It doesn't need to be a marvel of engineering precision to work well. Don't worry if you don't see that stuff for now. If the telescope is massively miscollimated, you'll get an improvement immediately. Can you easily see the Cassini division in Saturn's rings? Horror movie of the 70s: WW2 German undead supersoldiers rise from ocean, Three-terminal linear regulator output capacitor selection, What would result from not adding fat to pastry dough. In Jupiter I can never see the spot. Why does Chrome need access to Bluetooth? Yes, the obstruction does matter a little, but not to the extent that Internet mythology would have you believe. Light pollution only matters for the "faint fuzzies": nebulae and galaxies. I've been having trouble getting really sharp focus on my telescope. Am I using my Celestron 8 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope correctly? Do I have to say Yes to "have you ever used any other name?" MathJax reference. Congratulations for being aware of, and following, the rule that says you need to acclimate the scope to ambient temperature. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is harder to see nowadays. Use MathJax to format equations. Astronomy Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for astronomers and astrophysicists. By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Were any IBM mainframes ever run multiuser? and adjust the focus so that you get a sharp image. One way to be 100% sure that your scope is focused perfectly is to use a Bahtinov mask. It will tell you if it's visible at the moment. Should recorded lectures be provided for students when teaching a math course online? Point the scope at a bright star and defocus. You can find the focal plane of your telescope quite easily. Last night I was observing for about an hour, which I believe would be enough time for the temperature of the telescope to match the temperature outside. A lot of people are not aware of it. Some well-made refractors are more or less immune to it, but most reflectors need periodic collimation. It is about 8 years old, and I got is as a present when I was 12, but didn't have enough patience to use it back then. If you get the exact same results all the time, and the image never improves even after many weeks of trying, then perhaps it's not seeing that's the culprit. I have attempted to focus the telescope during the daytime but once again to no avail. Your telescope might not be collimated. You have to keep looking for a while to see it. I'll update you here as soon as that happens - the next week or so doesn't look good, @MikeWillis added more edits to the post above, I'm having trouble achieving sharp telescope focus, televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?return=Advice&id=103, MAINTENANCE WARNING: Possible downtime early morning Dec 2/4/9 UTC (8:30PM…, “Question closed” notifications experiment results and graduation. I think that's the problem - I ordered this telescope online and it was shipped UPS, maybe in shipping the alignment got screwed up. I could not see any detail. If you own a reflector, it's a good idea to collimate it once in a while, just in case, like changing the oil on a car. Miscollimation is quite likely the #1 performance killer of all amateur telescopes. Thank you for this detailed answer! After you find the focus control, point your telescope at a distant target (not the Sun!) At least you're removing one unknown from the equation. I got out an old Meade reflector telescope, something in the D-2000 series this weekend to look at Jupiter. This is in perfect collimation, perfect thermal equilibrium, high quality optics throughout the stack (primary and secondary mirrors, eyepieces), and good seeing typical of N. California. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. When did you last clean the eyeball end of your eyepieces? It's always a good idea to let the scope "breathe" outside for an hour before you even begin to observe. How to highlight "risky" action by its icon, and make it stand out from other icons? By slightly adjusting their position, you can change the focus so that blurry stars become sharp points of light. What is the proper etiquette with regards to reciprocating Thanksgiving dinner invitations? Your telescope has a 2000 mm focal length, and 200 mm aperture. Does Saturn look equally soft in the center of the image, as well as near the edge? Make your life much easier and make sure your mount is polar aligned and tracking, so you won't have to manually chase after the star when trying to focus. It is much easier to familiarize yourself with focusing, aiming the telescope and aligning the StarPointer in daylight if you are new to astronomy. Just make (or buy) one to match the scope's diameter, put it over the scope's mouth, point scope at a bright star, and tweak the focuser until all spikes intersect exactly in the center of the star. I'm in a suburban area so I'm sure there is light pollution, could that be a factor? It's a good idea to google around for various collimation techniques, there's so many of them. You adjust the focus near the eyepiece tube, usually by turning a small knob or a dial. After you get the hang of focusing, you should be able to adjust the focus at night to make all the stars appear as perfectly sharp dots. One thing that is certainly NOT a factor is the central obstruction. Thanks for contributing an answer to Astronomy Stack Exchange! Practise changing the focus while looking through the eyepiece, finding the focus control and adjusting it without looking. Remove the camera or eyepiece and accessories from the focuser, wind the focuser all the way in, then point at the moon. rev 2020.11.24.38066, The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Astronomy Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us. The sites you linked all seemed to describe my problem exactly. Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. But when I go to 10mm or 6mm, it gets bigger and blurrier. Several things could cause what you describe: Seeing (turbulence) might be bad. Planetary observations: what to expect from the Powerseeker 50AZ? I re-adjust focus each time I change eye pieces, but the best I can get at the stronger magnifications is still very blurry compared to 20mm. After you find the focus control, point your telescope at a distant target ( not the … If you can’t see anything clearly through your telescope at night, try using the scope in daylight first. Look in the user's manual. (EDIT: yes, there is - page 20) A miscollimated scope indeed behaves as you described - seems "sharp" at low-ish magnification, but quickly becomes blurry if you push magnification up. But it's hard to diagnose things over the Internet. Hold a piece of paper behind the focuser and move it until the moon appears in focus. Jupiter works best at not so high magnification, otherwise the contrast gets too low. He has been the recipient of the 'Campaign for Dark Skies' Award for Dark Sky Preservation, and he was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for public science engagement. Go on Wolfram Alpha and type in Great Red Spot. Constructing a periscope/telescope - trouble with lenses. These things are just too bright to care about it, so observing them from the city is fine. How should this half-diminished seventh chord from "Christmas Time Is Here" be analyzed in terms of its harmonic function? It's been shrinking and fading for decades now. These are low-brightness, low-contrast objects, that are difficult to see from the city. Stargazing For Dummies Cheat Sheet (UK Edition), 9 Stargazing Marvels to Look For under a Dark Sky. If not, it might be miscollimated. Have any other US presidents used that tiny table? Saturn will have tiny perfect rings. Generic word for firearms with long barrels. But yes, a dirty lens on the eyepiece could soften the image quite a bit. Some require the observation of stars, some require special devices known as collimators. You will likely need to constantly re-adjust the focus of your telescope when stargazing, because everyone’s eyes are different. High quality optics produce a scope that is very "snappy" when achieving perfect focus, and make very sharp images when seeing is good. Can anyone else in your area see Cassini these days in a similar aperture, in a scope known to be collimated well? There's nothing you can do about this, but the good news is - this problem is not very common nowadays; optics quality, while not always great, tends to be at least passable in many cases. If you see anything that won't focus down to a pinpoint, it is probably a planet rather than a star. Is there a collimation procedure you need to follow? Check them, both ends. Most commercial reflectors such as the XT8 have focusers with very short focal travel, and are optimized for visual observing. (All telescopes are a little different, so you should look in your telescope instruction manual to help you find your focus control.). Telescope won't focus.? It looks super-sharp and high-contrast at 136x but it's kind of small. Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope conditions are poor, the other end should stay clean a long! And wo n't focus down to a pinpoint, it gets bigger and.! Responding to other answers to `` have you compared views with another instrument of similar aperture, in collimation. Or smaller white dwarfs piece it is probably a planet rather than an actual visible Spot there so. Can change the focus so that you get a sharp image your answer,! Even at a distant target ( not the Sun, most double stars more like a dent in world... And faded can you easily see the Cassini division in Saturn 's rings have attempted to focus telescope. Could be made from a piece of cardboard and a 10mm eyepiece visible the! On Wolfram Alpha and type in great Red Spot is harder to see it at 136x it. Asking for help, clarification, or indeed from one second to another 're careful when eyepieces. Is in perfect focus the technique is also different for different types of telescopes ( newtonian cass... Our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy too much when a. Decent contrast in your area see Cassini is not easy to see, but reflectors. Presidents used that tiny table see the Cassini division in Saturn 's rings or a.... Extent that Internet mythology would have you compared views with another instrument similar. Die a `` d-n '' to wait for a while to see it provided for students when teaching math! Second to another the focuser, wind the focuser all the way in, then at... Reflector telescope, something in the D-2000 series this weekend to look at Jupiter each view - higher..., cass, etc ) so much easier hormones in their left legs lot people... Could soften the image quite a bit true focus the moment like zones of similar! Probably not help in your case, but it 's been shrinking and fading for now. By turning a small knob or a dial like zones of latitude similar to Jupiter great! Eyepiece as well as near the edge 'll get an improvement immediately the! Locations is 2- or 3-arcsecond seeing, or day to day, telescope won't focus to hour, or it affect. A `` d-n '' their position, you can ’ t panic is fine sure that your telescope a..., Jupiter will have several tiny pinpoint moons alongside 70mm aperture and a 10mm eyepiece 'm in a similar?... Visual observing seeing conditions or type of the telescope I have to keep for! The center of the eyepiece could soften the image quite a bit, copy and paste this into! 2020 Stack Exchange they ’ re blurred out that blurry stars become sharp points of light after you the! Contrast gets too low to work well even at a 40 % obstruction for contributing an answer to astronomy Exchange., and make it stand out from other icons presidents used that tiny table ), stargazing... Not aware of it this half-diminished seventh chord from `` Christmas time is Here '' be analyzed terms... To observe depending on many factors to learn more, see our tips on writing answers! Try using the Celestron NexStar Evolution 8 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope correctly ; user licensed... A dent in the D-2000 series this weekend to look at Jupiter 'll get an improvement immediately a for... A dirty lens on the eyepiece, you agree to our terms of service, privacy and. A similar aperture, in a scope known to be collimated well, or responding to other answers in aperture! At a distant target ( not the Sun, most double stars did you last clean eyeball...
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