Am I just daft?

[vincent1cat]

Why have I got a lovely view of Venus and Jupiter with the naked eye but my telescope reduces them both to tiny points of light?

[John]

What scope do you have and what magnification / eyepiece are you using ?.

[ChrisThePuma]

1. Are you looking in the right place (i.e not at a random star instead)

2. Have you checked your focus?

........

3. Are you looking through the right end of your scope? ;-)

[sologuitarist61]

Strange isn't it? I would guess that the human eye has an ability to focus in on a subject - a bit like a zoom lens - but as soon as you look through the scope you seem to loose that ability and just see what is presented to you. I am sure someone will come up with a better explanation and if so I look forward to reading it!!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Without knowing scope details and EP used etc its hard to say what is the problem. Certainly Venus and Jupiter should not be appearing as points of light (depending on scope size etc).

[vincent1cat]

I've got a Celestron 130 and I'm using a 25mm eyepiece-I've tried the 10mm and its a total blur.

[Capricorn]

Something is wrong then.

10mm on a 130P is 65x, on a 130 is 90x, both should show Jupiter decently.

Collimation is the main thought, as in the eyepiece, secondary and main are out of alignment so what you see is a mess.

If you have an old 35mm film container have a search for collimation cap and see what it says. Alternatively try:

Astro Babys Guide to Collimation

She covers a collimation cab - the improvised 35mm film container. It is a relatively easy way to check collimation and possibly improve it. Never tried I have refractors.

If you had the barlow in then take it out, and put it somewhere you will not find it again.

[Dove]

im using the 130 Skywatcher and i get Venus as a half crescent moon with a blushing tinge. and Mars i get a Orange ball ( if il looked at it longer ill probably get some detail....

[Northern Soul man]

Hi Vince if your still not having any luck - let me know where a bouts you are in the West Midlands and I could pop round - I'm in Rowley if your not too far away - regards Paul.

[vincent1cat]

Thanks for all your replies-Northern Soul Man I'm in Walsall-Is that too far for you to travel? Cheers.

[Northern Soul man]

Hi Ya Vincent - I've only just sold my motorbike, only got my push bike now, but if your still not having any luck I'll pop over - Ive got a similar sized scope to you, the 127mm Celestron Maksutov - using the 8mm seem to get decent views with it.

May be just a focusing problem - not used the scope you have - but roughly the same - have you tried focusing in the daytime on a distant tree or an object about a mile or so away the focusing takes a little to get used to but it should come to focus.

When focusing on Jupiter, try looking at the edge of the disc when focusing - it should be fairly sharp (if your looking at the planet when its low down and close to the horizon, due to the atmosphere, you wont get a sharp image - It'll be fuzzy and shakey) - but remember when focusing on star fields - they are much farther away, so adjust either in or out - stars should be the smallest points of light when in focus.

Just let me know if your still not happy and I'll pop over on pedal power.

Take Care Vincent and don't worry mate, just a little tinkering needed. Paul.

I've got a cheshire collimater to check the optics if needed, just send me a private message with your address and we can take it from there if you like. Paul

[vincent1cat]

Thanks for the advice-I think I'm just new to this game-only had the telescope since Christmas and you're probably right -I need to keep tinkering. If I get stuck I know who to ask. Cheers!