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EPs for terrestrial viewing ?

Started by johnpiper, 02/07/2003 10:50PM
Posted 02/07/2003 10:50PM Opening Post
Being an astro forum, the topic of terrestrial viewing with our telescopes doesn't seem to come up very often. It's only mentioned as an aside when an eyepiece is cited as being unsuitable due daytime pincushion or kidney bean effects. I have a TV 76 which is almost never used and recently acquired both a TV 45 degree (corrected image) and 60 degree (inverted image) diagonal.

Can anyone make some general recommendations on the types of eyepieces best suited for daytime viewing with a small refractor like that ? I'm thinking that my young sons may be more inclined to use a scope on the stars if they also have a chance to use one during the day.

Posted 02/09/2003 10:10PM #1
The guys in the Birding Optics forum may have some good suggestions for you. I'd consider the TV 8-24mm zoom or the Vixen and Orion equivalents. I use one occasionally in my Stellarvue AT1010 for terrestrial viewing and find it convenient to be able to zoom in on wildlife without changing EP's. Otherwise, any of the mid to long focal length (upper teens to 30mm or so) length Plossls would be a good choice for kids. Also, the inverted image diagonal may be confusing for kids, so I'd stick with the 45* correct image.

You didn't mention what type of mount you're using, but I'd recommend alt-az over EQ for terrestrial use. Something like a Telepod or Unistar Light.

Jim