BeanerSA

Most alignment stars would be mag 3.5 or brighter, so could you just set that as the limit?

F11

Do it. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

XT8. No question. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

When you say "I'd like to see some detail", what are you referring to? Stars? Planets? Deep Sky Objects? What are the skies like where you live?

Check out the dedicated Video Astronomy sub. http://stargazerslounge.com/forum/123-video-astronomy/

Original Poster. You.

That's some expensive gear! But you just want to show them on a screen! You're on the wrong track. You want video astronomy.

Wow. That is a tiny, dim one. Good capture.

#

You always need to manually save the changes before you exit

How much did the EQ5 cost you?

I think someone's tin foil hat is getting a bit tight.

Looking through skylights is a pretty bad idea, it just doesn't work. Even viewing from indoors through an open window is a pretty bad idea, as the thermal currents passing through the window destroys the viewing. The star definitely exists but will usually be very, very faint, and tricky to find for even an experienced individual.

If it isn't down to changed conditions, then it might be a minor planet or similar object.

I would say that is the case.

Why are you doing any of this if it's a GPS enabled scope? EDIT: You only have to enter time zone and dst manually. EDIT again: Link to the manual for those playing along at home http://www.ioptron.us/Manual/8800_Cube-G_manual.pdf

I've gone back and re read your first post. I think the issue is just that you need to ignore the stars indicated on the screen until after you've done your alignment. You just use the arrow keys to centre 3 stars, pushing align each time. Here are the relevant steps. 3. Use the arrows on your screen to move the telescope to any bright star in the sky. 4. Center the object in your StarPointer and tap Enter. Now that the object is centered in the finder, the motor speed will slow down so that you may make gradual adjustments to center it in the eyepiece. 5. Center the star in your eyepiece and tap Align. This aligns your first star. 6. Choose another bright star, in a different part of the sky. Move the telescope to the second star and repeat steps 3-5. 7. Repeat this process for a third star in another part of the sky. Upon completing the third alignment star, your telescope will be aligned. You are now ready to observe!

So there is no starting position for the scope, which is good. The alignment procedure is on page 10 of the manual, and I was incorrect about needing to know the name of the stars. It just wants you to centre 3 bright stars. Can you see 3 bright stars, preferable some distance away from each other?

When you plonk it on the ground, it has no idea which way it is facing. Alignment involves you moving the alignment stars into the centre of the eyepiece yourself. This is why it's important to correctly align the finderscope during the day, and then you need to be able to identify the alignment stars yourself. This is why we say that these scopes aren't as easy to use as they initially appear. EDIT: I might be mistaken on a couple of points so I'm just reading the manual now.

Ah, gotcha. My apologies.

FTFY Nice shot.

^^^^ Our 6" was good out of the box. 12 months later I still haven't had to adjust it.

Well, it's 30 degrees at 2200hrs here, and the clouds are forming a nice solid blanket, keeping the heat in and the stars hidden.

Plan your observing session for when the clouds clear.