Recently saw the first sight of saturn with my 130P65 skywatcher. Felt pretty good. I was wondering if a barlow lense would help in magnifying the details of saturn and other planets. As an ameture and just like anyone else I am wanting to see more of it (atleast as far as optically possible) with the 130mm.
So wondering if a barlow would provide additional magnification with my 10mm super.
thanks
2006-12-23 23:27:02 · 5 answers · asked by planck12 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It would do some good.
Your 130P65 has a 650mm focal length, so you're viewing at 65x with the 10mm eyepiece. Going to a 2x Barlow would put you at 130x. A general rule of thumb is that the maximum useful magnification for a telescope is about 50x per inch of aperture, so you could drive your 130mm (5") to about 200x or more before you're beating a dead horse. Even a 3x Barlow would be within your limit, since the focal length of the primary is so short.
So do it!
2006-12-24 07:23:48 · answer #1 · answered by Keith P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Barlow always increases magnification. You are already using a 10mm lens. I dont know what the focal length of your scope is, but you can easily determine what a 2x or 3x Barlow would do in conjunction with any lens on your specific scopes focal length using simple math. Once you do the math make sure that the resultant magnification is < the recommended limit of your scope (with good optics this number= the diffraction limit).
2006-12-24 03:53:58 · answer #2 · answered by lampoilman 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A Barlow lens increases the magnification of the image, so it would appear larger to your eye.
But the real controlling factor in how much detail you can see in a telescope is the aperture size. The wider your telescope's lens/mirror, the more light it will gather to focus, and the more you will be able to see.
So, forget the Barlow lens -- you'll only be disappointed. If you want a better view of Saturn, you need a bigger telescope.
2006-12-24 03:09:43 · answer #3 · answered by Dave_Stark 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Maybe on a night of excellent seeing (steady air, very little twinkling when you look up at the stars). Otherwise, it will be most useful when you use the lower power eyepiece(s) to provide higher magnification more comfortably (your eye won't be scrunched up against the eyepiece like it is with the 10 mm -- very helpful if you wear glasses).
2006-12-24 15:36:25 · answer #4 · answered by Search first before you ask it 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it might; i have only heard of it. pls let me know after you try
2006-12-23 23:59:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋