Eyepiece and telescope pairing
Celestron Omni 56mm Plossl in the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian: magnification and field
What the Celestron Omni 56mm Plossl does in the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian, worked from the published focal lengths and apparent field.
Field of view
ring = 2.19 degrees true
dot = 9.5 mm exit pupil
- Magnification
- 21x1200 mm / 56 mm
- True field
- 2.19 degrees47 deg / 21x
- Exit pupil
- 9.5 mm203 mm / 21x
- Max useful mag
- about 406x2x aperture
Computed optics
- Barrel match
- 2 in eyepiece in a 2 in focuser
Works, but the 9.5 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: 1200 mm divided by 56 mm is 21x. The true field of view is the eyepiece's 47 degree apparent field divided by that magnification, 2.19 degrees.
The exit pupil, the width of the light beam leaving the eyepiece, is the aperture divided by the magnification, 203 mm over 21x, which is 9.5 mm. That makes this a low-power, wide-field and deep-sky setting.
The eyepiece to buy
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