Finderscope Sighting

[lifetimer55]

Just found this site and wonder if this will go through. I recently became indoctrinated into this Astronomy hobby. Purchased a Nexstar 6se and a 9x50  finderscope. I seem to have a problem sighting in on a particular star eg. Sirius for example to use for alignment. Unlike the the red dot finder I can't seem to point the telescope to the particular star as there are too many stars in the vicinity. Any tricks? it would be awesome if both finderscopes could be incorporated.

[Astro Imp]

Remember the brightest stars you see naked eye are still brightest using the finder scope.

[JOC]

lifetimer55 - are you sure you aren't me?  I know exactly where you are.  An experienced astronomer last week suggested that I try sighting along the top of the findscope to try and help.  This seems a slightly better approach to me.  However, its still not ideal and I've just ordered a red dot finder to try.  You could try lifting up the telescope on a water-butt stand it's easier to sight along the finderscope if the telescope is higher off the ground. 

Just as an educated guess I'm guessing you've got problems with Polaris?  FWIW that's the one I struggle with LOL - it looks for all the world like a single star when you look up with the naked eye, but in the finderscope there seems all sorts of possibilities even at low finderscope magnification.

NB.  Yes, you can buy holders that take 1, 2 or even 3 finderscopes!  I haven't got that far yet - I just want to find one that works all the time.

[johninderby]

You could allways add one of these. Stick on base so easy to fit. It can be quite usefull to have two finders. One to get you about there an the other to zero in on your target.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/rigel-quikfinder-compact-reflex-sight.html

           John

[Cosmic Geoff]

2 hours ago, lifetimer55 said:

Unlike the the red dot finder I can't seem to point the telescope to the particular star as there are too many stars in the vicinity. Any tricks? it would be awesome if both finderscopes could be incorporated.

The 6se is a GoTo outfit, yes? I have the  C8 SE which has a red dot finder. It's barely adequate for getting a star in the  main telescope eyepiece field of view, but you only have to do that two or three times to align and then you can forget it for the rest of the observing session.  If you found the red dot finder easier to aim, why not just use that instead of trying to use the 9 x 50 finderscope? I have one of those 9x50 for my Newtonian, and I found that I had to sight along the main telescope tube before using the finder as the finder field of view is relatively narrow.  For aiming at a blank patch of sky where something faint was supposed to be, I sometimes swapped that finder for a red dot type.

Alternatively, if you don't have any other gear attached to your 6se, you should be able to figure out a way of having both finders attached to the rear rim.  Some people prefer red dot finders, some prefer telescopic finders, and some like to have both available.