The discussion revolves around troubleshooting issues with a telescope, specifically focusing on image quality and the effects of using a Barlow lens. Participants explore potential causes of poor image quality when using an eyepiece and suggest adjustments and configurations to improve viewing experiences.
Participants generally agree that removing the Barlow lens improves the image quality, but there is no consensus on the optimal eyepiece configuration or the specific reasons for the initial issues.
Participants discuss the potential effects of different eyepiece focal lengths and the compatibility of the Barlow lens with the refractor telescope, but the discussion does not resolve the underlying issues with image quality.
Individuals interested in amateur astronomy, telescope troubleshooting, and those seeking to understand the effects of optical components on image quality may find this discussion relevant.
What type of telescope are you using? The fact that you can get a good usable image without an eyepiece inserted suggests that you already have some kind of secondary lens installed in the light-path. Do you have other accessory lenses, such as field-flattener, barlow, compressor?Felix83 said:I decided to dust off my old telescope to see what I could see. I was looking at the moon and messing around, but I could only get a sharp image with the eyepiece removed. Without the eyepiece, I can focus in a good image with my glasses on or off, but with it in it is only a blob of white light. I cleaned it off, but no change. Any Ideas?
Felix83 said:yea there is a barlow x3 before the eyepiece. its a refractor telescope.
High magnification = short focal length. Shorter-f/l oculars often give you a narrower field of view and less eye relief, so the longer f/l oculars are more comfortable to use, especially with an unguided scope. If you're going to let people look through your 'scope who are not used to using one, you may want to stick to the longer f/l oculars for this reason. Long f/l oculars teamed up with a high-quality Barlow can be a good combo. Often the short f/l oculars bundled w/ commercially-available 'scopes are unrealistically short, delivering magnifications that are unusable, given the small aperture and poor optical quality of the primary.Felix83 said:I took the barlow out and it works pretty good now. Not a perfect image, but it's cloudy tonight so it seems to be working good. Which eyepieces are for higher magnification - long or short focal length?