Can't see anything with my Celestron AstroMaster 90?

[introspheric]

Hi guys,
I posted a while back introducing myself and my new scope that I'd been given on the terms of 'good luck with it, I can't get it to work and you can't see a thing'...when I got it home and set it up I realised it was missing both the 10mm and 20mm eyepieces that would have come with it. D'oh, that's why. So I asked for advice here about which one(s) to get and where to get them, and as such I was greeted with lots of information!

I'm back - I now have a 10mm Skywatcher SP and a basic 2x Barlow to play with. The scope takes 1.25". Soon as they arrived in the post I immediately got straight to installation in my living room and pointed it at an ornament at the other side of the room to focus on...and now I see what the previous owner was saying. Without the eyepiece I can see crystal clear through the Barlow, albeit inverted but that's to be expected, but once the EP is on I can't see anything no matter how I focus it. All I can see is the light or lack thereof, absolutely nothing else even if I move the scope past a window frame etc - there's no window frame.
Evidently I'm still very new to telescopes because I use binoculars while I progress to scopes (easy does it), but surely this is basic? As far as I'm aware this type of telescope doesn't require collimation so it can't be that, and it can't be the EP because it would normally come with a 10mm and the EP itself is brand new. I've tried it both with and without the Barlow with the same unfortunate results. How am I meant to align it if I can't see anything?

Any suggestions please? Dying to take it out for a test run as soon as I can! (Tried to capture the visual image with my phone as best as I can, blurry but that's what comes through.)

  

[TiTanecd]

Are you looking inside against a wall? Looks like you are. Point its outside, the telescope can't focus with such short distance.

[ronin]

Not a chance of it focusing on anything that close.

Aim it at a building  something like 2 to 5 miles away.

Any chance of a better image showing the rear end of the scope?

Something looks a little odd.

[introspheric]

Are you looking inside against a wall? Looks like you are. Point its outside, the telescope can't focus with such short distance.

Not a chance of it focusing on anything that close.

Aim it at a building  something like 2 to 5 miles away.

Any chance of a better image showing the rear end of the scope?

Something looks a little odd.

Hah, now I feel silly...   it wasn't pointed at the wall though because I checked the view and secured it before I put the EP in. Just tried it on a church door across the car park from my balconette window and got a much better result! Still quite a close object though but at least I now know there's nothing internally wrong with the scope. That must be where the previous owner went wrong - he never actually took it outside, he wanted to stargaze from his tiny office window...anyway, my gain!

Ronin, how do you mean? It might be my mount that makes it look weird, I haven't aligned it properly yet because I haven't taken it outside since I've been waiting on a new EP first. Photos below are obviously atrocious in this sense because I've just positioned it away from facing out of my window (and started to fold up my tripod) while I do this...don't want to get in trouble with the neighbours!   Not a creepy peeper...just your friendly neighbourhood stargazer...

Are these photos okay? What were you looking for?

 

 

[NGC 1502]

First I'd try it without the barlow, just the eyepiece inserted in the diagonal.  As already suggested, take it outside and point it at a distant object, then go through the full range of the focus movement.

From the blurry pic it looks like light is getting through, but probably way off focus.

Hope you have success, Ed.

Edit - just seen post # 4, sounds much better 

[Dude_with_the_tube]

ditch the barlow and put in only 10mm or 25mm eye piece you have. 25mm is for lower powers and with that in you focuser you should be able to focus on building/target what is about 200-300mtrs away,10mm is for higher powers and you will need to have a target  minimum 1mile away.

90mm is not exactly a small aperture and should show you excellent lunar views and any other planetary,will show you some of the brightest Messier clusters but dont expect too mucht.Still a good frac for starters.

[introspheric]

ditch the barlow and put in only 10mm or 25mm eye piece you have. 25mm is for lower powers and with that in you focuser you should be able to focus on building/target what is about 200-300mtrs away,10mm is for higher powers and you will need to have a target  minimum 1mile away.

90mm is not exactly a small aperture and should show you excellent lunar views and any other planetary,will show you some of the brightest Messier clusters but dont expect too mucht.Still a good frac for starters.

Yep, tried it with both the barlow and without on a further away object and been pleased with the results it's still a fairly close object but it's done the job for now until I get a good night to take it out and really try it on the Moon to start with. I just wanted to make sure nothing was broken and that I definitely had all the right bits and pieces for the kind of scope it is. Like I say, feel a bit silly now because it's effectively like putting a book page right up to your eye so it goes all out of focus no matter what you do until you pull it away from your eye and it all comes back into clear view. Because it's a telescope. And a telescope is for long distance viewing. Duh. Woops. Haha.

Thanks for the overview by the way, do you reckon I'll get any views at all of any comets? I hear that Comet Jacques is back for a little while and I'd like to have a look if I get comfortable enough with the scope in time for it to still be in the sky. Obviously I'm not expecting fantastic results but I'll be happy with anything it can grab. Want to push it for all its potential when I know how to.

[NGC 1502]

 do you reckon I'll get any views at all of any comets? I hear that Comet Jacques is back for a little while and I'd like to have a look if I get comfortable enough with the scope in time for it to still be in the sky.

Comet Jacques is very well placed now, and your 90mm scope should show it with no problem, as long as you look in the right place of course 

Here's a finder chart you can print off - http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/comets/2014_E2.pdf  the bright stars of Cassiopeia are your starting point to find the fuzzy patch that the comet appears as.

Use your lowest power ( highest number ) eyepiece, because that will give the largest field of view and increase your chances of success.

I viewed this comet last Saturday night, and in only 10 minutes, the movement against the background stars was obvious.

Regards, Ed.

[Dude_with_the_tube]

you will see Jacques for sure as i saw it in my 90mm frac.As Ed above mentioned,look for Cassiopeia,and Jacques will be waiting for you there.