May 20 2010

Eyepiece Data

Posted by admin in astronomy

The following table shows the eyepieces that I currently use with my 11″ Starmaster (f/5.4). Also shown in the table are the eyepieces’ apparent field of view, the magnification when used in the 11″ Starmaster, the calculated true field of view, and the measured true field of view:

Eyepiece Apparent FOV Magnification Calc. True FOV Meas. True FOV
TMB Optical 3.2mm 60o x472 0.13o 0.125o
TMB Optical 6mm 60o x252 0.24o 0.23o
Nagler Type 6 9mm 82o x168 0.49o 0.50o
Nagler Type 5 16mm 82o x94 0.87o 0.88o
Panoptic 27mm 68o x56 1.21o 1.17o

11″ Starmaster focal length = 11in. x 25.4mm/in. x 5.4 = 1509mm.

Magnification = (scope focal length) / (eyepiece focal length)

Eyepiece calculated field of view = (Apparent Field of View) / Magnfication

The eyepiece’s calculated field of view is found in a non-tracking scope by centering a star in a given eyepiece then timing how many seconds the star takes to leave the field of view. Divide this number of seconds by 120 to get the true size of the field of view in degrees. (Repeat several times for each eyepiece to be sure of the reading.)

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