I can't see anything out of my new telescope!!?

Question

I just got a new telescope and I can't see anything out of them!
Also I never used one before!
I tried to see the stars today, but all I can see is a blurr.
The type of telescope I got is:
Edu Science
Astrolon Telescope
525 Power
Includes: 4mm, 9mm, 12.5mm, and 20mm eye piece.
1x and 3x Barlow lens
Red dot finder (I don't know what that is at all!)
Is this a bad telescope I got?
If it is bad, which telescope is good to use?
I really hope somebody has an answer to this question..
Thank You !

Answer 1

The main problems are (besides "whoops" things like lens covers) making sure that your eyepiece is properly inserted and that you're in focus.

Then it's a question of aiming - which DEFINITELY takes practice. try holding a laser pointer very still, aimed at a wall far from you. You can barely see your hand moving, but the dot wobbles all over the place. Now put the wall a hundred million times further away, and you can see why aiming has to be so precise. Using the minimum magnification gives you an easier time, since you'll have a wider field of view.

Daylight aiming is ideal for making sure the red dot in the viewfinder is lined up exactly with the center of the view through the eyepiece. As was said earlier - don't leave the viewfinder turned on by accident - I did this and never think to get a new battery for it. (I always pull out my telescope on spur of the moment whim).

Once you know the dot is lined up, practice bullseying other objects - in the daylight, you'll be able to see where you might be off of your target, especially against known objects, like a house at the end of the street.

The moon is definitely the easiest thing in the sky to find - even if your focus is WAY off, you should see a big bright blur that gets brighter and brighter as you get more and more on-target. Adjust the focus until you're seeing craters and mountains and thinking "wow!"

After the moon, let your eyes re-adjust back to the dark (the moon is VERY bright in a scope) and try your luck with some planets. Mars is up there at a reasonable hour right now. Unfortunately, your telescope will just show you a larger red dot. Saturn is up a little while before dawn, and is currently right next to Venus, so if you're an early riser, you could get a beautiful sight to take with you to work.

Saturn and Jupiter are by far the most interesting targets to me, as far as small telescopes go. Once you're good at zeroing in on a planet, notice which way it tends to move through the view (Earth's rotation moves your telescope constantly, so you must adjust it very frequently, too), and get it a little off-center so that it will cross center in a few seconds - which is enough time to pop in a higher magnification eyepiece, carefully center your target, and refocus. (that's at least the way it works for me)

If you get out there very soon, you can still catch Jupiter just at sunset - and Jupiter is very great viewing too - you can clearly see the 4 Galilean satellites.

As Ellie's dad told his young budding astronomer in Contact: Small moves, Ellie. Small moves.

Good luck, and happy viewing!

Answer 2

Take the telescope out during the day (when you can see what you are doing).

Use the lowest power you can (20 mm eyepiece, no barlow).

Point it at a distant object (a house, a tree, a light post).

Never, ever, at the Sun. No, never.

Not at the Sun.

Ever.

Never.

Turn the focusser until the image in the telescoe seems clear (the image will be upside down and that is normal).

If turning the focusser to the limit does not do it, it could be that the eyepice mut be fitted on an extension (an empty tube that looks like an eyepiece but with no glass); this is to put the eyepice further away from the tube.

And yes, make sure the lens cover has been removed (I've been observing for 40 years and I still sometimes forget...)

Next, look through the red-dot finder. The same object should be near the centre of the finder (and right-side up). On the side of the finder, there should be a small knob. Normally, you turn it "on" and a tiny light shines on the piece of glass inside the finder. You should see a red dot when you look at the object through the finder. The knob adjusts the intensity of the dot.

It is possible that the battery is still insulated (these things are often shipped with a tiny strip of plastic between the battery and the contact to prevent the draining of the battery while in storage). You may have to open the battery compartment and remove a tiny sliver of plastic on the battery.

Don't forget to turn off the light when you are finished.

---

If the above works well, then your finder should be lined up with the main tube (you can now use the finder to point the telescope in the general direction of the object you want to observe).

On the first night, go out early (when you can still see a bit) and look for something bright (the Moon would be perfect). Repeat the same procedure, except you can use the finder to get the scope int he general area of the Moon, then fidget with the tube until you catch it in the main viewer.

Answer 3

Do you have a local astronomy club? Sometimes a college or university, or a technical high school will have or sponsor a club. That would be perhaps the best source. Second best might be an internet user group (some specific telescopes or scope families have specific groups) perhaps at Yahoo Groups, where other users of the same or similar equipment provide help. Third, does the manufacturer or vendor provide a web site with support? Some do. Finally, and I know it sounds trite, but have you tried to carefully read the instructions? Oh -- If I'd gotten a telescope for Christmas, there would have been no chance to see other than the bottom of clouds every evening since then here. There is some kind of weather and new telescope connection that provides clouds whenever there is new astronomy equipment ready to be used.

Answer 4

Hi Kim!
I don't want to come across as a curmudgeon, but after looking this telescope up on a Google search, I couldn't help but notice that this brand is carried mainly by Toys 'R' Us.
This doesn't bode well.
I admire your curiosity of the night sky, and you should be commended for it!
This telescope will provide you with some really beautiful views of the moon and land- based targets, but you won't get any real high- quality views of the planets or deep- sky objects... You just don't have enough aperture at 60mm.
You purchased a telescope geared toward a very young crowd. I don't know how old you are, but you'd do well to remember, "Aperture is everything" in the future.
The larger the aperture, (the front lens or size of the primary mirror) the brighter the image will appear, and the better the resolution you'll get.
I used a 60mm telescope for many years when I was young, and I saw and learned a lot. When I became a man, I put away childish things (Biblical reference?)
Enjoy your new telescope, and keep looking to the heavens.
Clear Skies!

Answer 5

I see that the main source of EduScience telescopes is Toys'R'Us, which right away tells me that this is a toy, not a telescope. Despite the good advice others have given you, I think you will be very frustrated by this telescope. For only a little bit more money you can buy a good telescope, but not at Toys'R'Us or Wal-Mart or Costco; at a telescope store. Look in the Yellow Pages, or buy online from a reliable dealer like Orion:
http://www.telescope.com/

For $30 more than your scope, they have this one:
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=refractors/~product_id=09854

Similar to yours in many ways, except that the main lens is glass, not plastic, the mount is much more solid, it comes with two quality eyepieces, not four junky ones with plastic lenses, a well-written and illustrated manual, and a nice computer program to teach you about the stars.

Answer 6

It might sound silly, but did you focus the telescope? The part with the eyepiece moves in and out to focus the image.
You might also try using the smallest magnification (the eyepiece with the largest number) first - sometimes the higher-power eyepieces are just not the right ones for some objects.
My 4" reflector works best for planets and the moon using the 20 mm eyepiece - nice wide field of view and still good magnification.

Answer 7

First thing you should do is make sure you are in a very dark place on a clear night. Use the lowest magnification eyepiece that you have (20mm). Put it on nearly any point in the sky and then work the focuser until the stars come in clearly.

After you have it focused, then try aiming it at the brightest thing you can see with your naked eye. When the moon is up, its a great first object to practice on.

Just remember, until you get very good at aiming, make sure you use the lowest power possible. This will give you the best chance of getting what you're aiming at in the field of view...

Congratulations on your new scope and happy viewing.

Answer 8

20 mm good quality eyepiece, you can pick one up for around $40 that will do a reasonable job and provided it is a standard eyepiece 1:25 you can use it on most telescopes so keep it and use it if you move up in size price etc, take it back if your not happy tell them it doesn't work, the pictures on any telescope box are rubbish, they show things that we at most of us will never be able to see so that's enough to get a refund anyway.

keep away from all toy stores if your really into it, research is the clue to this, there are so many scopes out there but what you read here in the answers is good advice, even a so called toy telescope can be fun but the eyepiece is important.

I like orion they are a good scope for the price but keep in mind any scope is quality and then quality again, the optics are important, the mount should be as best quality you can afford as the eyepiece, the diameter needs to be reasonable, I could go on for hours about the technical part of it which does my head in and will yours if you go far enough into it.

join a club as some of the members have years of knowledge and are happy to help out, don't always knock the toy telescopes, some will work ok if your not wanting to sit in the dark for hours on end, don't jump in and spend a stack of money straight up as just operating some high end scopes is very difficult.

you can spend hundreds just on an eyepiece and many thousands on a high end scope so a step at a time is good, if your telescope is not working at all and it sounds as though it isn't try everything said here then take it back and research or join a club.

Answer 9

I am a retired telescope maker, amatuer astronomer, putting in my two cents' worth. Answerer #1 has it right. Make sure all the components are assembled correctly, use the 1x barlow, make sure nothing came loose inside during shipping that might be obscuring the light path through the scope, and try to not touch or jiggle the scope when looking thru. You have a quality instrument that, properly cared for, will last a lifetime. Clear skies!P.S. the red dot finder is new to me.

Answer 10

forget the 525x power, throw that eyepiece in the garbage.
the 525x is an advertising gimmick.
the general rule is 50x per inch of aperature is the max usable magnifying power of any telescope.
your aperature is 60mm i think so 125x is the max power you can use.
when purchasing telescopes ignore max power claims.
the thing that matters is aperature.
if you are looking at stars, no matter how much you magnify them, they will only ever be points of light.
if you are looking for planets, remember they move across the sky, and it takes some practice to be able to follow them across the sky, and focus at the same time. you will need to be patient.
the moon is your best bet and you can get some really spectacular views of the lunar surface with your telescope.
also if its cold outside you need to put the telescope outside an hour before you are ready to view.