help

[alecia]

hi
i'm only an absolute beginner with stronomy and my parents bought me a telescope for xmas. i've seen the moon prefectly and when i was alligning the spotting scope i could see everything clearly, but when i try to look at a star all i can see is a ring of light with nothing in the middle - its like a hole. it looks like the first thing you see if you were to look into the barrel.
i'm dying to get out and have a good look but its pointless as that all i get. any help would be fantastic!
thanx, alecia
:confused:

[ving]

HI AND WELCOME ABOARD!!!

sounds to me like you done have the telescope focused. near the eyepeice you will see a pair of knobs, twist them around till you can see clearly :)

and dont be afraid to ask anything here. we love to help :)

[Striker]

Welcome Alecia,

Yes as Ving said...sounds like its badly out of focus.....easy fix....keep turning the focus knobs...

What telescope have you got.....give us a name or model number on the side of the scope or off the box it come in......then we can tell you exactly what to do....

Good luck....

[[1ponders]]

Hi Alecia and welcome aboard.

Strikers right, the more you can tell us more about the telescope you've been given the more we can help you. Look for the words refractor or reflector. See if you can find out what size mirror or lense it has.

Which does it have? A mirror at the bottom of the tube or a lense at the top?

With the telescope mounted on the tripod does the telescope go up and down and side to side to move it? Or does it have a funny angle shaped mounting that moves in circles.

Do you have a number of eyepieces to put in the viewing hole or does it have one eyepiece that can be pulled out to give different magnifications?

I know they're a lot of things to ask but the more you can find out about it the more we can help you.

Oh and does it have a brand name and a number? If you know that we can search for it on the internet and be more specific in our information to you

Good luck and welcome to a fun hobby. There's lots to see out there.

[alecia]

thanx guys. i postred on astronomy online as well and people there said that its probably out of focus.
i have a 4.5" reflector telescope
its a bushmaster starexplorer SE114900.
thanx for your help and patience.
hopefully its a clar night tonight and i can finally go out!

[ving]

you might want to just try it on something on the ground, you know, just to see if it is focus or not.

[silvinator]

Hi alecia! Welcome to the forum. The fellas here are always really helpful so don't ever be afraid to ask questions. I really hope you can get out and start enjoying the night sky soon! You should be able to see a lot with your telescope. My first scope was a two inch reflector and I had many a wonderful night under the stars with it. Enjoy and clear skies to you!

[alecia]

thanx everyone for your help. i'm pretty sure i know what i'm doing wrong now. i think what i'm doing is trying to make it bigger with the focuser instead of changing eyepieces.
its a pain that its stormy tonight...
thanx so much everyone!
alecia

[ballaratdragons]

Hey Silvie,

I've never heard of a 2" reflector!!!!!!!!!!!

[janoskiss]

If you have a look at this month's Aust. Sky & Telescope you can check out Newton's very own "Newtonian". It had a 1.25" mirror!

[ballaratdragons]

Don't get astronomy Mags around here, but I will believe you.

1.25" !! sounds more like an eyepiece.

[janoskiss]

Sorry, my mistake 1+1/3 inches! Made in 1668. Had a magnification of over 30.

Here's a pic (check out the focuser & mount):

http://www.evangelical-anjar.org/astromania/My Webs/mywebs/astromania/scientists/newton's telescope.jpg

Bigger ones were made in Newton's lifetime. Some as big as 2 inches!

[iceman]

Guys, please don't take it off topic too much.
Thanks
:cheers:

[silvinator]

sorry folks, I meant refractor :ashamed:
does it show that I am a reflector convert? hehe :P

[Nortilus]

Welcome Alecia. I am a noob to astronomy as well. Just got my first light with my 8" Dob. Saw Saturn, made me more addicted. Gonna start tracking down other things now.

Anyhow, ask all the questions you can, because everyone is very helpful here.

[rumples riot]

Alecia, if you need more help, please ask, we are here to help each other. Did you get your scope to focus?