Hi. I recently made the difficult decision to part with my 20mm, 100 degree Skywatcher Myriad eyepiece. It was difficult because I loved the views it gave, the dizzying feeling one got when approaching the lens as the apparent field of view opened up, and the sensation of falling into space as one peered in. Sounds mad, I know, but it was totally immersive.
Problem was, though, the weight, and also it was so big, and stuck out so far from the already extended focuser/drawtube. I just couldn’t relax with it. Even with the locking handles really tight, the tube would still tip forward, meaning I had to loosen the handles so I could move the scope back, then really really tighten them …
Yes, I could have created a counter balance system, but I felt that it was a step too far, just one more thing to faff around with…
So I sold it… to a good home.
And bought one of these:
An Explore Scientific, 24mm, 82 degree beauty. It gives 50 times magnification in my scope (as opposed to the Myriad’s 60), weighs a mere 696g (as opposed to the nearly 900g of the Myriad), yet has the same true field of view, and the exit pupil is almost the same.
It came in a nice box, with a nice bag, and feels great in the hand … yadda, yadda … all of that’s to be expected for a nearly 300 quid eyepiece. It’s the views … and the views are very nice: bright, sharp to the edge (at least when in combination with a coma corrector). Eye relief is good (17.5mm for the 24mm as opposed to 15mm for the Myriad), and the conical eyepiece is comfortable (more so than the Myriad’s flat and wide shape).
First light was last Saturday (May 4, 2024), looking out over the UK’s south coast towards France … Lovely globular clusters (Ms 4, 5, 13, 68) were bright and grainy in texture. Galaxies (Sombrero, Ms 81 & 82, and loads in Virgo), were bright and sharply defined; especially M82.
There were sparkling star clusters (Double and Owl) and a sharp and richly coloured Albireo.
Conclusions
Yes it’s still fairly heavy, and still requires the dob’s handles to be done up fairly tight, but the nearly 200g weight saving makes all the difference (all other things being equal). The Myriad is a fine eyepiece, and the views are spectacular, but I’m happy to forego a little magnification and apparent field of view for an eyepiece I can relax around.
The astro guy 