What am I doing wrong?

I have a Meade 10" LX200 Classic, and I can't seem to get the focus as good as some of the pictures I've seen using the same scope. I have a Barlow 140 (2x),and I'm getting kind of frustrated! When I switch from 26mm to 4mm, it sucks! Help!

"In the Dark" Dave

At 4mm you're *really* pushing that scope to the limit. I don't think you can reasonably expect to see anything at what, around 600x with the 4mm EP? Even on the absolute best of nights that's just too much.

As good as the pictures you've seen using the same scope? Are you trying to get your eyepiece image to look the same as a picture? Hardly anything you look at through a telescope will look anywhere near what a picture looks like. Sometimes the planets are very sharp, crisp, and show a tremendous amount of detail but even they fall well short of the photo's that are being taken with webcams, CCD, and digital camera's.

However, if you think the view at the eyepiece will look like what you see in books you will always be very disappointed.

Paul Atkinson
AstroProProducts.com

David,
I have the same scope and the usual limit of power is my Meade 8.8mm Ultrawide. On rare, and I mean rare nights, I use an inexpensive 7mm Siebert, I couldn't see spending any sort of money on an eyepiece that I only use two or three times a year.
--
Scott Baker
Vice President, New Member Mentor
San Diego Astronomy Association
http://www.sdaa.org
International Dark-Sky Association
http://www.darksky.org
Personal web page: http://www.starcrwzr.com

DAVE CHECK OUT THESE SITES WWW.PSIA.NET/MATTWIER/
TELESCOPE SIMULATER/EYEPIECE CALCULATOR
**TELE VUE EYEPIECE CALCULATOR