7 replies to this topic

[M27helps]

Hi everyone - I'm a beginner exploring eyepieces and ran into this tutorial by Chris Stewart from the ASSA (Astronomical Society of S. Africa).  I found it informative and wanted to share it.  Also - to hear from more knowledgeable members that can offer additional perspectives to beginners like myself.  I found Chris' section on the human eye very illuminating.   I also learned about the practical importance of exit pupil diameter in eyepiece selection.  I have some experience imaging and am spec-ing out a setup for both imaging and observing... on the order of a 100mm F7 triplet refractor.  I'm not advanced enough to have a preference for what I Iike to observe except I already love globular clusters.  Any advice is appreciated.

 

Here' a link to Chris' video

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=6tBYIDpCtGA

 

Thanks,

Glenn

[Inkie]

It's an excellent lecture on eyepieces. Eyepieces are almost what the entire hobby is about.  Anyone I know with one scope has six, eight, ten eyepieces because they offer so much promise.  They are the sirens of our hobby. Beware!! 

 

Nobody who buys an eyepiece gets out of here alive! 

 

As with optics, buy the best eyepieces you can afford, but to keep a lid on the enthusiasm, and on the spending, have a firm idea of what hole you really need to fill in your magnification lineup.  For example, there's no point in spending $300 on a wide angle 24mm eyepiece when you also have its 26mm sister. Or even its 20mm sister.   But that spread in mm doesn't work at the 'low end', down below about 10mm. As you drop a single mm below the 11/12mm focal length, you are bumping up to a substantially higher magnification, so if you were to buy a 10mm, and then decide you only needed one more, say a 6mm, you're missing a big chunk of range that would, on some nights, be very useful if you had the 8mm. So, yes, get excited by eyepieces, learn their types, learn what types your scope can use best, and then spend wisely in the acquisition of two, maybe three, really nice ones that should afford you eye-popping views on those special nights of exquisite seeing.

[Astroman007]

It's an excellent lecture on eyepieces. Eyepieces are almost what the entire hobby is about.  Anyone I know with one scope has six, eight, ten eyepieces because they offer so much promise.  They are the sirens of our hobby. Beware!! 

 

Nobody who buys an eyepiece gets out of here alive! 

 

As with optics, buy the best eyepieces you can afford, but to keep a lid on the enthusiasm, and on the spending, have a firm idea of what hole you really need to fill in your magnification lineup.  For example, there's no point in spending $300 on a wide angle 24mm eyepiece when you also have its 26mm sister. Or even its 20mm sister.   But that spread in mm doesn't work at the 'low end', down below about 10mm. As you drop a single mm below the 11/12mm focal length, you are bumping up to a substantially higher magnification, so if you were to buy a 10mm, and then decide you only needed one more, say a 6mm, you're missing a big chunk of range that would, on some nights, be very useful if you had the 8mm. So, yes, get excited by eyepieces, learn their types, learn what types your scope can use best, and then spend wisely in the acquisition of two, maybe three, really nice ones that should afford you eye-popping views on those special nights of exquisite seeing.

Very well put. And to add: that one or two mm makes all the difference in achieving maximum magnification allowable by the atmosphere on some nights.
 

[SandyHouTex]

Hi everyone - I'm a beginner exploring eyepieces and ran into this tutorial by Chris Stewart from the ASSA (Astronomical Society of S. Africa).  I found it informative and wanted to share it.  Also - to hear from more knowledgeable members that can offer additional perspectives to beginners like myself.  I found Chris' section on the human eye very illuminating.   I also learned about the practical importance of exit pupil diameter in eyepiece selection.  I have some experience imaging and am spec-ing out a setup for both imaging and observing... on the order of a 100mm F7 triplet refractor.  I'm not advanced enough to have a preference for what I Iike to observe except I already love globular clusters.  Any advice is appreciated.

 

Here' a link to Chris' video

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=6tBYIDpCtGA

 

Thanks,

Glenn

It's important to note, that your sharp color vision is in only a 2 deg. circle in your eye.  Everything else is just a construct of your brain.  I rarely use wide field eyepieces, and in fact prefer Orthos.

[Procyon]

It's important to note, that your sharp color vision is in only a 2 deg. circle in your eye.  Everything else is just a construct of your brain.  I rarely use wide field eyepieces, and in fact prefer Orthos.

All your comments on the boards I looked into about the 48mm Brandon made me buy one yesterday. 

 

I'm hoping it's worth the 2.5 weeks worth of food.  

 

It did feel like a punch in the face though. 

[25585]

It's important to note, that your sharp color vision is in only a 2 deg. circle in your eye.  Everything else is just a construct of your brain.  I rarely use wide field eyepieces, and in fact prefer Orthos.

Do you mainly use GOTO/tracking mounts?

[pianodoc]

Glen,
I can’t thank you enough for recommending Chris Stewart tutorial. Is amazing how much knowledge she has of the human eye and how that interacts with the eyepiece. Highly recommended to everyone!

Edited by pianodoc, 20 April 2025 - 12:43 PM.

[Mike B]

It's an excellent lecture on eyepieces. Eyepieces are almost what the entire hobby is about.  Anyone I know with one scope has six, eight, ten eyepieces because they offer so much promise.  They are the sirens of our hobby. Beware!! 

 

Nobody who buys an eyepiece gets out of here alive! 

 

Yes, welcome to the CN Eyepiece asylum, where the inmates run the floor! 

 

The floors around here are sure slippery… that’s one thing when they’re level…. Quite another when they’re tilted!