Can't see anything!

[PEELS]

Hi. Not sure if this is the right post. I am very new to astronomy. I have bought a Celestron Omni T150 telescope, and a Omegon Redline SW 5mm Okular 2" as extra. Last night we tried it for the first time, and couldn't see anything! Black sky, no stars (and the sky was cloudless)

I'm clearly doing something wrong, but have no idea what. Anyone got any suggestions?

Pete

[PeterCPC]

That's a good scope you have there and I imagine the problem is one of focus. 

Unless you left the cap over the lens I think that you are not in focus. Best target to try to get focus on is Jupiter (high in the West at the moment) as it's a big target relatively. You could also try focusing on a far away object during the day and putting a bit of tape over the focuser to lock it, then try it at night as the focus should be about right. Try to find a daytime target at least half a mile away but don't go anywhere near the Sun if it's out - keep to targets on the horizon.

See if that helps.

Peter

[Joves]

Hi Pete,

Sounds as though you possibly either still had the cap on your scope or perhaps you were way out of focus. I'd imagine it was probably the latter. I believe your scope has a focal length of 750mm, so your 5mm eyepiece yields 150x magnification. If you were pointed at a star and close to focus, you definitely should have been able to see at least some form of star image.

Which brings me to what else it may have been. Have you aligned the finderscope which came with your telescope? This is best done during daylight at a distant object. If not, it is possible you weren't actually pointing your scope at anything bright enough to see anything if even only relatively mildly out of focus. You'd be amazed how difficult it is to find anything whatsoever when using 150x magnification and not using a properly aligned finderscope. Try using a longer focal length eyepiece (I imagine your scope would have come with one in the 20-25mm range), point at a section of sky where there are clearly stars showing, look into the eyepiece and slowly adjust your focus until pinpoints of light come into view.

Can take some getting used to at first, but you'll get there.

All the best and welcome to SGL.

Aaron

[Joves]

That's a good scope you have there and I imagine the problem is one of focus. 

Unless you left the cap over the lens I think that you are not in focus. Best target to try to get focus on is Jupiter (high in the West at the moment) as it's a big target relatively. You could also try focusing on a far away object during the day and putting a bit of tape over the focuser to lock it, then try it at night as the focus should be about right. Try to find a daytime target at least half a mile away but don't go anywhere near the Sun if it's out - keep to targets on the horizon.

See if that helps.

Peter

You know what they say about great minds, Peter

[PeterCPC]

You know what they say about great minds, Peter

If only I had a great mind!!

Peter

[brantuk]

Yup - sounds like a focus issue - unless you've left a cap on the scope or eyepiece. With that eyepiece you'll get 150x magnification which will show a very nice view of Jupiter. If it's your first scope then you need to get the finder aligned with the main scope. As above - do this in daylight on a distant object like a church spire tip, or a pylon tip. Get the object dead central in both the finder and main scope and leave set till night time.

Use the 5mm eyepiece for best accuracy, then if you use any longer eyepieces (ie more mm) they will automatically have any object in the fov. But you'll need to start with a long eyepiece, center and focus it, then center/focus progressively shorter ones until you get to the 5mm, or you won't stand a chance at night.

To find the current position of anything in the sky use Stellarium which is free to down load. Configure your postion and time into it and set south on the right of the screen and east on the left. Switch on the ecliptic and you'll see the path taken by the planets. Set your scope up so the mount is pointing due North and use the RA and Dec axes to move it round to the south to view objects until you're familiar with how it all works.

Space is big - very big - bigger than I can express or even understand - the sizes and distances will leave you dumbfounded - but finding objects, though daunting at first, is actually easier than you'd think, with a little practise.

[Tinker1947]

Test it in day light on a far off building once you get the focal point changing to a far off star will need very little movement.....

[PEELS]

Greatly appreciate the replies (Yes, I did take the lens cover off!)

I'll try fiddling with the focus and testing in daylight.

Again, thank you all for the help and suggestions

Pete

[Caldwell14]

Space is big - very big

You have under statement down to a fine art...lol

[brantuk]

I thought that might tickle someone lol