Extreme newbie here- help

[jennyp712]

Hi guys, just got my new Nexstar 6SE. The skies today are cloudy and it is a full moon. I am not even attempting to use the GOTO. I just want to look at the moon manually. Using 32mm eyepiece, whcih is my biggest, and the 6SE having a focal length of 1500mm, with my scopefinder laser poionted at the center of the full moon, i can only see a hazy bright light. I have seen people posting pics of a full moon so, um, how does one does that? Sorry for the ignorant question but i hope you can sprare some advice.

[jennyp712]

I think the question should be, how do i see the moon in its entirety? I have read somewhere of such things as focal reducer?

[BigKahuna]

The Focus knob on the 6SE/8SE has a pretty long range so it sounds like you aren't finding that point. In the daylight, aim on a distant point (like a tree a mile away) and see if you can get it to focus. You can also align the finder to the main scope at the same time. There are videos on YouTube on how to align the finder scope. Good luck, congrats on the new Telescope and here's a wish for clear skies)

[KathyNS]

With your 32mm eyepiece, the full moon should easily fit into your field of view. It sounds like the eyepiece was not focused.

The focus knob on an SCT takes some getting used to. It requires about 50 turns to go from one end to the other. Although it takes many turns, be patient: you don't want to zoom through the in-focus position without noticing it.

[jennyp712]

Thanks for the advice BigKahuna and KathyNS. Although I did turn the focuser a few times, it is probably not enough. You are probably right, I shall try doing the focusing thing the morning.

[smp]

Remember that if you focus your scope on a distant target during the daytime, it will NOT be focussed and ready for viewing anything up in the sky at night. You will have to re-focus on the object that you are pointing at, the first time that night. Once you achieve proper focus on an object in the sky at night, you will only have to make minor focus adjustments as you move from one object to another in the sky.

smp

[helicon]

Achieving focus takes a little practice. It is a bit different on every scope, and a longer process on an SCT.

[Greenman]

On the SE models there is a lot of travel of one end of focus to the other. It will be a bit if a steep learning curve, but keep asking questions here and that will speed things along.

[jennyp712]

Thank you guys all so much for the advice! Much appreciated

[Jay6821]

Congratulations on the new scope!

As another somewhat newbie myself (less than a year) I can tell you that everything it a little bit harder then the Celestron advertising copy would lead you to believe.

Another thing I didn't consider is that this hobby is generally done in the dark at the end of the day when you may be tired. Getting familiar with your scope and practicing during the daytime is great advice.

[Greenman]

Hi Jay,

Sorry to steal the thread, how are you finding the RACI ?

I’m considering for replacing the red dot mind you, not cheap.

[mikemarotta]

this hobby is generally done in the dark at the end of the day when you may be tired. Getting familiar with your scope and practicing during the daytime is great advice.

In fact, I set up during daylight. For one thing, it lets my instruments get to ambient temperature. However, as Jay said, you can work better in the light. At night, you need to know what you are feeling as you reach for things and change eyepieces, etc. If the moon is up, I take advantage of that in daylight. Right now, I have been using Venus to get started. Plenty of light; easy target. If I drop something, I can find it.

Mike M.

[Richard]

Generally on a go to scope one does not need a RACI , red dot finder is fine and easier to use for set up RACI finders work for Dobs but for MCT and SCT I prefer normal finders but thats just me

[Greenman]

Generally on a go to scope one does not need a RACI , red dot finder is fine and easier to use for set up RACI finders work for Dobs but for MCT and SCT I prefer normal finders but thats just me

Hi Richard,

Red dot is rather difficult for me to align, in particular when the scope is pointing close to the celestial pole. My neck and back are not as flexible as they once were, plus I find the standard red dot finder too close to the body of the SCT, and it's too easy to adjust the wrong knob (in place of the attenuator) and turn the height adjustment. These are the main reasons for wanting to go back to a more conventional finder. As you say it's probably just preference

[ARock]

A RACI by itself can be difficult to use, because of its smaller FOV. Basically, it can be difficult to find a naked eye visible star in a RACI. Not impossible, just difficult enough to keep it out of the comfort zone. On Dobs people usually use a RACI in addition to a Red Dot. The Red Dot gets the RACI close to the target area.

Maybe a Rigel Finder attached (uses double sided tape) to the front of the SCT will work better for you? Or if you can manage to raise the Red Dot Finder somehow.

[Greenman]

Maybe a Rigel Finder attached (uses double sided tape) to the front of the SCT will work better for you? Or if you can manage to raise the Red Dot Finder somehow.

Now that looks very interesting thanks ARock

[jennyp712]

Congratulations on the new scope!

As another somewhat newbie myself (less than a year) I can tell you that everything it a little bit harder then the Celestron advertising copy would lead you to believe.

Another thing I didn't consider is that this hobby is generally done in the dark at the end of the day when you may be tired. Getting familiar with your scope and practicing during the daytime is great advice.

Thanks, Jay. As much as I would love to use my new scope more, you are right, this hobby is generally done in the dark at the end of the day when you are tired and we havent been blessed with clear skies lately here in Sydney since I bought it two weeks ago. I havent tried the alignment nor the Goto as there is no point if there arent any clearly visible stars. I did manage to see the moon during the how many days of full moon and it was fabulous. So far i have been using it manually. LOL.

[Lady Fraktor]

You can set the telescope up in the daytime and do a one star align on an arbitrary point.
Direction does not matter just make it a star that is around the south pole area.
This will let you familiarize yourself with the menus and operation during the day.

Before you do that, you should set your backlash settings which are easiest done during the day and takes about 10 minutes to do.
Enjoy the telescope when you can.

[Jay6821]

Hi Jay,

Sorry to steal the thread, how are you finding the RACI ?

I’m considering for replacing the red dot mind you, not cheap.

I like it, although I would recommend a Telrad over the RACI. I have both. The Celestron RACI comes with absolutely no directions which I think is really bad for the consumer. I did a lot of googling and discovered that the RACI made by Meade is virtually identical, made in the same Chinese factory, and it comes with directions. The RACI is especially handy doing a precise daytime alignment between the finder scope and your telescope, especially if you have a rectile eyepiece for your telescope (with the same illuminated crosshairs). However, at night it can still be challenging to use. I've heard it described as like looking through a soda straw to try and find something.

The Telrad on the other hand is super easy to find stuff with. I can find stuff with the Telrad, fine tune it with the RACI, and then look through my scope. I resisted getting a Telrad because of the extra money, and also because it is "butt ugly." But it works well and is worth the money. It's light years better than the red dot finder.

[Greenman]

Sounds like a good reason to go Telrad; I see that for around 1/3 of the cost of the Celestron Raci?