Glasses and new telescope

[Newbie2023]

Hi,

I’ve just bought a Sky-Watcher explorer 130p Eq2, based on the reviews and recommendations.

 

It arrived this week when there was lovely clear skies but I wasn’t able to see anything in focus. I’m not sure if I’ve done something wrong or if it is due to wearing glasses/astigmatism (I’ve been wearing glasses that long it didn’t occur to me that this might be an issue).

the instructions say to focus during the day so I had to wait until yesterday to attempt, which again failed.
 

Does anyone have any experience with glasses and setting up new scopes. I was hoping to explore the skies with my niece (who’s 4 and excited) but can’t show her it until I have it figured out myself. 
 

thanks in advance 

[Ricochet]

I think that both supplied eyepieces will have eye relief that is too short to use with glasses and so you will have to take your glasses off to view through the telescope. When you are focusing remember that it is a focuser and not a magnifier and that you should turn the focuser to make stars into the smallest points of light you can.

The advice to set up during the day usually applies to roughly aligning the finderscope with the main telescope. Terrestrial views are closer than the "infinite distance" astronomical objects are at, and so anything you focus on during the day will require the focuser to be more extended. The only way focusing during the day will help is that when you focus at night you know you will have to wind the focuser in a bit.

My advice would be to try using your telescope at night without your glasses and see how you get on. If your astigmatism is mild it might not make that much difference. I wear glasses but currently do all my observing without glasses. If your astigmatism proves to be interfering with your views through the telescope then you will need to purchase some eyepieces with long eye relief that allow you to use them with glasses, for which we will need to know your budget.

[Newbie2023]

Thank you Ricochet, I have quite a bad astigmatism, so will be looking to get some additional lenses with better eye relief. 
 

I will hopefully be able to use it when the skies clear again. 

[Carbon Brush]

Are you sure being unable to focus isn't down to eyepeice distance from the tube. Focussers have a lot of travel.
A photo showing your focusser, and eyepiece assembly may prompt someone with your scope to say AHA.

Astigmatism results in rugby ball shape stars - though recognisable as stars.

Quick note as this is covered in lots of other posts.

A 'long eye relief' eyepiece allows you to use glasses.

A 'dioptrx' adapter on top an eyepiece corrects astigmatism. But only fits certain (expensive) eyepieces.

Contact lenses are another option. My favourite for serious viewing.

HTH, David.

 

[Elp]

The scope may need collimation but I would have thought you'd at least see something. The moon is always a good target to try on as it's so bright and relatively large, you can even hunt for it via an eyepiece as the internal reflections within grow larger in intensity as you're getting close (which will also highlight to you how much your finder scope will be out of alignment).

But I'm guessing the eyepieces are the issue. I wear glasses and the vast majority of plossls I've used need to be used without, until I decided to invest into long eye relief ones. They also suffer from blackout depending on how far your eye is away from the focal plane, you may be able to see things at a certain distance away from the eyepiece, and absolutely nothing at other distances, minute the differences in distances of your eye from the eyepiece may be. As strange it may also seem, you need to train your eyes, or one eye to be open at a time (or cover the open non observing eye), you'll find they fatigue exceptionally quick in doing such a thing.