Celestron firstscope

[Charlie_132]

I brought this scope on monday, it came with a 20mm eyepiece and a 4mm eyepiece. The past 2 nights ive been looking up at the sky, i managed to focus on venus but it just looked like a very bright dot

then i tried to focus on jupiter and i couldnt see it atall .. which i found strange as this should be the easiest to pick up in detail

i think i saw saturn but i only had the window open holding the scope on the windowseal, it just looked like a star with a 2 tiny sticks poking out either side

could anyone give me some advice on how i should be able to see saturn, jupiter and venus.

[waffle]

Hey Charlie,

What kind of scope is it? I got my first scope about 1-2 months back and I've been able to them just fine. I did receive the celestron eye-piece kit with the scope, but even with the stock pieces I was able to see the moons around Jupiter and the rings (and at least 1 moon) of Saturn. I'm not sure if some calibration is needed, but they should be visible to you. Venus however, because it reflects so much of the Sun's light, always looks like a very, very bright star rather than a planet.

I'm sure some of the more experienced folks on here will give you better pointers or advice.

Cheers.

[Atlas]

If you couldn't see jupiter at all then maybe your guide ring/scope isn't lined up right.

Also, holding a telescope next to an open window won't net you nuch detail due to the thermal currents in your house. With the window open, all the heat is rushing out your window making focusing nearly impossible.

Also as stated above, you can only dim Venus with filters and image processing to pull out very minimal detail.

What size and type is your scope? That info can help us help you in seeing better images.

[The Warthog]

Assuming you have the 114mm reflector, assemble it in daytime, outside, put in the 20mm eyepiece, and point the scope at the most distant thing you can see. Wiggle it about until you have that object (chimney, church spire, corner of a flat, whatever) in the centre of the field of view, and then lock the telescope axes down. Make sure the object is in focus. Then make sure the crosshairs of the finderscope are on that object.

When night comes, point the finderscope at Venus, and look through the telescope. If you haven't changed the focus since daytime, and the object you used was more than a couple of hundred feet away, you should have Venus in focus, or be able to focus with a very slight adjustment of the focuser. Venus will appear like a tiny half-moon, with no detail. You may need to make some fine adjustments to the finder, but point the finder at Jupiter next. Do not change the focus. Jupiter will probably appear as a salmon-coloured disk, and with a little bit of luck you may be able to see the bands across the middle, and you should be able to make out the Galilean moons.

Your 4mm eyepiece will overpower that scope a little. I would suggest you get a 6mm for a more realistic high power.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

[jflowers]

I assume you mean this one?

Celestron 76 mm Firstscope: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

If so, sorry i have not looked through one, but I assume that it would not give fantastic views. I would have thought you could make out the moons of Jupiter, but I am sure a more experienced member who does know these will be along shortly