Telescope help needed.

[AstroGeek99]

I bought my first telescope today and to be honest, I thought it was going to be simpler. I set it up well and then I had to just wait for night. I went outside at 7:30 just after sunset to watch and see Jupiter's position and waited for 2 hours before I could see something. I saw two small dots, one brighter than the other and I'm not sure what they were. I was using a 6mm eyepiece with the Celestron Astromaster 114EQ telescope. If I am honest, I have no idea what I'm doing, any help?

[Helen]

Welcome to SGL

It sounds like you weren't looking at Jupiter but something else.

So first question....have you aligned the finder scope? You need to adjust it so that it points at exactly the same place as the main scope. That way you'll be sure you're looking at the things you're trying to find. Its easiest to do this in daylight. Find something quite a distance away in the main scope, then adjust the finderscope until what you have in the main scope is under the crosshairs in the finderscope.

It sounds like you focussed OK though, as if you saw small dots that's good.

Helen

[AstroGeek99]

Welcome to SGL

It sounds like you weren't looking at Jupiter but something else.

So first question....have you aligned the finder scope? You need to adjust it so that it points at exactly the same place as the main scope. That way you'll be sure you're looking at the things you're trying to find. Its easiest to do this in daylight. Find something quite a distance away in the main scope, then adjust the finderscope until what you have in the main scope is under the crosshairs in the finderscope.

It sounds like you focussed OK though, as if you saw small dots that's good.

Helen

Thank you for my welcome I was trying to align the finderscope at night but found it really difficult so I will give it a go tomorrow . After I lost the two dots I started playing around with the focus again and most likely lost it, but I will find it again.

Thank you so much for your help,

Payge

[KevUU]

You say you used a 6mm eyepiece, do you have a longer one? A short eyepiece gives a high magnification (not very intuitive...) so you should use the longest one you have to get a wide view to start with; you can go up to higher powers when you've found what you're looking for. 6mm sounds very high power to start with, works out as about 166x magnification in your scope. 25mm would be a more normal place to start, giving you about 45x.

Hope this helps, sorry if I'm totally off track.

Happy Hunting

[AstroGeek99]

You say you used a 6mm eyepiece, do you have a longer one? A short eyepiece gives a high magnification (not very intuitive...) so you should use the longest one you have to get a wide view to start with; you can go up to higher powers when you've found what you're looking for. 6mm sounds very high power to start with, works out as about 166x magnification in your scope. 25mm would be a more normal place to start, giving you about 45x.

Hope this helps, sorry if I'm totally off track.

Happy Hunting

The highest I have came with the telescope, a 20mm which was recommended. Thanks, it did help

[KevUU]

The highest I have came with the telescope, a 20mm which was recommended. Thanks, it did help

Okay, that would be fine, gives you about x50 Should be a lot easier than x166 when you're trying to find something.

Warning, incoming maths bit:

You find the magnification by dividing the focal length of the telescope by the focal lengthof the eyepiece. Google tells me your scope has a 1000mm focal length, so 1000mm / 20mm gives you 50x. Simples.

[AstroGeek99]

Okay, that would be fine, gives you about x50 Should be a lot easier than x166 when you're trying to find something.

Warning, incoming maths bit:

You find the magnification by dividing the focal length of the telescope by the focal lengthof the eyepiece. Google tells me your scope has a 1000mm focal length, so 1000mm / 20mm gives you 50x. Simples.

Wow complicated lol, I will get there in the end

[fondofchips]

Hi Astrogeek99, as a fellow newbie I'm getting used to finding stuff up there.

Aligning the EQ mount to North is important so the mount follows the stars correctly this can be a bit tricky, if you are observing from the same spot all the time then at the same time you align your finder scope use a compass or phone app to align the EQ mount pointing North.

(see your instructions for which way North is on your mount, I have the EQ5 mount & one of the tripod legs is marked 'N'). If you are on a patio or decking mark the places where the tripod legs are, white or light coloured marker is easier to see at dusk or later.

Some on here say that levelling isn't important but if you are in the same spot all the time then level the top of the tripod as well. My opinion is that mount positon accuracy adds to the pleasure of observing & very worthwhile.

If the ground you are on is not level than mark the positions of the tripod legs so you can quickly set up the mount in the right postion.

I have one leg that is a bit low so I've stuck a small slab down with silicone, so all my tripod legs are fully extended when it's setup, makes the whole process quicker.

There is a bonus here, if the EQ mount is set up right then you will have the confidence to align your finderscope more accurately with Jupiter or other bright object & get the finder scope alignment spot on.

I found the videos on this site very useful, explains the EQ mount & scope use better than I can & will make more sense of what I've put here: -

http://www.eyesonthesky.com/Videos/TelescopeBasics.aspx

Somebody else will be along soon to add some help, no daft questions on here, just ask.

Cheers,

fondofchips

[AstroGeek99]

Hi Astrogeek99, as a fellow newbie I'm getting used to finding stuff up there.

Aligning the EQ mount to North is important so the mount follows the stars correctly this can be a bit tricky, if you are observing from the same spot all the time then at the same time you align your finder scope use a compass or phone app to align the EQ mount pointing North.

(see your instructions for which way North is on your mount, I have the EQ5 mount & one of the tripod legs is marked 'N'). If you are on a patio or decking mark the places where the tripod legs are, white or light coloured marker is easier to see at dusk or later.

Some on here say that levelling isn't important but if you are in the same spot all the time then level the top of the tripod as well. My opinion is that mount positon accuracy adds to the pleasure of observing & very worthwhile.

If the ground you are on is not level than mark the positions of the tripod legs so you can quickly set up the mount in the right postion.

I have one leg that is a bit low so I've stuck a small slab down with silicone, so all my tripod legs are fully extended when it's setup, makes the whole process quicker.

There is a bonus here, if the EQ mount is set up right then you will have the confidence to align your finderscope more accurately with Jupiter or other bright object & get the finder scope alignment spot on.

I found the videos on this site very useful, explains the EQ mount & scope use better than I can & will make more sense of what I've put here: -

http://www.eyesonthe...copeBasics.aspx

Somebody else will be along soon to add some help, no daft questions on here, just ask.

Cheers,

fondofchips

Thanks that was quite useful, looking forward to trying tonight.

Payge

[AstroGeek99]

Hi Astrogeek99, as a fellow newbie I'm getting used to finding stuff up there.

Aligning the EQ mount to North is important so the mount follows the stars correctly this can be a bit tricky, if you are observing from the same spot all the time then at the same time you align your finder scope use a compass or phone app to align the EQ mount pointing North.

(see your instructions for which way North is on your mount, I have the EQ5 mount & one of the tripod legs is marked 'N'). If you are on a patio or decking mark the places where the tripod legs are, white or light coloured marker is easier to see at dusk or later.

Some on here say that levelling isn't important but if you are in the same spot all the time then level the top of the tripod as well. My opinion is that mount positon accuracy adds to the pleasure of observing & very worthwhile.

If the ground you are on is not level than mark the positions of the tripod legs so you can quickly set up the mount in the right postion.

I have one leg that is a bit low so I've stuck a small slab down with silicone, so all my tripod legs are fully extended when it's setup, makes the whole process quicker.

There is a bonus here, if the EQ mount is set up right then you will have the confidence to align your finderscope more accurately with Jupiter or other bright object & get the finder scope alignment spot on.

I found the videos on this site very useful, explains the EQ mount & scope use better than I can & will make more sense of what I've put here: -

http://www.eyesonthe...copeBasics.aspx

Somebody else will be along soon to add some help, no daft questions on here, just ask.

Cheers,

fondofchips

Welcome to SGL

It sounds like you weren't looking at Jupiter but something else.

So first question....have you aligned the finder scope? You need to adjust it so that it points at exactly the same place as the main scope. That way you'll be sure you're looking at the things you're trying to find. Its easiest to do this in daylight. Find something quite a distance away in the main scope, then adjust the finderscope until what you have in the main scope is under the crosshairs in the finderscope.

It sounds like you focussed OK though, as if you saw small dots that's good.

Helen

You say you used a 6mm eyepiece, do you have a longer one? A short eyepiece gives a high magnification (not very intuitive...) so you should use the longest one you have to get a wide view to start with; you can go up to higher powers when you've found what you're looking for. 6mm sounds very high power to start with, works out as about 166x magnification in your scope. 25mm would be a more normal place to start, giving you about 45x.

Hope this helps, sorry if I'm totally off track.

Happy Hunting

Hi guys, I woke up this morning and thought I should start the alignment with the finderscope. I focused on a church around a mile from my house, I found it in the main telescope and was actually amazed how sharp the images were, anyway then I edited the finderscope to the church and then focused on something else. I decided to focus on a shop around the same distance and after 3 edited tries finally got the finderscope aligned (ish) with the main telescope. I will see if it has worked tonight at my dads as his back garden has the best view of Jupiter, Sirius, Orion, The Plough and Polaris.

Thanks for your help!

Payge

[KevUU]

No problem. Let us know how you get on