maximum power eyepiece

I'm new to all this so I'm just throwing this out there.I've purchased a celestron c6 xlt which I pick up Tues.Reading reviews it says max. mag. is 354 which I imagine would be under best seeing conditions.If I want an eyepiece for such occasions should I go with something like a 3-6 nagler zoom which would be usefull from around 4mm or something I can use with a 2.5 powermate,which I have and reach max power with a another eyepiece?I realize there are other variables and I'm just curious as to other opinions. Thanks Doug

Except under excellent seeing conditions, it is rare that you can get more than 250 power from the sky itself. And unless you get a particularly well built telescope, you will rarely get more than about 40 or 50 power for every inch of aperture. So, practically speaking, 240-300 power is the max you can expect from this scope.

I am curious as to why they said "354"--that sounds like they computed that from the focal length of the scope and the eyepiece or eyepiece set originally sold with the scope--not from any theoretical optical max.

I would avoid a zoom eyepiece, not just because you are probably overpowering your scope, but because for the same money you can probably get a pretty good regular eyepiece with a wider FOV. If you have no eyepiece at all, I would shoot for something that gives you about 30 to 40 power first, and then something that gives about 125, and then go for a 2X (or 2.5) Barlow or powermate.

Alex

For me high magnification viewing has comfort concerns as well as optical. Barlowing lower mag. eyepieces to get greater magnification is one way to go. Alternatively there are TMB planetaries that offer a generous field of view and comfortable eye relief for a very reasonable price. Also Televue Radians are excellent for the same reasons as well as other brands. If you check the preowned offerings on this site these may be had for bargain prices when you are ready to invest a bit more into your collection. As always try to sample anything you might be interested in obtaining at a star party as personal preferences vary and some eyepieces work well with some scopes but not others. Enjoy your eyepiece safari, it is part of the fun.

doug downey said:

I'm new to all this so I'm just throwing this out there.I've purchased a celestron c6 xlt which I pick up Tues.Reading reviews it says max. mag. is 354 which I imagine would be under best seeing conditions.If I want an eyepiece for such occasions should I go with something like a 3-6 nagler zoom which would be usefull from around 4mm or something I can use with a 2.5 powermate,which I have and reach max power with a another eyepiece?I realize there are other variables and I'm just curious as to other opinions. Thanks Doug

Atmospheric conditions affect seeing, and therefore, the highest useful power. This varies with location and with current conditions. Where I am 120x can often be the limit, and it rarely, very rarely, gets better than 250x.

I note that you are listed as in Whistler BC. That looks like it gets a hefty share of the Gulf Stream. So, don't be surprised if you don't get the 400x plus results that some observers do. Your environment looks more like mine.