Monthly Archives: July 2015

All, Gear, How-To's

Aligning a Finderscope with the OTA

If you are not seeing the same object in your finderscope and your eyepiece, your finderscope is probably out of alignment. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to align your finderscope with the OTA.

  1. Set your telescope on a solid base. Outdoors would be ideal, but if you have to do this indoors, as long as you have access to a window, it should be fine.
  2. Insert your eyepiece into the telescope. Choose the one with the lowest power or magnification.
  3. Point the telescope at an object that is at least a half mile away and center it in the field of view. A good object is the top of a roof or a light post.
  4. Look through the finderscope. If you don’t see the same object in the center, adjust the knobs on the finderscope mount until it appears in the same central point in the field of view.
  5. Replace the eyepiece with the next step up on magnification.
  6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for each of your eyepieces.

For a visual tutorial, watch the video below. Enjoy the video.

Click here to watch it in a new window.

All, Featured, Gear, Tips & Tricks

Don’t Overlook Binoculars: 5 Advantages Over Telescopes

Obviously, they have their shortcomings in terms of aperture and magnification, but binoculars are often overlooked by new astronomers because when they think about astronomy, they automatically think about telescopes.

In this video, I will show you 5 advantages that binoculars have over telescopes:

  1. They are small and lightweight.
  2. They are easy to transport.
  3. You might already have one.
  4. They are less expensive.
  5. They make it easier to find objects.

While they also have their obvious disadvantages, like smaller aperture, binoculars have a special place in astronomy. Enjoy the video.

Click here to watch it in a new window.