Celestron powerseeker 114eq help!

[Jennifere20]

Ahhhh right! It’s all coming together now

[Padraic M]

My advice fwiw is forget the setting circles. I never figured out how to use them, and I'm doing alright!

You will find all of the naked-eye planets (Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) by looking up, then using your finder scope. Install Stellarium on your PC to help you locate any objects you want to find, and learn how to star-hop. The book Turn Left at Orion is a really fantastic tool for a beginner.

Practice, practice and patience!

[Jennifere20]

That great Thankyou!! So if I point my scope up at the night sky when I’ve located plants I could see them through which scope? 

[Padraic M]

29 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

That great Thankyou!! So if I point my scope up at the night sky when I’ve located plants I could see them through which scope? 

Both!

The point of finder scope alignment is when you place your target in the center of the finder scope (on the cross-hairs if you have them), you are guaranteed to see it in the eyepiece of the main scope when you look. Otherwise, trying to locate an object by searching with the main scope is very hit-and-miss. 

[Jennifere20]

Okay il have a try tonight 😬

[Jennifere20]

I need somebody to physically show me how to align it. I am determined to try the. Just get frustrated!  Ha

[Nerf_Caching]

The finderscope should 'see' the same object as your main telescope is pointed at; it works like a riflescope. To align the finderscope, first point your main telescope at a distant landform or object like a telephone pole WITHOUT using the finderscope ; just eyeball it. Next, center the object in the eyepiece of your main telescope. Once you're done with that, don't move the telescope again until you're done with the whole alignment process. Next, WITHOUT moving the telescope as mentioned before, look through the finderscope. In the finderscope's view, you should see the said object somewhere in the field of view of your finderscope; chances are that it won't be centered in the crosshairs. Next, fiddle with the three screws holding the finderscope in place to put the object in the middle of the crosshairs WITHOUT moving the actual telescope in any way shape or form. It will take a little time to precisely center the object in the crosshairs but you will get there. Make sure to tighten the screws enough so the finderscope will not be bumped out of place as easily causing another misalignment. Now, you are done with the alignment process and you can use your telescope. Moving the telescope to aim at a land object with an equatorial mount is a little awkward but it has to be done to align the finderscope properly.

On another note, the finderscopes installed on the powerseekers are quite horrible for aiming at stars. I have used one before and I've only managed to use it on a bright object like the Moon. In the future you could consider purchasing a red-dot finder to replace it instead; it saved me lots of grief:)

Edited May 14, 2020 by Nerf_Caching

[Jennifere20]

Thankyou. But when I get an idea bjext in my finderscope in the centre of the crosshairs I tighten the screws and look through it again and I’m back to square one. My target is

completely out of the crosshairs????

[Jennifere20]

Object*

[happy-kat]

Think of your eyes, close one and with your finger mark an object you are looking at, now shut that eye and open the other.. Look at how the eyes are really looking in sightly different directions as your finger did not move but the object in relation to your finger did. We can't twiddle our eyes but that's the same relationship the finder scope has with what the telescope sees, so we have to find tune the finder to look at what the telescope is seeing. 

[Nerf_Caching]

1 minute ago, Jennifere20 said:

Thankyou. But when I get an idea bjext in my finderscope in the centre of the crosshairs I tighten the screws and look through it again and I’m back to square one. My target is

completely out of the crosshairs????

Well, just keep trying! These finderscopes are a pain to operate but if that is all you have for now then keep fiddling with the screws until the finderscope doesn't lose the object. 

[happy-kat]

The celestron finder adjustments might be limited so make sure your test object you are looking at is at infinity, ie very far away (NOT the sun). Closer objects will exaggerate the miss alignment

Edited May 14, 2020 by happy-kat

[Nerf_Caching]

By the way, forget about using the barlow or setting circles as they do not do the telescope justice; again I suggest that you upgrade your finderscope and barlow in the future. I have no idea what Celestron was thinking but trying to find objects with a manual equatorial mount is a huge faff for beginners and some just end up giving up. 

[Jennifere20]

I’ve just got the same

object in both the finderscope and the telescope. When tried to tighten the screws on the finder it just took it way off target 

[Nerf_Caching]

3 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

I’ve just got the same

object in both the finderscope and the telescope. When tried to tighten the screws on the finder it just took it way off target 

If you got the same object in both the finderscope and telescope then you don't need to adjust the screws. What I meant was only adjust if the finderscope is NOT looking at the same thing as the telescope.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Nerf_Caching

[Jennifere20]

4 minutes ago, Nerf_Caching said:

If you got the same object in both the finderscope and telescope then you don't need to adjust the screws. What I meant was only adjust if the finderscope is NOT looking at the same thing as the telescope.

Ahhhhh right. So I’ve done it then??? Omg!! I’m so chuffed

[DaveL59]

32 minutes ago, Padraic M said:

Both!

The point of finder scope alignment is when you place your target in the center of the finder scope (on the cross-hairs if you have them), you are guaranteed to see it in the eyepiece of the main scope when you look. Otherwise, trying to locate an object by searching with the main scope is very hit-and-miss. 

the finderscope is lower magnification (6x-9x typically) than the main scope (30x-200x or more), so gives a wider view of the area which should then help you to home in on the object of interest. Then you switch to using the main scope with the lowest mag eyepiece (larger focal length printed on it)  which will have more magnification and a narrower field of view. A bit like looking through an open doorway and then through the keyhole. Once you have the object in view (may need to tweak with the slo-mo controls) you can then move to the higher mag eyepiece if desired, again you may need to tweak the aim.

This all assumes of course that the finder is aligned, which is where you seem to be struggling. I read a comment somewhere (can't find now of course) that the finder on this scope can be limited in adjustment range and a wine cork was used to improve the aim. Basically find an object with the main scope only and low mag eyepiece, get it centred and maybe then use the high mag eyepiece and adjust further to centre the object. Now without moving the scope tube (tighten the clutch bolts if not already) you adjust the finder so the cross-hairs are on the same point as the main scope. Re-check the main scope hasn't shifted and repeat making small adjustments to the finder aim. Try not to have any of the finder adjusters very loose as the finder will just shift about aimlessly, but you will need to loosen one or both screws on the side you want it to move toward then tighten one on the other side to make it move.

If your finder bracket has 2 rings with screws then you need to consider how the finder aim changes according to which ring you are adjusting. You may need to adjust both to get the required change of angle of the finder to get the view aligned with what the main scope is seeing. Moving the rear ring to push the finder away from the scope and the front to push the finder toward the scope will bring the finder view down toward the scope and same the other way around, if you see what I mean. After much muttering and turning the air blue with frustration, hopefully once you have it aligned, tighten the finder screws gently if they need it and check again and of course repeat if needed. Leave the big hammer in the shed tho, it won't help  

Tedious and time-consuming for sure but once done life gets so much easier when trying to locate objects in the night sky. An alternative to consider might be a red-dot finder (RDF) as others have mentioned. You use these with both eyes open, one looking through the RDF to see a target painted in the sky. Can be harder to set up in bright daylight tho as the dot can be hard to make out even at full brightness, in which case a shroud (old toilet/kitchen roll tube) cut to slide over the finder helps a lot  

[Jennifere20]

Thankyou. Il leave the hammer at the side of me just incase I need it 😄

[Jennifere20]

Would this be the one? 

[DaveL59]

you'd need a RDF with the correct foot that secures to your scope as that one looks like it doesn't come with a foot so won't be much use on its own. Does the current finder bolt onto the tube or slide into a shoe on the scope? A pic might help but here's a few

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/celestron-starpointer-pro-finderscope.html (doesn't get great reviews tho)

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-red-dot-finder.html (you may be able to get a Synta foot for £5 if that's the one for your scope, best to ask)

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/baader-sky-surfer-iii-red-dot-finderscope.html

Best to check with the retailer as to fit for your particular scope

You could also take a look on astroboot.com as you might find one at lower cost there.

[Nerf_Caching]

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-finder-astronomy.html

Slightly pricier but maybe you could consider a Telrad.

[Jennifere20]

That’s mine

[carastro]

Quote

object in both the finderscope and the telescope. When tried to tighten the screws on the finder it just took it way off target 

Yes, the idea is that you align the finderscope up with the main scope so they are looking at the same thing, unscrewing one bolt slightly and tightening the other a little bit at a time, so the finder is always tight.  Then once the two are aligned don't touch the finderscope bolts any more.  

Then find your target in the finder and with a bit of luck your should also see it in the larger (and smaller field of view main telescope. 

Carole 

[Padraic M]

Just as Carole says above - don't open all three screws at once. Nudge the finder scope really gently by opening one screw a TINY bit and tightening one of the others by the same amount.  That means when you've found your target, all of the screws are already tight. The smallest movement of any screw will knock the alignment out.

It takes some getting used to, but once you get it it's dead easy, honest!

[John]

There should be a rubber ring around the finder tube which holds it into the front end of the finder mount. If this is missing, the finder flops around and will not hold it's position at all. I've put some red arrows on the pic of your scope where this rubber ring should go.

As you adjust the 3 screws at the rear of the mount the finder then tilts gently being held in the mount by the rubber ring. The benefit is that once pointed and aligned it generally should stay aligned.

You may have this already in place but I thought it worth checking.