Nothing seems to appear through the scope eyepiece

[gustigoltur]

Hi. I just got my Dobsidian 10" scope today and was hoping to be able to use it tonight, but that's not the case. I went out with the scope and let it sit for about 40 mins before using it. Still, when I tried aiming at a star, and I knew I looking towards the star, only blur appeared. No image of anything whatsoever. Can anyone tell me what I should do? Im fairly annoyed.

[johninderby]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

First of all have you collimated the scope and is it a new one or second hand.  A 10” dob is going to get knocked out of collimation during shipping if it’s a new one or even a trip in a car.

What eyepiece were you using or were you using the eyepiece with a barlow?

Also did you align the finder? Best done in the daylight using a distant object like a strreet light or chimney.

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by johninderby

[John]

The usual problem is making sure that the finder scope is very accurately aligned with the view that the main scope shows.

The patch of sky that the main scope shows, even at low magnifications (ie: longest focal length eyepiece) is very small so it's easy to "miss" a target unless the finder scope is accurately aligned.

If you saw a blur then it's quite possible that the scope was pointing at a star but the focus of the scope was way out.

 

[NGC 1502]

Did you see anything like a disc of light ? Or do you mean complete blackness, no light at all ?

If you can answer this question and the others already asked it will help us to help you.

Welcome to SGL👍

[Kyle Allen]

Hi. Did you try racking the focuser all the way in and out to see if the star would come to focus at any point? Skywatcher Dobsonians come with a 2” extension tube and a 2” to 1.25” adapter. Many people make the mistake of using them both together. If you do so, you won’t be able to reach focus. 

[Adam1234]

Is it a truss tube or solid tube dob?

If it's a truss tube, make sure the tube is fully extended or it won't focus... I made this mistake

[gustigoltur]

On 25/08/2020 at 04:09, NGC 1502 said:

Did you see anything like a disc of light ? Or do you mean complete blackness, no light at all ?

If you can answer this question and the others already asked it will help us to help you.

Welcome to SGL👍

Hi, I saw the disc of light at I guess the perfect angle or something because I had to find it. Does that help at all?

[michael8554]

As johninderby has said, try during the day on a distant object.

Then move onto the moon. You will need to adjust the focus slightly as your daytime object was not as far away.

Then stars should be visible, at the same focus setting.

Leave collimation alone until you get far more familiar with using the scope.

Michael