Is it me, the moon or my scope?

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

So I finally had a chance to take my new telscope out this morning (SkyWatcher Heritage 130p) while the kids and hubby were sleeping. It didn't take me long to line it up with a star, but what I saw in the eye piece wasn't what I expected. There was a white circle, which I'm guessing was just the whole primary mirror reflecting light, with a shadow from the secondary mirror. I tried three different stars to make sure it wasn't light coming from somewhere else and each time it did the same thing.

So this leaves me to wonder, is it me, the moon or my scope?

I should also add that the moon was on the other side of y house, so I didn't cop a lot of light from it.

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

I would expect to see what you described if the scope is out of focus. Did you try and adjust the focus to see if the stars changed?

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

Just did a little Google search on your scope as I personally have not used one. This youtube review might be of help. Things to check are that you had the collapsible component fully extended and your focus as mentioned before. It looks like you focus by rotating the eyepiece holder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q00hq_p_5rw

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

Originally Posted by CapturingTheNight

I would expect to see what you described if the scope is out of focus. Did you try and adjust the focus to see if the stars changed?

Hi Greg

I did have a fiddle with the focus, but that just made the circle blur a bit. I might try again tonight to make sure that the scope was fully extended. I think it was, but that's no sure-fire guarantee

[CJ (Chris)]

Don't forget to turn the red dot finder off!

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

Originally Posted by CJ

Don't forget to turn the red dot finder off!

Haha I do that anyway to stop the battery going flat

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Sounds like a focus issue, as already suggested.
If turning focus one way makes it blurry, turn it the other way until you see the image getting smaller, then you are heading the right way and keep going until it is clear.

Also, make sure you start with the 25mm eyepiece, being lower magnification, it should be easier to get to focus.

Then once centred you can switch to the higher magnification 10mm, if you want, for more detail.
This will then require re-focus.

Good luck with it and happy viewing

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

Originally Posted by Allan_L

Sounds like a focus issue, as already suggested.
If turning focus one way makes it blurry, turn it the other way until you see the image getting smaller, then you are heading the right way and keep going until it is clear.

Also, make sure you start with the 25mm eyepiece, being lower magnification, it should be easier to get to focus.

Then once centred you can switch to the higher magnification 10mm, if you want, for more detail.
This will then require re-focus.

Good luck with it and happy viewing

I have tried turning the focus wheel both ways and it didn't really help. Of course I can't try it again until dark. I'm not game enough to use the 10mm until I've got this telescope thing down to a tee.

[inertia8 (Australia)]

Can you focus on a distant tree and have you aligned the red dot finder to the scope yet?

Be careful not to unscrew the focuser all the way out or you might drop it and the eyepiece. I've come close on mine. Start by screwing it most of the way in then you'll know you only need to slowly unscrew to focus. As has been said when the airy disc of the star begins to shrink you are headed in the right direction, go slowly so as bot to miss when the image comes to focus.

Some of these did have an issue whereby the stud/bolt that holds the secondary mirror in place was not long enough to place the secondary in the center of the tube. I've measured mine from the edge of the mirror holder (black thing with screws in it) along the stud and to the edge of the tube assembly and it is approx 63.5mm. If you check it be careful to do this in a horizontal position so as to avoid dropping anything down into the tube.

This issue was with a batch of scopes from quite some time ago and so I would think that most modern stock would not have this issue. If it does I'm sure the retailer will replace it, worse case a new stud could be sourced.

Please post some pictures of the scope setup if you can and remember to keep fingers away from that shiny exposed secondary mirror!

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Hi Billi,

Might seem like a funny question, but have the struts been extended all the way? The helical focuser of these scopes has a very short travel distance, and the correct relocation of the struts is critical. This would be my first place to look for problem solving.

What it is not is extraneous light coming from the surroundings. You would not be seeing the doughnut shape you described if it were.

The secondary placement inertia describes won't affect focusing. It will have an affect on the efficiency of the maximum amount of light getting into the eyepiece. The scope will still come to focus even with the secondary mirror out of optimal position. Having the secondary best placed you can examine once we get you focusing your scope.

Allan asked if the image you see gets smaller or bigger as you rotate the focuser. If it doesn't, check that you've tightened the set screw that secures the eyepiece in the focuser. Sometimes it is easy to forget to tighten it then when we twist the eyepiece to focus (instead of the drawtube), nothing happens with focus, and we are left wondering what's happening, . This happened to me lastnight with one scope of mine that also has a helical focuser!!!

Keep us informed with progress.

Mental.

[inertia8 (Australia)]

^ Thanks Astro, I wasn't certain of the affect the secondary out of place would have and a great tip about the grub screw, I've had that very issue myself as I often turn the focuser with the eyepiece grip rather than the nut section of the focuser.

Here's a link to the thread on that issue by the way, so you that you can discount it as being an issue with your scope.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/19...or-mount-help/

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by BilliGoatsGruff

I have tried turning the focus wheel both ways and it didn't really help. Of course I can't try it again until dark. I'm not game enough to use the 10mm until I've got this telescope thing down to a tee.

It's often a good idea to have your first play with a new telescope in daylight hours, because it's so much easier to see how everything works, and the image is nice and bright so you can make out some sort of image even if it is wildly out of focus.

Put in the lowest power (longest focal length) eyepiece, and point it at a distant building or tree (NEVER at the Sun, unless you have the appropriate full-aperture solar filter!!!), and see if you can reach focus. See how the focus changes as you wind the focuser in and out a bit.

Now change to a higher power (shorter focal length) eyepiece, and see if it holds focus when you swap them around, or whether you need to re-focus a little (or a lot!) between eyepieces.

Once you have done some daytime familiarisation, leave it focussed on the distant tree or building with your lowest power eyepiece installed, so that when you take it out at night, you should be able to see something straight away.

If you're still having trouble seeing stars, try pointing it at the Moon - it's bright enough that you'll be sure to find it, regardless of how badly focussed the telescope is, and then once you've focussed on the Moon, you should have no trouble seeing stars or planets. Now swap out to a higher magnification eyepiece, and see how much re-focussing is required, and also notice that the image may be noticeably dimmer and less stable / sharp.

Hope this helps - good luck!

[OzStarGazer]

The image will be upside down if you look at a tree in daylight for example, but it doesn't matter in terms of focussing of course.

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

The image will be upside down if you look at a tree in daylight for example, but it doesn't matter in terms of focussing of course.

I'm definitely used to the upside down images hopefully I'll get a chance to go outdide soon and see if I can work out what I'm doing wrong.

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

Soo it turns out I had the 10mm eyepiece in, instead of the 25mm. I'm feeling pretty stupid because I honestly don't remember swapping them over! At least the mystery is solved though.

Thanks everyone for helping me out!

[AstralTraveller (David)]

No jokes. We've all done sillier things than that - trust me!

So, are you saying you can get the 25mm to focus but not the 10mm?

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

No jokes. We've all done sillier things than that - trust me!

So, are you saying you can get the 25mm to focus but not the 10mm?

So far, yes. It's totally overcast so I probably won't be able to have another try tonight. The 10mm seems to be really out of focus.

[OzStarGazer]

The 10mm eyepiece that comes with the SW is not very good... I hardly ever use it. I have a 6mm and an 8mm good eyepieces and they both work better than the SW 10mm eyepiece with the SW Heritage 130p. I was thinking of buying a better 10mm eyepiece myself.
PS: I also have a Celestron 10mm eyepiece that came with a Celestron telescope and it is not very good either. For high magnifications it is just better to buy a good eyepiece rather than the default ones. The FOV is also extremely limited in both the SW and the Celestron 10mm eyepieces.

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

The 10mm eyepiece that comes with the SW is not very good... I hardly ever use it. I have a 6mm and an 8mm good eyepieces and they both work better than the SW 10mm eyepiece with the SW Heritage 130p. I was thinking of buying a better one myself.

What brand would you recommend for eyepieces? Celestron?

[BeanerSA (Paul)]

Originally Posted by BilliGoatsGruff

What brand would you recommend for eyepieces? Celestron?

If you're on a budget, I'd just get a Bintel/GSO Plossl. If you have an account with OzScopes already, just get a SkyWatcher Super Plossl.