I want to buy a telescope eyepiece that can view planets more clearly, any suggestions?

Question

I have an ETX-60AT-BB telescope and 25mm, 12 mm eyepieces. I'm a beginner to astrology so I'm still learning about these things.

Answer 1

The ideal "eyepiece" for ASTROLOGY used to be a six inch diameter crystal ball. Not sure what they are using today.

For ASTRONOMY, you might want to consider upgrading to a larger telescope. The ETX-60 is a nice instrument but just lacks the aperture. How about an eight inch Newtonian? They are not too expensive.

Answer 2

Because of the small aperture and short focal length of this telescope, it is not really well suited for planetary observation, but more for wide field views of deep sky objects. Your 12 mm eyepiece will only give 29x, which is just enough to see Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moons. You might consider buying a 2x Barlow lens, which will double the magnification of your eyepieces...58x will give you a better view without pushing the telescope so far that the image becomes blurry.

Answer 3

Hello Sir:

Well, I don't know the ETX-60 series personally (have not owned one) but I can assume the eyepieces you were fupplied with are one of three formats:

0.965 Inch Format
1.25 Inch Format
2.00 Inch Format

These sizes refer to the barrel diameter if you measure
with a ruler across the metal end of the eyepiece where
it enters the telescope. If you are using 0.965 Inch
EP's, there is a world of difference in going over to the
1.25 Format EP's, some of which are truly wonderful. See
www.telescope.com or www.telescopes.com for an
adaptor from 0.965 telescope to 1.25 Inch Format Eyepiece...
estimated cost $20.

The utility of a 60 Series telescope is somewhat limited in
that the total light gathering capability of the scope is based
upon the opening where the light comes in and nothing
can alter that. Desireing to see better, you could go over to a used 35 to 40 mm EP which would give you wider views so that you would see more sky at once - possibly useful in some views of the Moon. Used price in 1.25 Inch Format
estimated $35 or less.

A 17 to 18mm EP would provide you with a middle of the
road EP, roughly halfway between the two that you have now. Estimated used cost about $30 - $35.

I would not recommend (though you could certainly try) use of anything smaller than 10 - 12mm in that telescope because of the very small objective lense. Chances are that you will not see anything worth viewing with that high power EP.

Having only two EP's to work with, my last recommendation will sound silly to most folks...A good quality Barlow 2X could be used with OTHER EP's to double their magnification. however, the double power of a 25mm EP is about 12mm which is the size you already have. Hence the sillyness. However, Barlow Lenses are also available in 3X which ouuld provide you with essentially an 8mm EP with the 25mm you already have, and a 5mm (*****) if you bought the 17 to 18 mm I discussed earlier. (*****) = do not think this will be a
good match for your 60 series product. And finally it would make about roughly a 13mm EP out of the 35 to 40 mm EP I also recommended to you...which you already have in the existing 12mm EP.

Now all of the preceeding information presumes that you wish to stay with inexpensive Eyepieces = Plossl types.
Should you wish to purchase some really good EP's, the next step would be to go for EP's with a large eye relief and higher optical quality such as Pentax EP's or Televue Naglers. I use Televue Nagler EP's on my 6 Inch Meade Refractor to opotomize its capabilities. These fine items may be had in the vicinity of $200 used. Again, for a 60mm main lens or mirror, I would not try to purchase anything more powerful than 10 to 12mm.

By all means contact a local Astronomy Club near you and join it to meet other Astronomers in your area. By doing this you will most likely meet folks who have a wide assortment of equipment and could let you plug one of their eyepieces into your telescope to try it out. Then you could see for yourself what is possible to achieve, and what exactly the product is called.

To obtain used eyepieces such as I have discussed, go to:
www.astromart.com (one time user fee of $12)
www.cloudynights.com (free registration)

Purchasing the EP's new presents a very wide field of
supplier sources. Among them are:
www.telescopes.com
www.telescope.com
www.meade.com
www.handsonoptics.com
to name just a few...

Were you to desire to move upward into a larger unit, you could use Astromart or Cloudy Nights classifieds or try
talking about a trade to Hands on Optics, or other retailers. Some shipping and insurance costs will be paid unless you pick the items up yourself. I would recommend going to something in the 6 to 8 inch mirror category as a next step
up, and these size scopes generate views which are far away and above those delivered by products in the 60
series product line, regardless of manufacturer. In most cases you will also be looking at a Mount for the Scope
since the next jump up in quality is a heavier device. Unfortunately this will also add to the cost of your purchase.

Happy viewing,
Zah

Answer 4

If you can afford it a plossl 6 mm otherwise a H or K 6 or 7mm will do.

That's pushing the limits of your scope but it will work.

Also consider getting some filters. Red, blue and green. They work very well on mars, Jupiter and Saturn to resolve the clouds and darker areas.