HELP! Newbie. Blurry view in eyepiece for Celestron Astromaster 130EQ Telescope?

[swtbliss8]

Update:  There has been some improvement.  I have been testing it out and been doing terrestrial viewing just now while pointing the tube at a branch of a tree from a distance. I could see the shapes of the leaves but it is still not sharp and still blury even though I have been turning the focus knob while trying to focus.   Any ideas on solutions?

Thanks again to everyone who has been trying to help.  Hope I'm clear when explaining my problem. 

[brantuk]

"still not sharp and still blury even though I have been turning the focus knob while trying to focus"

Need a bit more feedback than this to know where you're at.

When you turn the focuser knob, does the draw tube and eyepiece move in and out?

Is the secondary square on to the draw tube?

Do you see the three mirror clips and circle on the primary center spot when looking in the draw tube?

Is there anything else in the draw tube other than the eyepiece?

Without precise answers to these questions it's impossible to guess the state of the instrument and offer a solution I'm afraid. 

Edited December 18, 2013 by brantuk

[swtbliss8]

"still not sharp and still blury even though I have been turning the focus knob while trying to focus"

Need a bit more feedback than this to know where you're at.

When you turn the focuser knob, does the draw tube and eyepiece move in and out?

Is the secondary square on to the draw tube?

Do you see the three mirror clips and circle on the primary center spot when looking in the draw tube?

Is there anything else in the draw tube other than the eyepiece?

Without precise answers to these questions it's impossible to guess the state of the instrument and offer a solution I'm afraid. 

Hi,

First of all thanks for trying to help me.  When I turn the focuser knob, the draw tube and eyepiece does move in and out.  I'm not sure how to go further with your other questions. (Again, I'm new to this whole thing).  What do you mean by the secondary square on the draw tube?  Can you show a picture? 

[Ben Smith]

I think a tree may still be too close to get sharp focus on. I'll attach a pic below to show you what you should be able to see looking down the focus tube without an eyepiece in.

Notice on the pic without the flash the 3 clips holding the primary (bigger mirror) in place.

[swtbliss8]

I think a tree may still be too close to get sharp focus on. I'll attach a pic below to show you what you should be able to see looking down the focus tube without an eyepiece in.

Notice on the pic without the flash the 3 clips holding the primary (bigger mirror) in place.

Thanks Ben for the pictures!  Now I understand what the poster "brantuk" meant by the three mirror clips.  I do see the three mirror clips and circle on the primary center spot when looking in the draw tube.  Are they supposed to be there?

[Ben Smith]

Yes. Can you see your eye too. If yours looks like mine then you should be able to get sharp focus on anything in the sky with your 25mm eyepiece in. If you have a red dot sight or smaller finder scope it may not be lined up with what you can see through your telescope, so you might need to move the scope around abit to find what your looking for then you can adjust your finder scope screws so the hairpin goes through what is centred in your scope.

[swtbliss8]

Yes. Can you see your eye too. If yours looks like mine then you should be able to get sharp focus on anything in the sky with your 25mm eyepiece in. If you have a red dot sight or smaller finder scope it may not be lined up with what you can see through your telescope, so you might need to move the scope around abit to find what your looking for then you can adjust your finder scope screws so the hairpin goes through what is centred in your scope.

Yes I can see my eye too.  I just don't know why I just can't get a sharp image?

How do I line up my finder scope with the telescope?  Are there step by step instructions?

Thanks again!!!  At least we're going somewhere with some improvement! 

[brantuk]

Yes - those pics are a good representation of how it is supposed to look... thanks Ben.

If that is how your scope looks when viewing in the draw tube, and you can see your eye reflected back at you, and the focuser and eyepiece move in and out when the knob is turned, then I can conclude that the scope is at least set up roughly correctly, and that the diagonal mirror at the top of the telescope is facing the focuser opening.

("Square on" simply means facing, and lined up at right angles to, the focuser tube).

Next one or two questions :

Does the primary mirror appear clean and free from any unsightly marks or smudges and no thick layer of dust?

Can you see if the secondary mirror is clean and free from thick dust or smudges?

Are the two eyepieces clean and free from smudges or anything that would block light coming through.

Looking in a telescope is like looking in a bathroom mirror whilst wearing spectacles. If there's a thick mark on either the mirror or the lens surfaces then the view will be blurry. If you turn the hot tap on the room fills with steam and the mirror and glasses steam up till you can't see anything through them.

So when using the scope outside make sure it's dry and clean, and all optical surfaces are free of anything that would block or smear the view and not misted up with dew.

If all of that holds true then the only other thing I can think of is a very large collimation error. Collimation is accurately lining up the mirrors and lenses so the light path is central and straight. You would need to go to your local astronomy society to get someone to help out with that. If you're in or near the East Mids - let me know and I can arrange something for you.

[Ben Smith]

If your finder scope does need adjusting it's nice and easy. There are two screws in it, one moves it up and down and the other moves it left and right. Once you have the moon focused and centred through your eyepiece adjust the screws on the finder scope so it is centred through there too. You may need to do it a few times as the moon will move each time. Then you can find a bright star and do the same again to fine tune

[nightfisher]

Yes I can see my eye too.  I just don't know why I just can't get a sharp image?

How do I line up my finder scope with the telescope?  Are there step by step instructions?

Thanks again!!!  At least we're going somewhere with some improvement! 

Can you post a picture showing the focuser with eyepiece in it as you would use it

[cantab]

Do you wear glasses or contact lenses to correct strong astigmatism? If so, you'll probably need to wear them while using the scope. The same might apply if you have strong short or long sightedness. And, though it seems unlikely, try viewing with your other eye in case you've got some visual impairment you didn't know about.

If that makes no change, then I have to suspect either the eyepiece or the main mirror is faulty. Multiple eyepieces might be faulty if the previous owner took them apart and put them together wrong. Try and borrow a known good eyepiece for testing, or else try and test your eyepieces in a known good scope.

If it still doesn't work with a good eyepiece, or you confirm the EPs you have are OK, that just leaves the mirrors in my mind.

[Spiral]

Could it be condesation on one of the mirrors or even your breath on a cold eyepiece?

I have just got the exact same telescope & haven't seen a thing with it yet due to cloud cover :-(

[astronymonkey]

You havent left one of the opaque eyepiece caps on have you ?

[Mrlangston]

I have found that images are blurry or appear to have tails when I look at brighter objects but it was fixed by a VERY small adjustment to the collimation while still looking in the eyepiece. You have to be careful not to move the image out of the field of view but by making tiny adjustments you can see the difference in quality. You may have to adjust the finder after doing this as the scope will move a little.

I could not get on with the standard red dot finder and replaced it with a rigel. The improvement was massive as I can now find things - you may find the same if you are having trouble finding things in the eyepiece (I struggled to get the moon!)

Michael

[swtbliss8]

Can you post a picture showing the focuser with eyepiece in it as you would use it

This is my first time posting a picture.  I'm posting a picture of how my telescope was set up and how the eyepiece looks when inserted in the focuser.  Hope this gives an idea and help solve the problem.

[swtbliss8]

Do you wear glasses or contact lenses to correct strong astigmatism? If so, you'll probably need to wear them while using the scope. The same might apply if you have strong short or long sightedness. And, though it seems unlikely, try viewing with your other eye in case you've got some visual impairment you didn't know about.

If that makes no change, then I have to suspect either the eyepiece or the main mirror is faulty. Multiple eyepieces might be faulty if the previous owner took them apart and put them together wrong. Try and borrow a known good eyepiece for testing, or else try and test your eyepieces in a known good scope.

If it still doesn't work with a good eyepiece, or you confirm the EPs you have are OK, that just leaves the mirrors in my mind.

I have always been wearing glasses so no worries on that part.    But it still makes no change even if I do or don't wear them.  It's probably something faulty about the eyepieces?

[swtbliss8]

Could it be condesation on one of the mirrors or even your breath on a cold eyepiece?

I have just got the exact same telescope & haven't seen a thing with it yet due to cloud cover :-(

Congrats on your 'scope!  Are you getting blurry images too?!? 

[swtbliss8]

You havent left one of the opaque eyepiece caps on have you ?

Hi astronymonkey,

I don't think I left on the opaque eyepiece caps on as you can refer to the picture I posted earlier regarding of how my setup and eyepieces looks like.

[Kirscovitch]

There are tons of tips and tricks so far posted on here. If nothing has solved the issue yet, could it be the optics are just defective? Maybe scratched or some sort of oil or something smeared on it? I'm at a loss to know what the problem is.

Might just have to box it up and ship it back???

Sorry you're having all these issues. It would drive me crazy!!!

[swtbliss8]

I've contacted and e-mailed Celestron Support.  Hopefully they'll help me respond with a definite answer.  Don't get me wrong...these are all great suggestions, but it's just that I don't know which one wouid truely correct the problem.  I'm just curious if Celestron Support knows a definite answer to this problem.  Sorry, this is driving me nuts and I want to fix the problem quickly.  I'm really anxious to see the moon close-up, etc.! 

[Kirscovitch]

I know how you feel about wanting to get out there do some observing! Hopefully Celestron can give you some answers. 

There have been a ton of good suggestions so far but if none of them work I would think something has to be defective.

[astronymonkey]

From looking at your pictures and the various others on the web it seems like the scope is set up correctly. Since you say the moon looks like an out of focus blob it suggests you are getting light to the eyepiece but it isnt coming into focus, and since you say you can see your eye then there would appear to be nothing in the way of the light path except the eyepiece. So this seems to be an eyepiece or focus issus.

one thing you could try is to point at the moon, this should be a very bright blob and then foucs the best you can. Once this is done slacken the screws holding the eyepiece and while looking through it slowly slide the eyepiece out about two centimetres to see if that improves the focus. From what I have seen on the web the lower power eyepiece, which is the longer of the two has a milled step half way along on the outside of the tube which got me wonderjng if the eyepiece in meant to be inserted all the way or if it is only meant to be in as far as the milled edge.

hopethis helps

[Fozzie]

Are those the stock eye pieces..

Anyone else looking at that eyepiece and saying "That doesn't look right..." the astro master comes with the standard EP's (25mm & 10mm) or a 20mm imaged erecting one.  I bought an astro master new 6 months ago and got the image erecting eyepiece (20mm) and a standard 10mm.. Both had rubber eye cups and relatively small apertures..

I cant see any rubber eye cup on that photo, could this be an issue with the eyepieces?

Maybe a close up of the EP and then the EP in place may help?

[Cornelius Varley]

Are those the stock eye pieces..

Anyone else looking at that eyepiece and saying "That doesn't look right..." the astro master comes with the standard EP's (25mm & 10mm) or a 20mm imaged erecting one.  I bought an astro master new 6 months ago and got the image erecting eyepiece (20mm) and a standard 10mm.. Both had rubber eye cups and relatively small apertures..

I cant see any rubber eye cup on that photo, could this be an issue with the eyepieces?

Maybe a close up of the EP and then the EP in place may help?

A lack of a rubber eyecup wouldn't neccessarily cause a focusing problem, it could be folded back. There are also some eyepieces that don't have eyecups anyway so I doubt this is the problem.

[coulthamst]

Perhaps if you let us know which area you live in, a local SGL contributor might offer to take a look at the situation for you.