Calculating Magnification - Meade ECLIPSE VIEW 60 Instruction Manual

The power of a telescope is how much it magnifies objects. Each telescope has its own set of focal lengths and, therefore,
different magnifications when used with various eyepieces. For example, the EclipseView 60mm used with the 26mm
eyepiece magnifies an object 31times. The 9mm eyepiece used with the EclipseView 60mm will magnify objects 89 times.
You can calculate how much magnification an eyepiece will have with your specific telescope. Just divide the telescope
focal length by the focal length of the eyepiece.
Focal Length of the Telescope
Focal Length of the Eyepiece
= Magnification
Look at the specifications. For example, you will see that
the focal length of the EclipseView 60mm is 800mm.
I
Let's say that you have obtained a 6.3mm eyepiece. You
can tell what the focal length of your eyepiece is as it
is always printed on the side of the eyepiece. Divide:
800mm ÷ 6.3mm, which equals 126.98. Round this off
to the nearest whole number and you find the 6.3mm
eyepiece used with the EclipseView 60mm magnifies
objects 127 times.
Expert's Tip
It's worth repeating: Keep in mind that a bright, clear, but smaller image is more interesting than a larger, dimmer, fuzzy one. Using
too high a power eyepiece is one of the most common mistakes made by new astronomers. So don't think that higher magnification
is necessarily better—quite often the best view is with a lower magnification value!

Calculating Magnification

÷
Eyepiece's magnification
= Magnification with a 2X Barlow lens
If you use a Barlow lens with one of your eyepieces, it
doubles the magnification of your eyepiece. Other types
of Barlows can triple or further increase the power of an
eyepiece. To find out how much your magnification is when
you use a 2x Barlow, multiply your eyepiece's magnification
by two. For example, the 9mm low-power eyepiece used
with the EclipseView 60mm magnifies an object 89 times.
Multiply 89 by 2 and you get 178 times magnification with
a Barlow.
2
x
43
42