It's only a small eyepiece compared to the X-Cel EP's. Although I imagine less ghosting but not as ergonomically as comfortable to use. Unlike the 9mm version it has no negative Smyth/drawtube, I don't know the lens group configuration, but after disassembling a few GSO and WO eyepieces I wouldn't like to speculate. They're often dismissed as 'some form of Kellner', but I seriously doubt it. The 15mm looks like the runt of the litter and I've only daylight tested it so far.

In use in daylight it gives a nice FOV although I'm starting to doubt the claim of a 13mm eye relief. In the ST80 it gives 26.6x for a 3 millimetre exit pupil and 2°, 28‘, 30“ TFOV. It should compliment the 9mm Expanse nicely and seems perfect for the ST80 on the AZ5 for me as it's so light. Unlike the 9mm Expanse there is no kidney beaning and eye positioning seems more natural and relaxed.


After a bit of research I've discovered that these are marketed by a number of retailers under various prices and names. I'm still fairly convinced they're all Barsta though.

 

Interestingly ... https://agenaastro.com/agena-15mm-enhanced-wide-angle-ewa-eyepiece.html



although still slightly more expensive than what I paid lol.

 

I think i can't see any ghosting in my Xcel LX, but I am not 100% sure I know what is ghosting in the eyepiece..

the Expanse has many different brand. They even call 2 different eyepieces "starguiders" this will cause confusion like the Xcel and Xcel LX. Almost impossible to talk about the Xcel LX without writing LX or you are up for some trouble in the thread.

 

As the owner of an original X-Cel 5mm, not an X-Cel LX, I wouldn't say 'trouble' exactly - more like 'mirth!'

​

Not sure of what exactly I want to do with it - or whom - but it should be something worthy of it's reputation. I'm open to suggestions..... !

 

Paperweight?

 

I only have the 9mm X-Cel LX and I only used it for high power lunar/planetary, in fact I actually purchased it originally for the last Mars opposition. It's more or less been replaced with a 9mm Circle T combined with a TeleVue 2.5x Powermate for high power on my Newtonian. The 9mm X-Cel LX could ghost slightly on a bright Moon sometimes. You just won't get that with a Circle T ortho'.

 

OK, this is officially my favourite invention of all time, well OK, today anyway.



It's an Antares 25mm Cross Hair Plossl Eyepiece 1.25". It cost me £34.99p.



I don't think my refractor sights have ever been more accurate! There is a focuser so you can bring the cross hairs into sharp focus.

 

That looks like a nice one, Mak! I have a 12mm Antares with an adjustable red-light to illuminate the crosshairs, which I constructed from several other illuminated x-hair EP's.

Those things tend to die on me. I'd gladly swap it for that contraption in a heartbeat!

 

Yeah, it seems like a pretty decent Plossl as well lol. It isn't illuminated so I'm not sure how useful it will be out in the field so to speak. But it has made setting my refractors up in daylight easier.

 

Look at it his way: I can easily see the crosshairs in RACI Finder-Scopes in the dark. So I'm sure you really don't need the light-up versions. Even red-light will spoil some of your dark-adaptation. Not as much as white-light, of course, but some.

 

I can just about see the cross hairs in my polar scope, it's fairly dark where I observe from though.

 

aghhh my observation was deeply disturbed by some ass doing donuts in front of my home with his damn car, causing dust and bad smell. I had to run after him to catch the licence plate, then called the police.

Damn fool... Aggggg this makes me angry

 

Will the cops up there do anything about it? Too many times in the USA, they'll get the driver into a high-speed pursuit resulting in the 'bad guy' crashing into a school-bus full of orphans.

 

That felon saw me, I was there and he escaped. He ran away very very fast so i cannot take the license plate, and that worked actually. But now he knows I saw him, and this might be enough to keep him away.

A white BRZ like that messing around in a small town is not the best idea. The police can be annoying.

 

I had an ST102/Hal-130 session between about 00:15 ~ 01:50 BST. The seeing was a decent AI~II but there were quite a lot of transparency issues.



My original plan was to view Ursa Major, Perseus and Cassiopeia and the surrounding areas until Mars was approaching transit (01:43) when I’d put the 5x TeleVue Powermate into the diagonal.



Predictably the incoming cloud blanket hid Mars around that time so I didn’t get to see it with the telescope. Most of the session was around Perseus and Cassiopeia.



Only two eyepieces were used; a 15mm and 10mm Celestron Luminos. The 15mm was used for at least 80% of the entire session. It gave 33.3x for about a 3mm exit pupil and 2 arc degrees, 27 minutes and 43 seconds of TFOV. No filters were used. The 10mm gave 50x for a 2mm exit pupil and 1°, 38‘, 24“ TFOV.



There’s a lot in Cassiopeia although the only Messier I missed was M52, which for some reason I couldn’t find. The Perseus Double Cluster was as spectacular as ever.



But the highlights for me were the (upside down lol) NGC 457/Caldwell 13 Owl Cluster and NGC 559/Caldwell 8 Ghost’s Goblet.



The extra 22 millimetres aperture of the ST102 over the ST80 really do make a difference, especially when the conditions aren’t so good.

 

A good night's work, Mak!

Still socked-in here with clouds. Likely for the whole week. But the heat and humidity remains horrible - even at night. Staying in with A/C cranked.

Yik!

 

Thanks Dave. There's clouds here too, I thought I might get lucky with Mars, but the clouds had other ideas. Still bloody warm though! I'm really starting to think global warming isn't a good idea now. I think whoever thought of it should be sacked lol.

 

Nutbar! LOL!

 

lol

 

What's that? An Acorn with an arse in the 'O'? LOL!