Centering object in eyepiece using GOTO scope

[Mister-t]

Hi

I'm fairly new to this, so please excuse if this is a stupid question.

When aligning stars using the GOTO Skyalign feature on a Celestron I'm never certain if the selected star is accurately 'centred' in the eyepiece. I am a spec wearer but try with and without. It's more how centred does it need to be. I've heard about cross-hair reticules but is their some accessory one can add to the eyepiece so I can align to some reference point.

Thanks Paul

[malc-c]

Paul,

To be honest for visual work not having the star bang on centre won't matter. I tend to use a low power to first get the star in the field of view, place it more or less in the centre then change eyepiece to a higher power and get that in the field of view and then confirm the position. I then go back to a low power and repeat for the second star. I find that this is good enough for goto visual observing

[Psychobilly]

I used to find it easier to jusdge the position of the star if I defocussed it depending on how bright the image is you may be able to get it to almost fill the view...

[Brinders]

I use a reticle that came with my TAL 25mm eyepiece.

Brinders

[brantuk]

This is where a zoom lens comes in very handy

[ollypenrice]

Peter's idea is good but in all honesty it matters little unless you are trying to image the near-invisible. It is just as easy to re-centre on a nearby object if accurate GoTo (ie very accurate) is needed.

Olly

[Mister-t]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions . I'll try the de-focussing method first - hopefully later tonight if the skies keep clear.

Paul