Help please

[petermoore]

Hi I am very new to stargazing and recently purcahased a skymax 127 auto (unfortunately If i'd realised I'd have brought a goto to make life easier).

I believe I have aligned it correctly using the instructions (set the latitude for Norwich and then point it north), but I'm struggling to even see the moon. I can see the moon through the viewfinder but not the lens itself. It has been suggested I need to align my viewfinder. Does anyone know how I do this? and any other tips to try and help me. All I see through the lens at the moment is dark grey/black. I think it's all set-up correctly but I am a complete novice!

[malc-c]

I would suggest aligning the finder by first finding the moon in the main scope. Use a wide field of view low power eyepiece something like 20 or 25mm. With clutches released move the tube to point at the moon, look along the tube if that helps. Once the moon is in the field of view centred if possible, look through the finder. If the moon is off the cross-hair, simply adjust the two screws until the moon is centred on the cross. Check again through the main eyepiece and if drifted, repeat until you see the moon in both finder and eyepiece

[Ad Astra]

Start during the day, pick a church steeple, telegraph pole, etc about 1/2 mile away. Get this object in view with your LOWEST power eyepiece and center it in the view.

Now, without moving the scope, adjust the finder so that the cross hairs are on the same object. (This is a bit tricky and may take a bit of practice - keep at it, you will master it quickly!)

You can improve the aim by then switching to a higher power eyepiece, centering the object and readjusting the finder. If you find yourself out in the dark and need to do this, try focusing on Polaris (the North Star) as it doesn't move very much as the sky rotates through the night.

Try this, I think you will be successful right off - and enjoy your scope more!

Dan

[petermoore]

Thanks both I'll give both a try maybe the moon tonight and the other idea tomorrow.

The scope seems to get good reviews, so I hope I can get it working well. I suppose I need patience something I'm not always that good with lol