Seeing black spots while looking through my telescope

[Space admirer]

Hello, I am writing about a problem I have encountered while using a brand new celestron powerseeker 114eq telescope. I found several stars and the moon with different filters and magnitudes with no problem.  However, on my third night outside i attmepted to find a planet, but I saw a black line through the telescope instead. I could still see the moon through every magnitude I used but once I moved the telescope above the moon, the black line appeared every time. It seemed like it was reflecting the black circle with the stick that's inside of the optical tube.  

I have read online that it may be because my telescope was not focused so I would have to focus it until it disappeared but nothing works. I'm guessing the problem is with something about the adjustments that I'm doing wrong or something that is not aligned correctly, and not the telescope itself. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have seen the moon. When I tried to focus it, the black parts would get closer or farther away and would not disappear unless i moved the telescope a significant amount from where it was at.

What can I do to stop seeing the black parts?

[Demonperformer]

Hi, Space admirer, and welcome to SGL.

I'm guessing when you talk about "magnitudes" you are referring to different eyepieces (magnifications?). This would certainly rule out it being a problem with a particular eyepiece. My first thought is that something has gone wrong with the collimation of the scope. Your manual will have instructions on the precise adjustments necessary for your scope model.

Enjoy the journey.

[Cornelius Varley]

If the telescope was pointing somewhere close to the moon then light from the moon would cause this effect. Move further away from the bright source of light and the shadow from the secondary mirror and spider vanes disappears.  

[Ruud]

How does the image look when you only use the 20mm eyepiece? (That is: don't use the Barlow, the 4 mm eyepiece nor the filters. For a while.)

The 20 mm should give you 45x, your lowest magnification. If you focus properly on the Moon at this magnification you'll see it's full face and many craters, all well defined. The image will be crisp. Also try terrestrial objects like lamp posts, high building etc., at the same low magnification. Report back: are you able to obtain crisp images of anything with the 20mm?

[Space admirer]

So what i am seeing is the secondary mirror?

Demonperformer- yes, I meant the magnifications. When you said something went wrong with the collimation of the scope, you mean aligning the finderscope right? I was not sure how to do that and I read that to align it, i have to find an object at leat half a mile away during the day but from my house, there is nothing that far away i could use because the trees cover up everything. So i never aligned my finderscope. Could that be the reason i am seeing the secondary mirror?

Ruud- I have not used the barlow or the 4 mm eyepieces, only the 20mm, 15mm, and 9mm. I have seen very crisp and detailed images of the moon with all of these magnifications. But for example, last night i tried to find saturn, and when i was very close, i think i kept on seeing the secondary mirror and could not get rid of it.

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[Ricochet]

3 minutes ago, Space admirer said:

So i never aligned my finderscope. Could that be the reason i am seeing the secondary mirror?

No. Not aligning the finder might mean that you struggle to find something because when you switch from the finder to the telescope it is not in the field of view. The only ways I know to see the secondary shadow, if that is what you are seeing, are to use an eyepiece that produces too large an exit pupil, which I think can't be happening here, or to be out of focus. 

You say that you are surrounded by trees and that when moving "up" from the moon you see this line. Are you actually raising the telescope up or are you moving it down so that the moon appears to move up in the eyepiece? If the later, is it possible that it is the shadow of one of these trees that you are seeing? 

16 minutes ago, Space admirer said:

I have seen very crisp and detailed images of the moon with all of these magnifications. But for example, last night i tried to find saturn, and when i was very close, i think i kept on seeing the secondary mirror and could not get rid of it.

This is impossible. The focus positions for the moon, planets and stars are so close that when one is in focus the others are so close to focus that they are essentially all in focus. If you focus on one thing properly and then switch to another there is no way I can think of that you will see the secondary shadow. 

[Demonperformer]

Collimation nothing to with the finder - Ensuring the primary, secondary and eyepiece are all aligned along their central axis.

[Ruud]

It's a big mystery! One day it worked, the other it didn't.

How does the eyepiece look? There should be an eye lens on the one side and a field lens on the other. Are both still there?

[Space admirer]

Demonperformer- oooh okay, i think that is the problem. I started viewing the sky without aligning the finderscope or collimating the scope. I will do both of those things, and hopefully it will work. 

Thank you very much for everyone's advice!