That guy at the star party swore my 6mm eyepiece was too much magnification for my 90mm scope

Took his advice and swapped to a 12mm but ended up missing all the fine detail on Jupiter that night, anyone else find those general rules don't hold up with good seeing conditions?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_faith9d ago

Ugh I know that feeling. "Too much magnification" is such a catch-all. I once had some old timer at a club meeting tell me my 8" dob was "way too much" for looking at the moon. Dude, the moon is like right there. I used my 6mm that night and saw those little rilles and craters so clear it was sick. Sometimes you just gotta go with what works for you.

grantp289d ago

Did your buddy ever tell you about the time some guy told him his 6 inch SCT was "overkill" for looking at Jupiter? Man, he was SO mad. He said he just wanted to see the bands and the Great Red Spot clearly, and that scope did it perfectly. People get weirdly gatekeepy about other people's gear, it's bizarre. If you can SEE more detail and you're having a good time, who cares what the "right" way is?

wesley3858d ago

People get so bent out of shape about what's "too much" gear, it's wild. I mean, what you're saying about @grantp28's buddy is spot on. I had a similar thing happen a few years back. I was using a 5 inch Mak on Saturn and some guy told me I was wasting my time because "a 4 inch would show the same thing." But the thing is, I could see Cassini's division and a few of the darker bands way more clearly than I ever could with a smaller scope. It's not like the extra aperture is hurting anything, you know? If you want to push your gear to see more detail, and it works for you, that's the only thing that matters. Gatekeeping just kills the vibe for everyone.