science tech reflector telescope cant see anything!?

Question

No stupid answers i want to be able to use it

Answer 1

Sorry to disappoint you, but you have a crappy telescope.
Nevertheless, here's how to use it.

1. Take the lens cap off.
2. Put in the lowest power of eyepiece (22mm is lower than 12.5mm)

Now we need to align the finder scope (if yours can be adjusted). You don't need to do ths often.

1. Point the telescope at a distant ground based object so that you see it in te eyepiece...you might need to focus. It's normal for it to be upside down.

2. Adjust the finder scope so it's looking at the same thing. There may be three adjustment screws on the finder scope bracket. Turn only two...any two, until you need to turn the third. You may have to experiment a bit.

3. Put in a higher powered eyepiece and repeat. Do this until the finder scope is well calibrated.

Now for some viewing.

1. Put in the lowest power eyepiece again.
2. Point the telescope at the moon and focus until sharp.

Now you should be ready to try to find more difficult things. Always start with the lowest powered eyepiece.

You will not be able to get up to that "575x or 675x power" that the telescope said you could.

You see, the amout of magnification a telescope will yield is calculated as:

magnification = (telescope focal length)/(eyepiece focal length)

If your telescope has a focal length of 900mm, putting a 9mm eyepiece in it will give you a magnification of 100x. Putting a 4mm eyepiece in it will give you a magnification of 225x. Putting a 4mm eyepiece in it with a 3x barlow will give you a magnification of 675x.

BUT often times, the magnification exceeds the actual abilities of the optics to resolve the object. So to calculate the highest practical magnification that you can use, you multiply 50 x the telescope's aperture in inches. In your case, I think the aperture is 2.99", So 50 x 2.99 = 149.5x

Most nights, you won't even be able to achieve this due to atmospheric conditions. You will get a blurry image.

Next time you buy a telescope, you want to look for something with more aperture, not the amount of magnification it can provide. The more aperture a telescope has, the more light it can collect. Most things in space are dim, not tiny. But the telescope's focal length typically increases with the aperture so you do get more magnification with larger telescopes.

Answer 2

Science Tech Telescope

Answer 3

Hi Brian S..
Basically you have to start from scratch, so..
Set the t'scope up outside in daylight so you can see what you're doing.
(DO NOT POINT ANYWHERE NEAR THE SUN OR LEAVE IT UNATTENDED. This applies to the finderscope as well).
Find an object like a telegraph pole or similar that is approx 500 to 1000 mtrs away.
With your lowest power eyepiece,(biggest number, eg; 25 mm/32mm), line the t'scope up by sighting along its length & then locate the top of the 'pole' in the t'scope's FOV. (Field of View).
With the object located, adjust your finderscope to that same object. (Make sure it is the same one).
Do not adjust the t'scope to the finder.
When you are sure that the finder is collimated to the t'scope, try a higher power eyepiece, (eg; 10 mm), on another object using the finder to 'find it'. Your focusing will be more sensitive.
NOTE: The object may appear at a 'weird' angle because of the position of the focuser in the tube. At night, on astronomical objects, this 'weird' orientation does not matter.
This should be all that is required to get you started with viewing at night.
Try it on the moon/planets to start with.
One thing, do not 'overpower' the t'scope by using a very high power eyepiece. A small, well defined image is much better than a larger fuzzy one. The 'seeing' conditions vary considerably, so always start with the lowest powered eyepiece.
A basic rule for visual observing is, the aperture of the t'scope in inches, (eg; 4"), multiplied by 50, (magic number), = MAXIMUM magnification.
4 x 50 = 200 times.
That's about all there is to it.
I hope this is of assistance in using your t'scope.
Regards, M..

Answer 4

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RE:
science tech reflector telescope cant see anything!?
No stupid answers i want to be able to use it

Answer 5

I agree with the previous answers. If you've been using a finderscope, make sure it's correctly aligned with the main 'scope. In fact, do that regardless of what sort of pointing device you're using.

Start observing with a low power (long focal length) eyepiece - having a wide field of view increases the chances of there being something to see. Don't be surprised if you have problems finding things to start with - it gets a lot easier with practice!

Answer 6

I agree with Gene. Point it at a distant streetlight or whatever and make sure you can get it in focus. Pick something as far away as possible, because astronomical telescopes are designed to focus on distant objects. Pick something at least several hundred feet away.

Answer 7

Take it out during the daylight hours, put a low power eyepiece in , aim at something far away and see if you can focus it. If you're drastically out of focus you won't see anything.

Answer 8

Use the viewfinder scope and aim it at the moon. Then focus by moving the eyepiece lens until the moon is visible. After you are able to see the moon, try to adjust the viewfinder scope so that it's pointing at the moon.