Celestron Nexstar 5se

[Rhysmunasser]

Hi I’ve just bought the 5 se and struggling with its performance straight out of the box. I’m new to the hobby but was expecting a lot more. Am I missing something?? I’ve set it up and tried to view a few things but without success. I’m presuming extra eyepieces are mandatory to get images I’ve seen this telescope produce online. Could anyone provide a noob with some info to get the most out of this new hobby 👍

[Rob Sellent]

4 minutes ago, Rhysmunasser said:

I’m new to the hobby but was expecting a lot more. Am I missing something?? I’ve set it up and tried to view a few things but without success....Could anyone provide a noob with some info to get the most out of this new hobby

What are you finding trouble with? Is it the views or finding objects, or something else? Any highlighting of the concerns would be a help

[johninderby]

Have you collimated the scope? During shipping most SCTs get knocked out of collimation.

[happy-kat]

Hi

Could you share a link to one of these images you found online please?

Visually deep space objects are basically grey smudges, we don't see the colours that long exposure imaging captures.

[michael8554]

2 hours ago, Rhysmunasser said:

to get images I’ve seen this telescope produce online

Images you've seen online are the result of long exposures with a camera.

The human eye is so insensitive I'd estimate you'll only discern planets, star clusters, brightest galaxies, through an eyepiece with the 5SE.

Michael

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have a 127mm Maksutov (about the same aperture as yours) and the images of planets I took with it were sometimes far superior (after processing) to what I could see visually. I suggest you find and check out the "what can I expect to see" thread somewhere on this forum.

[Cosmic Geoff]

On ‎29‎/‎04‎/‎2013 at 22:46, FishInPercolator said:

Okay, here's a celestron recommended for AP with a focal ratio of 10, not much better but maybe it's enough? I don't see anything here regarding the focuser however.

http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/optical-tubes/celestronc8aschmidtcassegrainota.cfm

What do you think? It's 12.5 pounds.

ROFL😁!  I have one of these - a bigger version of the C5 you mentioned in your first post.  Calling it suitable for astrophotography is being a bit economical with the truth.  In the form of the fairly portable C8 SE GoTo it's about as suitable for astrophotography as a family car is for the Indy 500.   Put that 12.5 pound OTA on a decent (very heavy, non-portable) alt-az GoTo mount in the form of the CPC800 and you have a fine outfit for planetary imaging. Put the C8 OTA on a decent equatorial GoTo eg a HEQ5 or EQ6  (decidedly heavy and non-portable), and you again have a decent setup for planetary imaging, or if you an advanced amateur imager, a setup suitable for imaging small galaxies (though some people may have opinions on how suitable it is even for that).

For visual observation of galaxies, for the past two or three years I have made an annual trip to dark Devon with the C8 SE.  The portable setup is easy to transport and carry outside, the aperture is big enough for a decent view, and the GoTo mount makes it possible to find enough objects in the limited time available to make the effort worthwhile.  

I see you are tempted by astrophotography: as indicated above this needs some serious thought.  If you want widefield images, e.g of M31 & companions, consider a DSLR on a lightweight tracking mount. Also, I have has some success with a planetary camera attached to a 102mm f5 achro refractor on a SLT alt-az GoTo mount, on a wood tripod, using stacked short exposures.   This is a form of EEVA (see the EEVA sub-sections in this forum.)  Surprisingly, this setup matched or surpassed what could be seen visually with an 8" SCT.

[happy-kat]

@Cosmic Geoff edit, I've seen the other post with the current question and responses

Edited November 24, 2019 by happy-kat

[alacant]

11 hours ago, Rhysmunasser said:

tried to view a few things but without success

Hi. So you can see nothing when looking through the telescope? It's black? No light when you move around the telescope? Or is there something, but out of focus?

My guess is that you haven't used the diagonal:

Point it at something distant during the day. A pylon, tree or distant roof tops. Now insert the diagonal. Next an eyepiece into the diagonal. Turn the focus knob fully clockwise. Next, looking through the eyepiece, begin to turn the focus knob counter-clockwise. There will be a point at which the object snaps into focus. You'll need to turn the focus knob maybe up to 40 times fully in to fully out.

If not, send us a photo of the best image you can get; just hold your 'phone up to the eyepiece.

HTH.

Edited November 24, 2019 by alacant

[joe aguiar]

Sorry deleted my post for now

Edited November 25, 2019 by joe aguiar

[joe aguiar]

or is it you don't know how to get the scope or goto aligned to get it to work?

this I think is a HUGE issue with goto a lot of brand new people think  and maybe its cause they read goto shows u everything and u just push a few buttons and the goto does all the work. But almost all brand new people diont know how the sky works, names of nay stars or constellations and maybe even have part of their their skies blocked by neibours trees buildings etc makes the goto hard or not work.

I think a manual scope is much better for brans new people learn sky with map chart if u want phone etc THEN later upgrade to goto if that's what u want.

joejaguar