How to work a astrotek 50 Telescope??

Question

Why cant i see anything throught it? And also are you able to see things close up or only far away?

Answer 1

The night sky is mostly empty, and a telescopes field of view is very small, so unless you aim carefully a small telescope is apt to show nothing but blackness.

Start in daytime by aiming at a distant target (tree, building, etc.) Use your low-power eyepiece to start with. Don't worry if the view is upside down or turned around; astronomical telescopes work like that. Adjust the focuser until the view is sharp. If it's sort of swimming, that's from the atmosphere and can't be helped, but if you can't get an otherwise clear image, the telescope is defective and should be returned, if possible.

Now look through the finder scope. If what you see in the main telescope isn't centered in the finder, adjust the finder until it is. Now you can use the finder scope to aim the telescope. The Moon is a good target to start with, but it won't be in the evening sky for a couple of weeks. The Orion Nebula (middle star in Orion's sword) is an interesting target. Get an astronomy magazine or book with some star charts to find more targets. "Turn Left at Orion" is a good book for small telescope users; it will tell you about some deep space objects you can see and help you find them.

Answer 2

Most telescopes cannot focus very close. 10 feet away is WAY too close. 100 feet away MAY be too close, depending on the type of telescope. Several hundred feet or more away is far enough to focus clearly.

Another error beginners make is using high magnification. Use the LOWEST magnification you can. Usually you use different eyepieces for different magnifications. If you don't know which eyepiece has the lowest magnification, just try them all, one by one, turning the focus knob slowly all the way both ways until you can find the clearest focus.

The hardest thing for beginners to do is get the telescope pointed at the object you want to see. The telescope has to be pointed EXACTLY at the object you want to see. And the higher the magnification, the more exactly it has to be pointed. So start with the easiest thing, like the Moon or maybe a street light down the block using low magnification.