Help with Skywatcher telescope

[martinaaron]

I've unpacked my skywatcher a couple days ago and tried it out for the first time last night in fairly clear skies.

I did try and line up the red dot finder during the day but obviously failed as I was struggling to find stars last night

I tweaked it last night so it's a bit more accurate now but I was surprised how fast the stars drift out of view - I knew if would happen but wasn't expecting them to move so fast

I ended up focussing on Mars as it wasn't moving so quickly but I was a bit disappointed with the view. I know it's a long way away! but it was basically like looking through binos at a twinkling object a long way off. I'm not sure what I was expecting tbh but wondered if this is what everyone else sees or if I need to swap a lens over or collaborate something.

Thanks

Martin

[damnut]

hi Martin,

I'll try and answer your post, you would be wiser to open a new thread so you  can follow responses specifically for you ..

You are always best to align the finder during daylight (benig very careful of the sun), you can use anything around 200 metres away (further the better) tree or tv aerial etc. Use your longest focal length eyepiece first. Then refine the alignment using a short focal length eyepiece.

When viewing the Mak has a narrow field of view, so any object you view will transit the eyepiece quickly. If you again use the longest focal length eyepiece first then switch to a shorter focal length, the magnification increases, and the viewof the object  in the eyepiece gets shorter. It really is a matter of practice, and you will find you become exert in nudging the telescope in the right direction.

[Cornelius Varley]

Spilt from another thread

[rwilkey]

Hi Martin, as indicated above, lining up the finder is a bit fidley, better done during the daytime as the objects don't move out of view quickly - it does take a bit of practice and patience, so keep trying and you will get there.