Eyepiece and telescope pairing

Celestron X-Cel LX 9mm in the Sky-Watcher Skymax 127: magnification and field

What the Celestron X-Cel LX 9mm does in the Sky-Watcher Skymax 127, worked from the published focal lengths and apparent field.

Field of view

ring = 0.35 degrees true
dot = 0.7 mm exit pupil

Computed optics

Magnification
171x1540 mm / 9 mm
True field
0.35 degrees60 deg / 171x
Exit pupil
0.7 mm127 mm / 171x
Max useful mag
about 254x2x aperture
Barrel match
1.25 in eyepiece in a 2 in focuser
Fits

Good fit. In the Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 the Celestron X-Cel LX 9mm gives 171x with a 0.35 degree true field and a 0.7 mm exit pupil, inside the telescope's useful range.


Magnification is the telescope focal length divided by the eyepiece focal length: 1540 mm divided by 9 mm is 171x. The true field of view is the eyepiece's 60 degree apparent field divided by that magnification, 0.35 degrees.

The exit pupil, the width of the light beam leaving the eyepiece, is the aperture divided by the magnification, 127 mm over 171x, which is 0.7 mm. That makes this a high-power lunar, planetary and double-star setting.