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alanmc

By alanmc
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alanmc

alanmc

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I am a beginner that had a small scope a few years ago and enjoyed looking at the planets, I have now ordered myself a Celestron nexstar evolution 8 sct telescope. Hopefully it will be here by the weekend or early next week. I am looking forward to getting out and using the scope.

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alanmc

alanmc

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Thanks Paul, over the last two weeks since I made up my mind to get a new scope I have kept an eye on that, most nights its been very cloudy with only a break here and there. You'd know yourself as you blew the lot here  haha.

 

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Linda

Linda

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Congrats with your new scope. I have the same OTA, just without the Goto system, and I love it. It is a nice compromise between being able to see a lot and still being portable. You need to learn to collimate it, though. Once learned, it is not so difficult.

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alanmc

alanmc

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1 hour ago, Linda said:

 You need to learn to collimate it, though. Once learned, it is not so difficult.

Been trying to see that on youtube was wondering if a skywatcher laser collmator would work with this type of scope.

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Linda

Linda

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26 minutes ago, alanmc said:

Been trying to see that on youtube was wondering if a skywatcher laser collmator would work with this type of scope.

No, a laser collimator is not needed for an SCT.

What I do is this:

Cool down the scope. Point the scope at a star or a tiny light in the distance. Put in a low power eyepiece. Turn the focus knob so that the star becomes a donut. Check that the hole is sitting in the middle of the donut. If not, try tightening the screws one by one and after each screw, check if it improved the situation. If it doesn't improve, loosen a screw and tighten the opposite screws and see if that made an improvement. Make sure the donut is in the middle of the eyepiece when you check it.

When the hole is sitting in the middle in the donut , switch to a high magnification eyepiece. Point at a star. Make the star sharp. Then turn it slightly out of focus and look for diffraction rings around the star. They should be nice and concentric. Adjust the screws carefully when they are not.

It helps to replace the screws with "Bob's knobs", then you don't need to use a screw driver.

I have only just learned this, but since I do it like this, I get a pretty good result.

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cloudsweeper

cloudsweeper

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I just use a cross-head screwdriver - no problem.  Only turn the screws a tiny amount.  If one gets tight or too loose, adjust the others.  Shouldn't need doing initially, unless the 'scope has been knocked.  See how it goes first - stars should focus to crisp, sharp spots.

Doug.

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alanmc

alanmc

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Well two deliveries today, got the scope all set up ready for a clear sky, wonder how many days I have to wait for that lol. Hope not too long, was driving home tonight from Glasgow and the moon was out but when I did get home that nasty old cloud just came a'rolliing along.

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Dave In Vermont

Dave In Vermont

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Sorry I didn't get to you yet, so.....

Greetings and a warm welcome to SGL, Alan, we've many nice folks who love helping tofind solutions to astro-questions - so feel free to ask!

New telescope? Cloud came rolling in? :D We ALL know that one! Expect gales, tornadoes, typhoons, tsunamis, etc. for about 2 weeks. So you can catch up on some reading, wondering, and, of course, navigating the many forums here and get to know us!

Enjoy!

Dave

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