Question 1

Can I use this Barlow eyepiece in conjunction with the Zoom lend Celestron 93230 8mm/24mm on the Celestron First scope? The Zoom eyepiece works great

Accepted Answer

I do. I love the zoom lense because I can find what I'm looking for easily. Coupled with the Barlow you can get in a lot tighter on the planet, for example.  It's a lot easier to see the rings of Saturn with zoom lens and the Barlow put together.  It does make my Celestron Travelscope more prone to tipping over, however.

Question 2

Will this work with the Celestron Travel Scope 70 ??

Accepted Answer

Yes, but it is overkill.  There is no magic that will make your $90 telescope into the Hubble Space Telescope.  A simple word of advice here:  buy a better telescope before investing any more in this one.  Do not expect much more that 100x magnification from this telescope, no matter what you may add to it.

Question 3

Is 3x barlows work with Celestron 21035 70mm Travel Scope? If it is too much for my travel scope, should I use 2x barlows to focus properly?

Accepted Answer

It might work, but you may need better eyepieces, and a stronger tripod.  You may have to put the Barlow between the scope and diagonal - I think this is generally true for Refractor scopes, and you may need a longer Barlow (maybe ask Celestron - sometimes, you can't focus these scopes with a Barlow).  I have a 3x Barlow on my kids' cheap Meade refractor, and it's longer and plastic, but it works fine (they use a 25mm low-power EP with the Barlow, which is the equivalent of using a 8mm EP, but that's enough power to see tons of craters on the moon, Jupiter's stripes and moons, and Saturn's rings).  Their Barlow came with the scope, but no instructions to put it in between the scope and diagonal, not between the diagonal and eyepiece (this is unlike SCT and reflector style scopes).  The weight of this Barlow lens (and most semi-decent eyepieces) is probably the bigger issue, as it might be too heavy for the plastic focuser, and will definitely throw off the balance and weight limit of your tripod (if it doesn't just fall over, the tripod will have a harder time holding steady, and the focuser might bend or break).  Still, can't hurt to try.  Just buying a couple of decent, but relatively inexpensive Plossyl eyepieces (like from Meade's 4000 or 5000 series), will really make a difference, as it's the eyepieces that are the weakest part of budget scopes (that, and the tripod, of course).  The 5mm high power one that came with my kids' scope was total junk.  Most semi-decent "cheap" eyepieces cost more than your telescope.  It's fun, but not a cheap hobby, if you really want to enjoy it.  Spend your money on better eyepieces, and keep them for when you're ready to buy a nicer scope.  The best objects in the sky, like nebulas and DSO's, don't require much magnification - they require more light (from a bigger diameter scope), but the planets are best w/high magnification, and your inexpensive refractor can give you crystal-clear views of Jupiter and Saturn, even under polluted skies.  Wide view, low-power eyepieces let you see a bigger section of the sky - I often use low power EP's to find planets, and then I put in the Barlow or high-power eyepiece to see a close-up view.  I'd get a nice wide angle low mag EP (25mm) for viewing star clusters and the Orion Nebula (maybe a few bright DSO's), and one high mag EP (8-10mm) for viewing planets and the moon.  If you also get a Barlow, it's like doubling your EP collection.  FYI - Your scope's maximum magnification is 165x.  Scope's focal length = 400mm.  Magnification = Magn. power of Barlow x (Scope's focal length/focal length of eyepiece).  So, using a 10mm EP and a 3x Barlow, you get 3(400mm/10mm) = 120x, which is good for viewing planets and the moon.  Magnification and brightness have an inverse relationship.  The higher the magnification, the lower the light, so it's better to see stars and nebulae, which are dim, w/low power "wide angle" eyepieces, and save your high-power viewing for the planets and moon.

Question 4

does this fit the celestron nexstar 4se?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it does fit, but the real question is whether or not it will work with any specific eyepiece.  We suggest that you limit that telescope to no more than 250x magnification.  Do not use that Barlow in the NexStar 4SE with an eyepiece having less than 11mm focal length.

Celestron93428 1.25 Inch X-Cel Lx 3X Barlow Lens - Black

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