Newbie - Being stupid?

[Crazy_88]

Hello,

I've just purchased a Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ, set it up which was fine and tried to use it but just getting nothing. Cover is off on the eye piece and telescope yet I can't see anything but black,

now I know the sky is vast, space is vast and it's mainly empty and well black. I've used the finder/starpointer (although the included battery to get the red dot in this viewfinder is dead so will buy another tomorrow) to align up with various stars in the sky tonight but still can't get an image? confused!

I'm clearly (hopefully) missing something simple. I've read the manual and re read the set up guide but am a little lost. I will try some day time set up to see if I can get it working in the day as a telescope on some distant scenary.

[Fish]

Best thing will be to practice during the day like you say, use your longest eyepiece ,probably 25mm and focus on some distant object then align your red dot ready for the dark.

Hope you have more luck next time.

[paul mc c]

Hi and welcome,your not being stupid its a learning curve,what eyepiece are you using,you should use the lowest power eyepiece you have,it will give you a larger area of sky,giving you a better chance of seeing something.

[ronin]

Actually sounds like things are just way out of focus, or you need to pick a patch of sky with lots of stars - on the basis that some have to be in view.

If you know Taurus and the star Aldenbaren then aim at that, the Hyades cluster is spread out and if I recall lies inthe band of the milky way.

Other one is the "lefthand" end of Casseiopia, again the milky way is there.

Adjust the focus SLOWLY, use the eyepiece with 25mm or 20mm on it, widest view.

Set the finder up during the day on something about a mile or two away.

It is not exactly easy to aim a scope accurately, somehow it is thought that aiming the scope at what appears to be the right bit puts things in view. Bad news is that doesn't happen.

[mister_wavey]

Daytime setup is definitely recommended, but please do be careful you don't point it anywhere near the sun.

Not everyone knows how to look into the eyepiece on their first attempt, so make sure you get one eye right up close into it.

[PeterCPC]

Best target to start out with at night is the Moon - easy to find and focus on. Nice and big at the moment too. I had one of those and you will probably find that you need a better finderscope.

Peter

[RichM63]

now I know the sky is vast, space is vast and it's mainly empty and well black.

Until you get a telescope that is.

I too suggest that it is likely that you are way out of focus. Also allow the telescope to cool down for about an hour before you use it.

Mind you, last night my skies were totally opaque until about 4am by which time I was.

Don't forget that your distant scenery will be inverted and swapped right/left with a Newtonian telescope, doesn't matter in space.

Best of luck for tonight.

[Starlight 1]

I see no one have suggested a extension tube .

[Astro Imp]

The fact that all you see is black suggests that you have your eye in the wrong position relative to the eyepiece.

Does your eyepiece have a lift up rubber eye cap? If it does raise the cap to it's maximum and get in close with your eye. This assumes you are not wearing glasses.

Good luck.

[StarSeeker]

Hi Crazy and welcome!

I have the same scope as you so can sympathize with your woes, but alls not lost mate.

As people have stated, getting a daytime set-up is a must, chances are that the starfinder isnt lined up correctly, here's what i did with mine-

Get the 20mm eyepiece and focus on a land based object about a mile or more away, something like a telegraph pole or electricity pylon, get it centered as best as possible and lock everything down.

Swap the 20mm for the 10mm and re focus on your target and re center if needed, i used the slow mo adjustment cables but if you want you can release the clutch knobs slightly and center it that way, whatever floats your boat really

Once you're happy with the set-up, align the finder with the object in question, as stated in the instruction manual using the two adjustment screws, and bobs your uncle! (or so you think!)

Even after doing all this the finder was still out, but at least it was better than out the box condition, my personal advice, get a rigel finder from FLO, i was going to get a telrad but due to the size of the scope it would have created balance issues and other things and a rigel is the way forward, i dont have one yet but its on the list of "Martins most wanted"

Hope this helped, somewhat lol.

Martin.

[RWB]

Hi I am glad that I am not the only one with finder problems on a130 EQ but I have had some very nice views of the moon

since Xmas  so may go for a red dot finder any way

C.S.    Robin

[Scott]

just one thing to check when focusing... I'm not sure which type of focuser you have on your scope but just check that the locking screw is not tightened when focusing. make sure the tube is sliding in and out when you turn the knob. Sounds obvious I know, but in the dark you can turn the knob thinking its doing its bit when its actually locked in place.

[cuivenion]

Just a thought. Eyepieces usually have two caps, one at each end. Have you removed both?

[Heather71]

My hubby bought me a Celestron Astromaster114 for my birthday last November.  I am absolutely a novice and I couldn't get anything in my sights and I found the red dot spotter really rubbish.  So for Christmas my excellent hubby got me a Rigel red dot spotter and I lined it up with the top of a post in almost daylight.  Hey presto i'm now able to find what i'm looking for and have had some lovely views of Jupiter and three of its moons and had some great moon views etc..

One thing I did was to leave my telescope in our outhouse to acclimatise which helped my focusng problem considerabley - silly me!

[Tums]

Hi , and Welcome to this great pastime

Along with the above suggestions, have a look at some of these guys videos on YouTube, when I started 12 months ago, I found them very useful.

This link is to a pretty basic starters video, but have a look at some of there others as well.

And no, your not 'being stupid', never be afraid to ask For Help. Especially on here, just remember, we ALL started just the same as you are.

[Daveb3650]

Practice practice

[ryandsimmons]

To be honest anywhere you look in the sky you should see something, so I wouldn't think finding stuff is the issue.  There are always some faint stars I find visible with that scope.   Rather I'd add my name to the list of people saying it is probably focus.

I'd suggest as above, aim roughly around cassiopea and just very slowly play with the focus.

[Daveb3650]

cover off the eyepiece....and the main tube

[Erla]

The red dot finder on my Celestron (I assume its the same on 130, I have 114) is rubbish. I couldn't find anything with it. Then I bougt Telrad reflex finder, set it up once and now it takes literally to find stars/planets in my EP.

Another advice I could give for focusing on stars is have your EP well out of focus when looking for the first one. It makes even the smallest stars look like a big disc of light.