Collimation - how do I know?

[ramstar]

Total novice-got my first ever viewing of Jupiter last night. Was hoping for a bit more detail - how can I tell if my scope needs collimating?

[John]

What scope is it and what magnification were you using ?

What detail did you see and what were you expecting ?

It might not be collimation you see so some more info will help the diagnosis.

[ramstar]

dob200 and used both the 10mm & 25mm eyepieces. I saw four moons to the left of Jupiter but was disappointed in the lack of clarity in the planet itself. The size of the image was small but I wss expecting that - maybe I've been expecting too much?

[rwilkey]

Seeing conditions must be really clear to see any detail, also, it takes a while to get used to 'looking', you have to let your eyes become accustomed to viewing and make sure they are well dark-adapted. The telescope also needs to cool down for about 20-30 minutes. Also, the 10mm ep that comes with the scope is not brilliant but persevere to begin with. It takes a little while to settle down and stargaze.