Eyepiece and telescope pairing

Celestron Omni 40mm Plossl in the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ: magnification and field

What the Celestron Omni 40mm Plossl does in the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ, worked from the published focal lengths and apparent field.

Field of view

ring = 2.46 degrees true
dot = 8 mm exit pupil

Computed optics

Magnification
16x650 mm / 40 mm
True field
2.46 degrees40 deg / 16x
Exit pupil
8 mm130 mm / 16x
Max useful mag
307xpublished
Barrel match
1.25 in eyepiece in a 1.25 in focuser
Needs adapter

Works, but the 8 mm exit pupil is wider than a dark-adapted pupil of about 7 mm, so the outer light is wasted and the sky background looks brighter. Fine for framing, but a slightly shorter eyepiece uses the aperture better.


Magnification is the telescope focal length divided by the eyepiece focal length: 650 mm divided by 40 mm is 16x. The true field of view is the eyepiece's 40 degree apparent field divided by that magnification, 2.46 degrees.

The exit pupil, the width of the light beam leaving the eyepiece, is the aperture divided by the magnification, 130 mm over 16x, which is 8 mm. That makes this a low-power, wide-field and deep-sky setting.