covering some new eyepieces I've bought over the past year.
Hi, I just started stargazing! I have a Celestron StarSense explorer 130mm, it came with the 25mm and the 10mm. I really want to see planets closer, which eyepieces would you reccomend and where can I get them? Thanks!!
I would say your best bet is to stick with what you have for now and buy a nice 2x barlow lens for 30 or 40 dollars. After that you could look to upgrade to more premium eyepiece like the ones mentioned in my video. The 5mm Orion Planetary eyepiece would give you about 130x magnification. That should show some nice detail of the planets while still keeping a sharp view through your telesocope on most nights.
@@LateNightAstronomy When you say "nice" what do you mean?
@@brianw1697 The cloud belts of Jupiter, land features on Mars while it is near opposition, the rings of Saturn and the Cassini division. All of these will be possible when the sky is clear and steady at about 130x magnification.
I'm a bit late here but I've got the same scope with the same eyepieces. Thinking about also starting with just a Barlow lens. Wondering what you did end up trying?
Thanks for the video...great info. I recently bought my first telescope after using binoculars... I purchased a Apetura AD12 Dobsonian which came with a 30mm and a 9mm eyepiece, what else would you recommend for optimal and or even great viewing of planets? New sub...
You've got a solid telescope there. I would suggest you get yourself a solid 2x barlow lens (Check out my video on that) and possible a 12.5mm Orion Planetary Eyepiece. That combination along with what came with your telescope should provide some nice views of the planets.
I did the same start off wiv pair binoculars 7x10 then 1 day I saw telescope forsale in charity shop 50quid only a beginners one like brand new best 50 quid I spent in long time I love going out stargazing wiv it princless meade ng-60sm
I am trying to build a telescope to view the upcoming C/2022 E3 ZTF comet. I am using a 50mm achromat doublet objective lens (700 mm focal length) and an 8 mm eyepiece. Is it possible to view the comet, as the aperture is just 50 mm? Also, would I be able to capture a shot with an android with 100x optical zoom?
Yes. If the comet reaches the brightness expected it may even be visible to the naked eye a a dim object in the sky under dark skies. this sounds really exciting. Keep me updated on how you telescope and observations go.
keep in mind that the image circle may be too large deppending on the focal ratio of the scope and the eyepiece focal length. There are online calculators for finding out how big the circle will be and if its bigger than about 7-8mm, you start to loose some of the light since your pupil when fully adjusted to the dark is about 7-8mm wide. Above a certain point, going with a longar focal length eyepiece in order to produce a brighter image is pointless
Good points all around!
Does using a 18mm with 3x barlow will have bigger Fov and brighter image than using 6mm eyepiece without barlow? in that case both of them will have the same magnification.
I found an Infinity model 114 E Q, 114mm telescope with a broken tripod in the trash and it was just too cool to throw it away. I took time and repaired the tripod and re-assembled the telescope and started watching videos to learn more about the exciting prospect of looking at the stars and our moon.Long story short there wasn't an eye piece with the scope and I was wondering if you could tell me the best budget one for a beginner.I really would appreciate it.
Nice find and cool story. If it has a 900mm focal length I would say a 24/25mm plossel would be a good starting point. From there a 15mm/16mm eyepiece and finally probably a 8/9mm eyepiece would cover most of your basis.
Best eye pieces for the Orion StarBlast II 4.5 Equatorial Reflector Telescope.
One for viewing planets
And one that you think would be good?
Was also looking at the Zoom eye pieces. Any opinions on those would be great also.
Thank You!
I would recommend the Celestron 8-24mm zoom eyepiece and a 2x barlow for pumping up the magnification on clear nights for the planets. an 8mm on your scope will give you 56x magnification and the 2x barlow would push it up to 112x. A Good medium and high magnification for that telescope.
Hi Michael, Firstly thank you for sharing the information. I have got my first telescope Celestron Powerseeker 127eq. I love watching the moon and I have bought a moon filter for a better experience. The filter cannot fit on the eyepiece that came along with my telescope. Could you suggest any other alternative eyepieces for moon and planet viewing? I am really excited about it. Thank you.
Thanks for the comment! I think a good starting point for you could be the Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Telescope Eyepiece. That will give you between 42x and 125x magnification which should work well for your telescope on the Moon and Planets in particular. You can pick it up over at amazon.com for around 60 dollars. If you are looking to save money or don't care for zoom eyepieces you could look to get the Celestron 9mm Omni Series Telescope Eyepiece. It runs around 25 dollars and would give you 111x magnification. Let me know what you end up going with!
Late Night Astronomy I have the same telescope and I was just looking at Saturn & Jupiter with a 20mm eyepiece what’s a good lens for planet viewing? I have a 3x Barlow also that I just got
@@Clippnet For that size telescope a lens that would give you around 100 to 125x magnification would be nice for the planets. A nice 8mm or 10mm eyepiece would work well.
I have a telescope Astroscan® Millennium Dobsonian Reflector Portable. Objective-114mm.Focal Length-450mm..Price 200$..Are the 32mm -25$ and 4mm-12$ eyepiece is good idea to buy? With the telescope i have 10mm and 17mm and not seeing much.
Thank you!
I actually think a good purchase for you would be to get a 2x barlow lens for around 30 or 40 dollars on amazon.com (I own the Astromania 2x barlow lens). This will double the magnification you already have with the provided eyepieces. What types of things do you like viewing with your telescope?
@@LateNightAstronomy I would really like to view a deep sky objects and galaxies such as Orion Nebula,Sombrero,Pinwheel,Andromeda.
Thank you very much for the good advice on 2x barlow lens i will buy the same one as you own..Also have an a question what about 3x or 5x barlow lenses are they worth it to buy or for now just stay with 2x?
Thank you very much for that informative video!! //KD
I really appreciate that!
Your videos are extremely helpful and easy to understand. I just got the Orion XT6. I wanna buy an eyepiece over 25 mm, and I read that for my 6 in telescope 40 mm would be too much. Can you or somebody from the comments here advise ?? Thank you so much!
Thanks for your comment and good question. Lowest useful magnification is good to know for telescopes. Most resources I've found will tell you to calculate the lowest useful magnification by taking your aperture in inches and multiplying it by 4x. That puts your lowest useful magnification around 24x magnification. Based on that, I would recommend you look to get a 1.25 or two inch eyepiece somewhere between 34mm to 38mm. Let me know if you have anymore questions and clear skies!
I actually have a 17mm Kellner that came with my Zhumell100mm that is great for the Moon with a light Moon filter in my C6-N 152mm scope. Clear view to the edges. I use a 32mm Zvbony for finding objects and then switch to a 15mm Super Plossl Star Guide for viewing deep space objects or DSO. Same 15 works well with my 100 Zhumell as does my 6mm ultra wide view, but the 6mm doesn't work as well for my 6 inch scope for some reason (probably bcuz it's cheap), but my used Baader 9mm works great in it even with a Barlow at 166x. The 6mm doubled up to 3mm at 250x isn't a good enough lens to give a clear picture.
I have 4 eyepieces, but if I hadn't found that 9mm Baader at a garage sale for $35 I'd only have three. Keep in mind I have a nice Celestron Barlow that the bottom lens unscrews from it and screws directly onto the EPs thus giving me 1.5x magnification so my 9mm @ 83x becomes 125x. So I literally have 4+4+4 EPs after being boosted by 1.5x and 2x. The Barlow isn't used for everything as the Zhumell100mm or 4 inch doesn't give good views at 166x in its 400mm focal length or F4. It either isn't capable or it needs better eyepieces. I can borrow an expensive lens from my astronomy club and see before I buy and find out my scope isn't good enough. I have Bortle 2-3 skies 20 miles to the West of me and if I go up into the mountains where it is Bortle 1 and it is cool, 200x magnification works without shimmering unless it is very windy. Being above 6,000 feet is also helpful.
What a wonderful comment! Thanks so much for sharing all of the info with anyone! Best of luck to you on your observations! Clear Skies!
In a C14 with a 70 DeGrees eyepiece you need a 120X MAG to get a full Moon fil up the image.
Wow!
So my telescope box kinda doesnt make sense to me could someone explain? Its says "70mm aperture travel scope 400mm az mount" is it saying the telescope is 70mm and the bipod is 400 or am i wrong?
My best guess is that it is saying your aperture is 70mm and your focal length is 400mm.
Thank you for the information, nice video. I have a question, for a 127mm GoTo maksutov cassegrain, 1.25” with focal length 1500mm, f12 what eyepieces could you recommend me?
Nice telescope! Is it the Orion cassegrain? If you are looking for your first eyepiece to add beyond what came with it I would recommend a zoom eyepiece like the Celestron 8-24 or Orion 7-21. Each will provide a nice level of medium and high magnification for your telescope, particularly nice for the Moon and planets. Mars is putting on quite a show right now! If you are looking to just by single eyepiece to slowly start a selection, I would suggest something like the 14.5mm Orion Planetary Edge On. These are basically the exact same eyepieces I show off in the video. That specific eyepiece would give you around 100x magnification in your scope which is probably going to be the sweet spot for observing the moon and planets on most nights with how the atmosphere and wind can be. On nights when the sky is crystal clear and steady you could buy a 2x barlow lens (like Orion's Shorty Barlow) and that would double that eyepiece to 200x. Let me know if I can help you with anything else!
The thing with Eyepieces for Scopes , is the same as for Binoculars , the design of it should reflect your Eye pupil , so if one has 6mm Eye Pupil , and say 70mm Aperture scope , then the eyepieces should be 12mm , so if scope is say 400mm focal length that makes the magnification power 36x , Then that Scope is perfect for you . Nothing can make it better
But ppl are swayed with marketing and they buy stuff randomly , what happens then is that those EPs once tried end up not used , becouse if they are not within this range then usability suffers , and that leads to rare use of EP .
At least that is the case for me .
Pavle Pavlovic Good point on how unique it can be for each individual person depending on our equipment and eyes. Thanks for sharing!
And the view is only as good as the atmospheric conditions will permit no matter how premium the product being used. tis the bane of all astronomers, hence Hubble.
Exactly!
I've been stressing out about buying a $35 Svbony part lol. That or go with a zoom for a bit more. I just don't want to feel like I'm looking through a straw or struggle to view things in it.
I have a small 90mm Meade infinity and I want to make the most of what it can offer.
Yeah, those are all reasonable things to consider. I would go ahead and get the Celestron or Orion zoom lens. Should work well for you know and also would later if you ever upgraded your telescope.
Lenses is not the preferred nomenclature, asian American, please
I appreciate your comment! An eyepiece can also be referred to as an ocular lens which is why I used both terms in this video. Thanks and clear skies!
I have a 400$ telescope, looking mostly at planet, but trying some deepsky
Excellent! Come back and let me know how things go for you. I was out last night doing some observing of Jupiter and Saturn.
Hey Mike happy new year lately I’ve been checking out the Orion nebula which is really cool I’m trying to find M31 Andromeda I was lucky enough to see the conjunction one night which was on my birthday so that was quite a birthday present Hope all is well you look forward to hearing from you Rob
That's about as nice of a Birthday present as we can ask for in astronomy! I'm heading out tonight on a clear (but very cold) night to view Orion. Nothing compares to study the core of that thing! Thanks for your observing report and stay in touch!
Thanks. Great practical advice for a couple of newbies from Down Under... Could be the right way up for us :P
I'm glad to hear that! let me know if you have any questions about potential telescopes or eyepieces! Clear Skies to you all!
Thanks for the video, really helpful for people new to this hobby. Found some extra useful info in your replies to other people's comments. Clear skies!
Thanks for taking the time to tell me that! Take care and let me know if you every have any questions.
What do you recommend for a beginner who is looking for the best eyepiece to view planets on an XT8G? thank you
I would reccomend a good zoom eyepiece to start off your collection. Orion and Celsteron offer a nice one. If you are looking for something more "premium" you could get the Orion Planetary Edge On Eyepieces recommended in this video. If you are into planetary viewing, would suggest the 6mm.
@@LateNightAstronomy thank you.. what are your thoughts on the Celestron 8mm-24mm eyepiece ? instead of buying multiple eyepieces?
@@LeeeB0 That is one of the most popular ones out there. I've never owned it but some friends of mine in my local astronomy club have spoken highly of it.
bought zhumell z8 dob came with 2 inch 32 mm eyepiece and a 9 mm both plossl 9 is good view but 32 will notgive clear view scope is collumted perfect moon will almost focus but planet look like headlights with watering eyes new to the hobby can any one tell me what im missing
That's a nice scope. I particularly like the roller bearing system for rotating and moving it to different objects. Sometimes an eyepiece won't line up with the focus point of the mirrors. I would suggest that instead of putting the eyepiece all the way in, put it about half way down into the scope and then tighten the bolts. That extra distance from the eyepiece to the secondary mirror may solve your focus problem. Let me know if not and we can trouble shoot some more!
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks for quick reply sorry for my slow 1 computer given me hell that worked what a differance been using 9mm plossl with 5 x barlow talk about no field of view thank you so much J.Knight
Hello, you use a 6mm eyepiece on your 8" orion Dobsonian? I have the same one. XT8I.
It has been one of my most used eyepieces for that telescope!
What about zoom eyepieces, do u have experience with them, would you recommend them?
I do not have any experience with a zoom eyepiece but the Celestron 8mm-24mm Zoom eyepiece on amazon is a popular choice that a lot of people get goo use out of. Do you currently own a telescope?
@@LateNightAstronomy Not yet, im a bit worried about the sharpness and FOV of a zoom eyepiece
@@jessett7827 That can be a problem with those types of eyepieces depending on the telescope you are using them with.
Great video mate. The heavens indeed declare the glory of Yahweh !
Amen, and thanks for you comment!
Thanks for the video. I have a quick question, we bought our son a starter telescope, Celestron 70mm Travelscope, if he wanted to see more planetary surface detail are there any lenses you would recommend? Or is it best to look at a better telescope? Thanks.
I would say that depends on the age or your son and how long he has been into amateur astronomy. If you don't mind sharing those details it would help me to guide you towards an answer to your question. The 70mm scope is going to provide nice views of the Moon but may be difficult for high magnification views of Jupiter and Saturn for example. A nice starter eyepiece is the Celestron 8mm-24mm Zoom Eyepeice but the maximum magnification that would give you for the 70mm scope is about 50x magnification.
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks, he's 10 and been interested in astronomy for over a year, we have now ordered a Celestron 114az explorascope btw
@@chrislazo817 Thanks for the information. The spotter scope you have and the scope you have just ordered are a nice way to get into the hobby for views of the Moon and Planets. In fact, I grew up with a 114mm telescope and got many years of use out of it. The zoom eyepiece I mentioned earlier would work well for the 114az in particular. It's neat being able see the difference in zoom from setting to setting. Hope this helps and let me know if you have anymore questions!
@@LateNightAstronomy many thanks!
@@LateNightAstronomy 50x magnification is the max for a 70mm? Where do you get your information from. A good 70mm refractor can easily do 150× in good seeing conditions. Sometimes more in exceptional circumstances. The rough guide is 50x per inch in aperture. A 70mm is equal to 2.75". This isn't a hard and fast rule as seeing conditions and quality of optics do play a part as well. But even a simple beginner scope from Celestron in the 70mm range can easily go above 50x. I have been into amateur astronomy for years owning many telescopes from 50mm to 12" Newtonians and speaking from experience.
Hi Michael, great video it helps to make things more clear. I have one old meade etx 90, D=90mm F=1250mm f/13.8. WHat is the max magnification do you recommend for this scope? BR
Thanks for your comment! The highest useful magnification will be impacted by with the size of your telescope and the quality of the sky the night you are observing. Given those factors, your scope on most normal nights will probably get nice high magnification views at around 100x. On nights that are crystal clear with no wind, I bet you could push that up to 150x for the moon and planets with nice results.
@@LateNightAstronomy Hi, thanks for your reply, it really helps. For amateurs like me i really recommend this website astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ .
didnt tell us much ? what are plossls, field of view, eye relief etc etc..not a great video TBH
Thanks for your feedback. I considered this to be an entry level video for those just getting into astronomy. Everything you mentioned are good topics to cover but can get very technical. Do you own a telescope and enjoy observing anything in particular?
Remember folks, budget oculars are only a good option for average optics only.
If you have awesome optics then.....buy awesome eyepieces !!
That's a good point. I'm sure when I move up to a larger telescope with more premium options I will have to do some updating to my eyepiece collection.
@@LateNightAstronomy Quality requirement for eyepieces isn't about telescope's aperture, it's about focal ratio.
Long focal ratios like especially f/10+ are easy for eyepieces, while f/6 starts demanding good quality for eyepiece to be sharp to edges.
Again f/5 has quite high demands and f/4 would be extremely demanding.
But when choosing right ones good quality eyepieces for f/5 telescope can be gotten for far below premium prices.
I've seen some for more than 700 dollars
I've never purchased any at that price but I'm sure the quality is amazing. $110 has been my biggest eyepiece purchase so far! What types do you own?
@@LateNightAstronomy basically some svbony and meades
I have a celestron 76 AZ and the eyepieces I baught for it are to small, us there an adapter I can use or do I have to buy new eyepieces?
Which eyepieces did you buy for it? They may have been 0.965 in. eyepieces and your scope only takes 1.25 in.
In terms of an 80mm 1.25 Telescope (What I have) Use a 40mm or 56mm they are amazing!
Good advice. What do you enjoy observing?
@@LateNightAstronomy Mainly I like to observe the moon and Mars I like to study them an draw illustrations of what I see
@@LateNightAstronomy I also have a question, I’ve been using a refractor scope for about a year now and I’m looking for a good telescope that is under $500 What would you recommend?
@@glitchs3an707 That's a wonderful way to document your observations. I do not have the artistic skill to do that.
@@glitchs3an707 I would recommend a 6 or 8 inch dobsonian telescope. Take a look at what they have over at telescopesplus.com, telescope.com and skywatcher.com. Get back to me with any questions on a specific scope.
Shout out to everyone with fast as shit refectors who need to break the bank for eyepieces..
That's a very good point. My telescope at F/6 is much more forgiving than one at F/4 for example. What telescope do you own?
So, I am new to telescopes since August 2022. I purchased a Celestron Nexstar 8se. I have added a few eye pieces. My question, is there a 38mm in a 1.25, or do they all come in 2"? Thank you
Those normally come in 2 inch varieties. Does the 8se accept 2 inch eyepieces?
@@LateNightAstronomy Yes, but you need to 2" zenith mirror to attach
Excellent video and great breakdown of how these eyepieces perform with your telescope. Thanks!!
I appreciate you saying that! Have you been out to observe anything lately?
@@LateNightAstronomy Last weekend the Orion Nebula and Sirius. I'm trying to spot Sirius B. No luck yet. If skies are clear this weekend I'll try again with my 12 inch Dob.
@@kendemers8821 Good luck with that!
Hi. does using a 18mm with 3x barlow will have bigger Fov and brighter image than using 6mm eyepiece without barlow? In that case both of them will have the same magnification.thanks
Good question. Depending on the quality and design of the barlow lens it can be a benefit for eye relief and comfort of viewing. A Sold 2x or 3x barlow lens is always a great addition to an eyepiece line up.
Image brightness (on same telescope) depends only on magnification.
FOV depends on A(pparent)FOV of the eyepieces in guestion and for same AFOV eyepieces is same, no matter if that magnification is gotten by shorter eyepiece focal length or Barlow.
(TFOV = AFOV / Magnification)
But for cheap eyepiece designs like Plossl or Orthoscopic (or worser Kellner) 18mm one has lot better eye relief than 6mm one making Barlowed approach far more comfortable.
I'm reaaaally bad at maths. It's worse than Chinese for me, I've always struggled since I know Maths exist.
But I'm fascinated by space and I could have cried the first time I saw Venus.
Anyway I have an Orion Equatorial Reflector Telescope 130ST EQ, provided with two Orion Sirius Plössl: one is 25mm and the other 10mm (I use that one a lot).
I'd love to have even further... zoom ? But all I can find on the internet are tutorials on how to calculate to find the correct one. Descriptions are a mystery to me.
Logically I'd say that because my 10mm provides a better zoom than the 25mm, a 6mm would zoom even more right ? I don't really care about having a wider field view as all I want is: more details.
What should I buy ?
You are correct that a 6mm will provide more zoom than a 25mm. One thing to figure out is what the highest useful magnification is for your telescope. For your size telescope on most typical observing nights, I would recommend not going much higher that 125x magnification. To achieve that magnification the easiest thing would be to buy a 2x barlow lens that would give your 10mm eyepiece a new magnification of 126x. That will probably be the sweet spot for your telescope and should provide some nice views of Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. Here is the 2x barlow I own and have gotten good use out of. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0140UACM6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Hello Nesterou, the rule is kind of this, the diameter of telescope in inches times 60, that gives you its limits, ex for a 6" telescope its limits would be 360x but that is in theory. In practice is less, how much? Depends your kind of telescope, conditions etc. To calculate the limits with the eyepiece... take the focal distance of your telescope...there should be a little plate on your telescope that shows it. So divide that focal distance with the fd of the eyepiece...and you get the "power x" remember do not go over the limits of your scope.
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks so much for your answer! I'll try this one as soon as I can order it. I can't wait to see this.
@@evastronomy8048 it says Diameter 130mm - F.L 60mm - f/5
Goodness you speak in inches, that doesn't help 💀😁
@@Nesterou Hello, you have a nice telescope, you can push it to its limits with a 5mm eyepiece and a 2x barlow lens, and is good for moon and planets. If you get serious about visual and astrophotography, I'd recommend you to get a EQ goto mount and keep the scope, with it, is enough for deep sky objects like nebulas and open clusters. Clear Skies...!!!
The used market is a great way to upgrade your eyepieces without splashing out on brand new stock. Eyepieces that are well cared for will last for years and serious visual astronomers are always looking to increase the quality of their eyepieces, leaving their old stock available to bump up the quality for the rest of us.
That's a great point. What eyepieces do you have in your collection?
@@LateNightAstronomy Only mid grade Celestron at the moment - like many visual astronomers, I realized I can get MUCH better views by switching to astrophotography and I've only just started down that route. Why spend $1,000 for a televue eyepiece when a used DSLR body for $200 can provide better views?
@@junglejim7664 That's a great point. What we can do now with deep sky imaging is incredible. I've been focused more on imaging the planets the past few months but will be switching back to deep sky imaging in the next few months with my tracking mount and DSLR.
whats the difference between getting a bunch of these or just a zoom and barlow?
Good question. The main difference will be optical quality. If you have an expensive telescope with premium optics you may not want to use a zoom eyepiece because it tends to not have quite as sharp of a view due to the design of the lens. If you have a budget telescope however, a zoom lens can be a great way to get many magnifications out of it for a good price. I personally own a 2x barlow lens for observing but have not owned a zoom lens for my telescope. Although I have read that the 8mm-24mm zoom eyepiece made by Celestron is a good bargain.
@@LateNightAstronomy thank you that helps alot
With the 25 mm can you still see Jupiter fine
It depends on the specific telescope you have. With my inch dobsonian the 25mm provides around 48x magnification which will reveal the moons and cloud belts. Do you currently own a telescope?
Hi very helpful !! I have a Celestron C70 and just wanted to watch the planets, what would be in your opinion the best eyepiece option thank you very much for your help.
Thanks, Henry! I would recommend trying a 9mm and 12.5mm eyepiece. This will give you 83x and 60x magnification for the 750mm scope that you have. Those are pretty reasonable high and medium magnifications for the size of your C70. Telescopesplus.com has some pretty good prices on the Celestron Omni Series eyepieces that are well reviewed. Thanks for the question and let me know if I can help with anything else!
Late Night Astronomy I have a Zhumell z114, I have a 20mm Kellner. I really want to see Mars during opposition. What should I buy?
Hello~ I m from Macau. Thanks your video n it just a really good guideline for me.
I would to ask- I hv the LCM90, and would like to upgrade my eyepiece. any suggestions of the eyepiece Len size if I want to observe the moon. Thinking to buy the 2.3mm. (In my view, this is the strongest and the closest to see the moon) However, I don’t see ppl here were talking about 2.3mm. Or should I buy the 7mm or other size of Len is the best? Thank you !
The most I would push your telescope is to around 100x magnification on most nights. I would recommend to you look to get a 6mm or 7mm eyepiece. Perhaps one like the planetary series that is mentioned in this video.
@@LateNightAstronomy got it~ thanks
But what s the reason why not 2.3mm? Coz they don’t come with a good magnification ? thanks 🙏🏻
@@kwhoung A 2.3mm eyepiece will give you too much magnification for your telescope.
Great content!
Thank you so much!
Help, the 20mm eyepiece I got with my telescope is broken, I can't look through the centre of it, there's a segment that I have to look through at a specific angle, it's pain to photograph with it
I bought the StarSense explorer lt and I’m trying to find a further zooming eye piece extender. Any recommendations?
I reviewed a zoom eyepiece put out by SVBONY a few months ago and found it to be a nice product. Go take a look at that video and see if it is something that may interest you!
@@LateNightAstronomy thank you so much. I got my telescope the other day and I was looking at Jupiter and it’s moons but it was really small so I was looking for a new lense thx
Hi, which Barlow make and model would you recommend for a beginner? I don't want to break a bank but I think Barlow will help me with greater eye relief and I can use it with a lower magnification eyepiece. Is my understanding correct here?
I’ve got a video coming out on that in June, but I’ll give you a sneak peak at my answer. I have really enjoyed the Astromania 2x barlow lens sold on amazon.com and have read good things about svbony’s 2x barlow as well.
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks a lot! I look forward to that. Thanks for recommending astromania as well.
Hello, there are a few options for the astromania 2x barlow on amazon.com, which one would you recommend with xt8i? The options I see are:
Astromania 2" 2.5X Barlow Lens - Allows The use of Both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces
Astromania 1.25" 3-Elements 2X TeleXtender Premium Barlow Lens - apochromatic Barlow Lens Giving an Excellent Image
Astromania 1.25" 3-Elements 2X Barlow Lens Fully Multi-Coated Optics
Appreciate the help! Thank you.
@@xrvgamers1189 I would go with something as simple as the "SVBONY 2X Barlow Lens 1.25 inch" over on amazon.com for less than 20 dollars. It is probably the same Astromania Barlow I have just made by a different company.
@@LateNightAstronomy thank you so much :-)!
My telescope has 900mm focal length, and I want to use it to see the planets in detail like your images, and also deep sky like Orion nebula.. I'm wanting to maybe get like 2 eyepieces, and a 2x barlow to go with it, any suggestions for that kinda viewing? Thanks in advance!
TMB planetary eyepieces are a good value, a 6mm used with a 2x Barlow will provide your scope with 300x of magnification, which is often the most that sky conditions will allow. If you only get one other eyepiece, I'd suggest a focal length anywhere from 15mm up to 26mm. You want at least one low power/wide field one, for either scanning & star hopping or for wide views of large objects like galaxies, nebulae, & star clusters, and one high power eyepiece to crank up the magnification on objects like the moon & planets. Let's face it, selecting 2 or 3 eyepieces from the hundreds sold can initially be a nightmare. Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for, and also remember that you can keep your new eyepieces forever & use them on your future scopes.
What specific telescope do you own?
Good advice! I will have to take a look at the TMB brand!
@@LateNightAstronomy Celestron 114EQ Powerseeker.
@@randolphpatterson5061 Thank you!
Is it worth it to upgrade to 2” eyepieces if your scope allows it?
I just got a 120 mm refractor with stock 1.25 eyepieces
Good question! What is the focal length of your telescope?
@@LateNightAstronomy
600
@@knightclan4 For a telescope with a 600mm focal length I would say the best bet for you with low powered wide field viewing would be around a 25mm 1.25 inch eyepiece. What eyepiece came with the telescope and what specific brand/model is it?
@@LateNightAstronomy
Thanks for sharing your knowledge
That refractor I ordered was put on back order until the apocalypse, so I ended up getting a 10” dobsonian.
It should be here soon.
I’ll take your advice and wait a couple of weeks to upgrade.
I can’t wait to see things closer than my cheap binoculars.
@@knightclan4 A 10 inch dobsonian is a very nice purchase! Clear Skies and let me know how your first light with it goes!
Thank you yess helpfully
Happy to help
Have you tried any SVBony eyepieces and if so how do the compare to Orion?
I've only used the Svbony zoom eyepiece which I made a review of a few months ago. Good quality eyepiece for the price.
@@LateNightAstronomy found it thanks! On a side note we have the Celestron zoom 8 to 24mm. Very nice eyepiece.
Many thanks for the tips! I didn't wanted to buy expensives eyepieces, but I still didn't really knew what to get next as eyepieces upgrade. So this video helps a lot!
I appreciate that! Thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback and stop back by if you ever have any questions!
Are any of these compatible with the nextar 130 slt?
I’m mostly interested in looking at planets, a little bit of the moon. But yeah, I mostly look for planets.
@@mgjonbalaj3605 Yes, they would be. I would suggest you get an eyepiece for the planets that gets you to around 100x magnification for your telescope. That would have you buying something around a 6mm eyepiece. Or better yet, buy a 12mm and a 2x barlow lens. Then you have a good medium and high power.
Is it better to use 2inch eye pieces or 1.25" eye pieces please? My telescope comes with adapters for both! 🤷🏼♀️
I own both types of eyepiece but use the 1.25 inch much more often. What telescope do you own?
@@LateNightAstronomy I have an 8" Skywatcher 200p classic dob
@@FabricFolk That's a nice scope. I tend to prefer 1.25inch eyepieces due to their weight. My most used eyepiece in an 8 inch dobsonian like yours is a 12.5 mm planetary eyepiece with nice eye relief. I believe it is one of the ones mentioned in this video.
i just bought an Orion 127mm Mak on ebay which looks to be in decent shape and I got a set of 1.25" Meade eyepieces to pair it with for $20 (the set comes with 6- 8 -12 - 20 and 25 mm) and I thought that would be good to start with. I just started to find objects in the sky and it gives me so blurry visuals that i don't even know what I am pointing it to. Dont know if this is a problem with the telescope or the eyepiece or what. I am using the 25mm to begin with as that is the lowest magnification I have. I must say though that I do not have a finder-scope on the telescope and that is something I am going to buy next. Any suggestions/advices are welcome? Am I doing something wrong?
Did the telescope come with a right angle prism? Also, you could take it out during to day and test it out by trying to find and focus on the top of a tree or a telephone pole (just make sure the Sun is no where near or even better has just set). It seems like it may be an issue with focusing distance. Give those things a try and stop back by to let me know how it went.
@@LateNightAstronomy Hi thanks for the reply. No it not come with a diagonal or anything just the tube and a cradle ring for the finder scope nothing else. I checked with the Mead cust' service team and they suggested I get in touch with one of their dealers here on the east cost (closest is in NJ) They said it is backordered and would take 8 to 10 weeks minimum. Any other ways I can get this paired with something to put it on a tripod?
I have a T ring for my Fuji cam and a 1.25" adapter which I use with my other 5" telescope, i tried to loosely insert it in the bigger 8" SCT and tried to focus it at a distant object and it did achieve a bit of focus (holding it in your hands while focusing is not easy). I think if I could collimate and acclimate it to the outer temp it would probably give out a better result.
@@Astro_Gyani If the diagonal is missing it's probably an issue with focus distance for visual observing. Do you have a local astronomy club you could take it to and get some input on that issues and the stand?
@@LateNightAstronomy I am situated in New Haven CT. I will check out which clubs are nearest and will probably take it there. I think that is a great idea and would save me a lot of time and frustration. Thanks!
He should not be calling them lenses, because, for beginners, using the word lens instead of eyepiece is confusing.
I've always used those terms interchangeably since an eyepiece is a specific type of ocular lens and haven't noticed any confusion before from beginners here. I'll keep your point in mind though for future videos. Thanks for your input and take care!
@@LateNightAstronomy: Certainly. The reason I mention that is because when you get more Advance you start talkin about a lenses and lens elements within the eyepieces and then it can get confusing when you start using the word lamb for a multiple of a number of things. Other than that though there won't be a lot of confusion but it's best to keep the confusion a down. But if you haven't been I'm having any confusion, then that's wonderful.
@@charlessands6933 Great points! Thanks for the dialogue and clear skies!
Hey, I have bought 8 inch Orion Dobsonian telescope, in the package, I got one deep view eyepiece, 1.25 Barlow lens, and 25mm eyepiece.
Can you please suggest to me which other eyepieces I should buy to view crisp views of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and other planets.
That is the exact telescope I've owned for 10 years. You made a great choice. I have found that most nights my best views of Jupiter, Mars and Saturn come at 100x and 200x magnification. I would suggest you look to buy around a 12mm eyepiece and a 2x barlow lens. This 12.5mm Orion Edge-On Planetary Eyepiece will give you incredible views of the planets. Match it with a 2x barlow lens and you've just added some great planetary views for your telescope. Let me know if you have any more questions and clear skies!
@@LateNightAstronomy, First of all, Thank you for your guidance,
Here we have an option of 6.3mm (190x) N 10 mm(120x) Sirius Plossl and
Wanted to know, can we see moons revolving around Jupiter and there shadows on Jupiter with Orion xt8 DOB.
If yes, then tell me the eyepiece I need.
If possible please provide me any tutorials or video for more interesting things I can learn to explore.
A 6.3mm eyepiece would be a nice magnification for viewing the planets. Yes, at about 200x magnification you will make out the moons of Jupiter, on really clear nights some of the larger ones will even show hints of bring very small spheres and not just pin points of light. At 100 and 200x magnification I have viewed the moon traveling across it's surface and leaving what appears to be a pin point black dot on it from their shadow. Awesome stuff. I have a video coming out next week on how to image Jupiter with a telescope and camera. Feel free to subscribe or come back and check it out. I was able to capture the great red spot on the night i was imaging it.
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks, and I already subscribed to you.
Now waiting for your video.
And could you please tell, that eyepieces filter for planets is worthy to buy?
@@LateNightAstronomy Should I buy planet filters?
Does it enhance planetary views?
just subscribed very helpful video looking at the Orion 10" f/3.9 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector Telescope do you have or know how eyepieces youve mentioned might work with it? thanks Tom
Thanks for the compliment and your support! Of the ones mentioned in this video, I would encourage you to get the 12.5 mm planetary and a 2x barlow. That would give you 80x and 160x magnification with your telescope. Great medium and high options for most nights of observing.
@@LateNightAstronomy thank you may go that route instead of kit
@@tomthetank924 Let me know if you have anymore questions!
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks heres what it comes with including filters Includes five 1.25" Sirius Plossl Telescope Eyepieces
Five Sirius Plossl eyepieces are included to provide a comprehensive variety of viewing magnifications. Plossl eyepieces feature four-element optics that are multi-coated and a pleasantly wide 52° apparent field of view (43° for the 40mm eyepiece).The 40mm focal length eyepiece will show a very wide area of sky in most telescopes. The 17 and 10mm eyepieces provide a moderate viewing power for taking in more detail on target objects. The high magnification 7.5mm and 6.3mm Plossl eyepieces yield very high viewing powers.
Shorty 2x
Double magnifying power with the included 1.25" 2x Shorty Barlow
The included Shorty 2x Barlow doubles the magnifying power of any 1.25" eyepiece used with it, providing an easy way to effectively double the number of magnification options at your disposal. The Shorty's 2x amplifier lens is an achromatic glass doublet that is multi-coated with anti-reflection coatings to ensure excellent light transmission. The machined and anodized aluminum housing is internally baffled to eliminate unwanted reflections and increase contrast, and features filter threads to accept any 1.25" Orion eyepiece filter.. thanks still thinking about the baader planetarium 8-24 but if i need a telescope ill have to save for that later .Thanks again
@@tomthetank924 I've typically stayed away from kits like that and have bought things one accessory at a time but the products included seem to be well reviewed. One problem you might find is that the 6.3mm, 7.5mm and 10mm may not be too comfortable to use due to poor eye relief (how close your eye has to get to the eyepiece to see what you are looking at). That is one benefit of the planetary eyepieces mentioned in my video. But that also is why they cost a good bit more per eyepiece. If that kit works for your budget, I'm sure you will get some great experiences observing with it!
My wife thanks you. :)
My pleasure 😊
can you add: how to figure the FOV?
Nice suggestion. I may have to cover that in a future video!
Take your focal length ÷ by focal length of eyepiece, then take the FOV of the eyepieces ÷ by the magnification. For instance if you have a 900mm focal length of your telescope and a 10mm eyepiece 900÷10= 90x magnification. If that 10mm eyepiece has a 50 degree field of view ÷ that by the magnification you came up with. So 50 ÷ 90 = 0.55 AFOV. Actual FOV with a given eyepiece and magnification.
Hello. What eyepieces do you recommend for observing planets and deep-sky objects with the telescope 114/1000 mm?
I would look at something like the Orion edge on eyepieces I show in this video. At 1,000mm focal length and a 4.5 inch telescope you are going to max out around 125x magnification on most nights. That would have you buying perhaps a something between the ranges of 14.5mm edge on for medium power views and a 9mm edge on for high magnification views.
I was wondering if any1 cud help me plz in new to stargazing I got myself a 6inch telescope and I got a 25mm plossl eye piece and a 9mm eye piece aswell I was wondering wat the best eye piece to buy for better views of stars .I be greatful for ur help and wat the best eye piece to buy for viewing planets aswell don't get me wrong the 25mm plossl eye piece is gd
Sure thing! What specific telescope did you buy and did it come with a 2x barlow lens?
@@LateNightAstronomy my telescope is a Meade No-60sm it came wiv two basic eye pieces just says made in china one a 25mm and other 9mm but I did buy a 25mm plossl eye piece I use that most of time I did start wiv a pair of with a pair of binoculars 7.by 50 then after a mth or so I walked past a charity shop and saw telescope forsale hardly being used so I brought it best 50 quid I ever spent I have seen most planets wiv it and Orion nebula. I like looking at stars
@@jasoncox7783 If you have a solid 25 mm plossl eyepiece I would just buy a nice budget friendly 2x barlow lens to go with it. The max magnification on most nights with your telescope will be around 60 to 70x magnification. A 25mm will give you 28x and a 2x barlow on top of the will give you 56x magnification. I've got a video on budget barlows if you have an interest in checking it out.
@@LateNightAstronomy yea I will do .thanks for that information I buy 2x Barlow as I do notice the big difference between my 25 plossl eye piece compare to that cheap 25my eye piece wat came wiv telescope 👍
Hi Michael, at that point, new scope, orion XT10i, super nice bought used. Comes with Orion Sirius Plossl 10mm and 25mm. Was about to order a set, and from reading and recommendations wanted on one hand a zoom piece, and the Celestron Zoom 8-24mm is on sale for $62, which seems decent. I thought pairing with a 3x barlow I would get a full range of 50X all the way up to 450X (realize most highest ones over 90% of the time won't be practical). This is nice except for the FOV, which goes 40 to 60 as you move through the range. On the other hand, I like a set of accesible Svbony eyepieces where you get 6mm 9mm 15mm 20mm redlines, 68 deg AFOV for about $105. these could also use the 3X barlow or a 2X one, and for barlows seeing some Svbonys for about $20, or Celestron Omni for $25-$30. What do you think?
Great scope and great questions. I was using the Celestron Zoom 8-24mm that a friend has at an astronomy outreach even the other night and was impressed by it for the price. The field of view changing is noticeable and that tends to shy me away from using a zoom eyepiece regularly. For long term use, I would encourage you to buy 2 or 3 fixed focal length eyepieces with a 2x barlow. I have not used the svbony eyepiece but have found several of their other products to be of good quality for the price. That set looks to be a nice range for your scope. With the 6mm giving you 200x and the 20mm giving you 60x. See if cloudynights.com has a review of them and let me know know if you have any more quesitons!
What size is your dobsonian? I just grabbed my 8 inch from my parents place. I haven't used it in 7 or 8 years but i lost all my eyepieces so i need to restart my collection.
It's an 8 inch dobsonian. Let me know if you have any questions.
@@LateNightAstronomy I found my eye pieces! I have a 6.7mm explore scientific and a 25mm celestron x cel lx. The explore scientific has some tiny scratches in the coating. Will that make a massive difference in clarity?
@@chrisasmith75 No, that shouldn't be much of a problem. That's a pretty nice starting set of lenses!
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks man! I bought everyone about 7 years ago. I'm glad I'm getting back into it. I got some nice looks at Jupiter tonight with the 6.7mm. What should i do to reduce glare from Jupiter?
I own a StarSense lt 127az telescope and I can only see the moon. No matter what scope I use everything just looks like a tiny little dot, please help
What eyepieces came with it?
@@LateNightAstronomy it came with a 10mm and a 25mm with a 2x Barlow
@@JohnDoe-zd6qdWith those eyepieces you are getting 100x at 10mm and 200x at 10mm plus the 2 x barlow attached. Part of the problem is that right now no major planets are visible to see. Mars is moving farther away from us and is much smaller than it was on October and Neptune and Uranus are going to be nothing more than a dim star through most telescopes. Wait until, Jupiter and Saturn come back into view this Spring/Summer and I think you will be more impressed with what your telescope can do with the planets.
@@LateNightAstronomy thank you!
Hi Sir,
need a information for eyepieces, i have orion xt8 inch Dob telescope. Is explore scientific eyepiece 52° LER 10mm AR 1.25" eyepiece is good to use with my telescope, performance wise ???
Just going off of the specs it should provide some nice medium magnification views at around 120x magnification for your telescope! Let me know how it turns out if you end up getting it.
Hi my friend Thanks and Congrat for all instructions and recommendation! Actually, it's looks like definitive to make my new Eyepiece acquisitions !! I really intent start learning about that using my new Dobsonian F/6 115 mm. Which Lens and camera do you recommend to start my jorney like novice in this area ?
I would suggest you connect a smart phone to the eyepiece of your telescope to take some pictures and videos of the Moon and Planets. Check out this video I made to see if it helps you out. ruclips.net/video/C8EIyocVRJI/видео.html
I have the Orion 130ST but I would like a stronger eye piece to see Saturn a bit better. I currently have the 25mm, 10mm, and the 3.5mm eye pieces. Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks for your question. A solid eyepiece I like to recommend to people who are getting into astronomy is the Celestron 8mm-24mm Zoom eyepeice on amazon.com. My guess is that the 3.5mm eyepiece you have is a really tight view and probably shows Saturn to be pretty blurry. The 8mm focal length of the zoom eyepiece will give you about 80x magnification, which should show off a sharp view of Saturn in your 5 inch telescope.
What would render a better image quality: a 15 mm, good quality, medium power eyepiece attached to a 2X Barlow lens or a 7.5 mm medium quality eyepiece ?
I’m in a budget and very interested in planetary observation
A 2x barlow is always a great purchase if you are on a budget. Go that route and check out my video on barlow lenses if you have anymore questions. Any specific brand you are looking at right now?
I have a Jason 408 mercury telescope which included the eyepieces(F-4mm and F22mm) that were included and I'm tired of them. Which are the best eyepieces I need for that telescope?
I would suggest you look at a nice zoom eyepiece such as the Celestron Zoom 8mm-24mm eyepiece. That will give you a range of 30x to 88x magnification. Should provide some nice views of the Moon and Planets for sure!
Hi great video! What eye pieces would you recommend for a celestron CPC 800? My goal is to see great detail on planets and be able to observe clear images of deep sky object. THANKS!
Glad you enjoyed the video. For that telescope I would suggest something like the 9mm Orion Edge On Planetary Eyepiece for planets. That will get you around 225x magnification. For deep sky object go lower power for most and look to get a standard 25 to 32mm plossl eyepiece for deep sky hunting.
i already have a 12.5 mm eyepiece and i found my 1.5x barlow lens this means if i combine a 12.5 mm eyepiece with 1.5x barlow lens then how much will the eyepiece mm be and my parents thought the finderscope was broken because they didn't know how to use a finderscope and a focuser which is important especially the finderscope which we lost
Check out a video I've got on how to align finder scopes from a few years ago. Your barlow pretty much makes your 12.5mm an 8mm eyepiece.
@@LateNightAstronomy i observed jupiter for the first time
@@nemo9324 That's wonderful. It is my favorite planet to see. How many of the Moons were visible that night?
@@LateNightAstronomy moon not visble 1 planet 2 stars
and now pieadle star cluster with my Christmas gift 16x52
66m/8000m single lens binoculars with red light pollution zone
i got an astromaster 130 eq and with 10mm i cant see the surface of jupiter,and can barely see saturn,what should i do?
You are getting about 65x magnification with that eyepiece. For something like the 130eq you could push it to probably 150x for solid magnification on a clear night. Perhaps look to get a 2x barlow lens for the eyepieces that came with it. Ones made by Celestron and Orion can be bought for around 40 to 50 dollars. This will expand your magnification for now and could also be used for any eyepiece you may buy down the road.
Hello! Are all these accessories that you presented in the video suitable for the Celestron Nexstar 4SE? At the moment I use the common 25 mm eyepiece.
I'm note sure if the 2 inch eyepiece would suit it well, but the others should. Particularly the 12.5mm.
Great video. Incredibly informative. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
The moment someone talks about "lenses" when he wants to discuss eyepieces.....you know he is wasting your time!
I'm pretty sure an eyepiece is an ocular lens. I've always heard and used the terms interchangeably when discussing telescope eyepieces. Take care and clear skies!
Just bought a 10Dob! Can't wait to see Saturn!
That is a great scope size. You will have some wonderful views of Saturn.
@@LateNightAstronomy I have a golden flying saucer flying across my viewfinder! Collimation was a cinch tonight and the views are spectacular!
@@DobviewsWonderful News!
May I know your opinion on the Celestron Starsense Explorer DX30
I don't have any experience using this telescope but reviews for it seem to be positive and I think it is an interesting mixture of using smartphone technology to help you manually point to different objects. If you are brand new to astronomy it could be a nice way to learn the sky. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Hi there I'm not sure if I should get eyepieces or a 2x Barlow lens. I have a celestron travelscope 80 (400mm focal length) and I'd like to see the craters of the moon up real close 3:23 in your video for example. Is that even possible with a telescope such as mine? I have a 20 and 10mm eye piece currently. Any help is appreciated ☺️
Thanks for watching the video! A 200x magnification view is going to be hard to get on most nights with your telescope, but you can still get some great views of the Moon. In fact, most of my lunar observing tends to be between 50x and 100x magnification. I think a short style 2x barlow lens offered by Celestron or Orion would be a good choice for you. They run about 40 dollars and you could use it for any future eyepieces you bought in addition to the 20mm and 10mm that came with your scope. The 2x barlow with your 10mm would get you about 80x magnification.
@@LateNightAstronomy Oh I don't think my one can do 200x zoom, I heard the maximum is double whatever the aperture is in mm, in this instance maximum zoom is 160x. Oh okay yeah those seem good, the only ones I can use are 20x and 40x zoom with my current eyepieces. Yeah I was lucky to find a Celestron 2x Omni Barlow for $37 and as you stated it would give me 80x zoom max. However I also found a Celestron 4mm eye piece for $17 which would yield 100x zoom! I'm wondering as that is cheaper and more powerful should I go with that? I heard eye relief is the only draw back. I dont intend to purchase any more eyepieces in the future, only perhaps solar filters.
@@TheDragonballboy For a 3 inch aperture telescope like yours I would say on most nights you are looking at 100x to 125x magnification being the max to push it. It all depends on the atmosphere and turbulence. That's a good price for a Celestron 4mm. Definitely worth a try at that price.
@@LateNightAstronomy Oh okay yeah 100x and 125x still do sound very impressive coming from a basic 40x haha, oh wow I'll look into atmosphere and turbulence I know light pollution is very bad. Ah wow thank you so very much for your help I think I will settle with the Celestron 4mm eyepiece ☺️
@@TheDragonballboy Let me know how it turns out for you.