craig34220

First I would like to thank all the good folks who were kind enough to share their knowledge and experience to a complete novice such as myself. 

I was able to finally get a clear view of the Moon and Jupiter , as it turns out I just need to keep turning the focus knob until the round dot in the lens ( secondary mirror ) was so small that it disappeared and my object became clear and WOW . It was nice to see Jupiter and it's moons.

I am sure I will need more help in the future but for now I'm enjoying what I can find from my suburban backyard.

Clear skies 

Craig
 

Sorry for the delay, for reference I didn't know that the scope came with a star diagonal, but the the one I purchased seems better (  twist lock ) and the reason for the focal reducer is that in the future I hope to do some astrophotography . yes I miss spoke , I   purchased a lens/ filter kit with my telescope that has lens from 4mm to 40 mm and 2x Barlow.

The times I have used the moon  for focusing it has been in crescent and half stages and looking through the scope with star diagonal and  the focal reducer it has been crystal clear, when  I put any lens on the image get larger but unable to get focus. A big bright blur , like you said, and turning the focus knob didn't improve anything 

14 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

We still have no explanation as to why Craig34220  recieved the above mentioned accessories with the scope and had to buy a star diagonal.

Here is part of the spec from the Celestron site, and shows that a 40mm eyepiece, 13mm eyepiece and Celestron diagonal should have come with the scope: 

Focal Length:	2032mm (80")
Focal Ratio:	f/10
Focal Length of Eyepiece 1:	40mm (1.57")
Magnification of Eyepiece 1:	51x
Focal Length of Eyepiece 2:	13mm (.51")
Magnification of Eyepiece 2:	156x
Finderscope:	Red Dot Finderscope
Star Diagonal:	1.25" Star Diagonal

 So what happened to them and why were a 20mm eyepiece etc and Barlow supplied instead? If we get a sensible answer to this and confirmation that the scope is brand new and not a customer return, pre-owned etc we will be better placed to advise on how to sort the problem.

I also confirm that a f6.3 reducer is an imaging accessory. It is possible to use it with eyepieces but for troubleshooting it is best removed. I also point out that a Moon filter is NOT necessary - I have never used one.

The moon is a poor target for focusing, as unless it is almost in focus, all one can see is a bright blur with no clue as to which direction to turn the knob to improve focus.  Try again using a bright point source (star or planet) as I suggested above.

Sorry I should have also mentioned that I have a Celestron  F 6.3 focal reducer screwed into the back of the OTA , and no moon filter, But will be purchasing one very soon. 

I have tried looking at a star as opposed to the moon, and I still have no clear view. I have tried with and without the Barlow lens and have turned the focuser knob all the way stop to stop,

Telescope is a brand new unit

I've tried all the lens that came in the kit with the telescope ( package deal from High point Scientific ) 

Yes, I have tried turning the focus knob at the rear of the OTA, but no improvement 

For starters I am a COMPLETE novice to a telescope , That being said , I purchased a Celestron 8 evolution  that came with a lens kit ( 4mm-20mm and a Barlow lens ) I also purchased a Celestron star diagonal, I still need to figure out how to get it aligned but I'll save that for another time, I have been moving it manually and have been able to find the moon in crescent and half stages. My problem is that I can see the moon very clearly by looking through the star diagonal without any lens, but when I put any  lens in the star diagonal I am unable to see anything clearly , moon, stars...etc. I originally thought that the OTA may need some alignment from shipping, but since I can see the moon nice and clear with just a star diagonal I figured that was not really my problem, any thoughts or hints on my problem? 

Any help would be great 

Thanks 

Craig