What magnification do you use the most?

What magnification do you use the most?

Of course, that is entirely dependent on the object. In general, however, I enjoy wide sharp views the most. Therefore, the most used eyepiece in my collection is the 24mm Panoptic, which produces the largest true field in a 1.25" focuser.

As a second choice for higher magnification, calculate the magnification for the eyepiece that will produce a 2mm exit pupil (ep focal length divided by telescope's focal ratio). Many feel that this gives the best combination of image scale, clarity, and brightness for a given telescope.

Hugh Bartlett

If I am looking for things in the sky I have always tried to use 50X or 60X, some objects flat out require more than that to locate, but it works for alot of things.

Stu, as most have already pointed out, it is all VERY relative... mostly depending on Scope used, Object being observed & seeing conditions...

On my particular scope, being a 2500mm f/l, I find myself using "THE MOST" my 2" 40mm eyepiece yielding a 62.5X magnification and my 2" 14mm UWA yielding 178.5X...

Of course, this does not mean I don't use my other eyepieces... (if the conditions are "excellent" I could push to 400x-500x, but normally I can go to 250x-350x without a problem...)

What magnification do you use the most?
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It really depends on the telescope and the target in question. I normally bring out a collection of eyepieces, I have two basic sets, each covers focal lengths from around 40mm to about 4mm-5mm.

Last night I was looking at Saturn with my RV-6 and i was swapping between a 6mm and 4 mm othros, this is 200x and 300x. But at in between views of Saturn, i would go looking for DSOs with the 40mm which is about 30x. I would then crank up the power and ay some time during the night I used all the eyepieces 30x, 48x, 67x, 100x, 133x, 200x and 300x...

If i were stuck with two eyepieces, then normally I choose a 24mm or 32mm widefield and either a 7mm or 9mm widefield. The first eyepiece is chosen to maximize the field of view and the second for providing reasonably high magnifications.

Jon

Most used for viewing and not finding would be 150-200x for most objects, 50-75x for large objects (large nebula, galaxies, star fields for instance) and 225-325x for planets.
Then on special nights where the seeing is spectacular, it might go up to 400-700x.

The general rule of thumb I've heard is the highest power that frames the subject. Esp. in light polluted skies upping the power will darken the background and allow you to go a little bit deeper.

I myself like a lowly 32mm Plossl (60X) and an exceptional old Rini 20mm (100X) on deepsky and about 180 on planets. If the seeing permits I'll go to about 220X to 250X but skies here almost never allow better than that.

Tom Mengel
Moderator Equipment forum

On my Observer 70, I use my Apogee 8mm Japanese Plossl quite a bit to bring me to 87x on the moon and planets. The eyepiece doesn't accept filters, but it always seems to offer crisp views. Right now, I've got a gap in my eyepieces, but my Meade 5mm Plossl puts me up to 140x and that seems hit or miss. Sometimes its great and other times it is more trouble than it is worth.

When looking at Deep Space objects, Star Clusters, or just centering a planet, I find that the standard equipment 25mm Explorer II at 28x works great. It always provides crisp clear viewing.