and Chasing Jupiter from my Yard.
      
Back to MrGibson HOME

General Tips:

#1 Let your telescope adjust to the outside temperature.
  • Make sure your telescope has been in the outside climate for at *least* 30 minutes before use.
    - - Failure to do so can cause blurry or foggy images.
    - - Some telescope's mirrors can be out of adjustment until the telescope temp is even with it's climate.


    #2 Make sure to align the telescope Finder Scope.

    First, it is pretty important to calibrate the finder scope so the telescope points exactly where you are looking.
    Afterall, why make finding small objects in the sky harder on yourself?

    NOTE: It is highly recommended to do the initial finder alignment during the daytime.

    These instructions are for a red-dot finder or a magnifying crosshair scope, either must perfectly match what the main telescope sees.
       A. Find a distant target: 
      Set up your telescope and aim the main tube at a stationary, distinct object far away.
      Make sure the telescope is climatized.
      Use something like the top of a utility pole or a distant cell phone tower.

   B. Center it: 
      Insert a low-power eyepiece lens (something like a 20mm or 25mm ) and center the target
      perfectly in the middle of your view, then lock the mount.

   C. Adjust the finder: 
      Without moving the telescope, look through your finder scope. 
      Use the adjustment knobs or screws to move the red dot or crosshairs exactly onto 
      the center of that same distant object.

   D. Verify:
      Look back into the main eyepiece to ensure the target is still centered.
      If it is, your finder scope is aligned.


    #3 Get away from city lights. Not only does the city lights affect your ability to see objects in the sky, it also affects your telescope's ability.


    #4 Start wide: Always begin with the 20mm or 25mm eyepiece lens. This gives the lowest magnification - making it easiest to locate objects.
  • Move to higher magnifications until the desired magnification. Lower the eyepiece lens number, the higher the magnification.
               Magnification  =   Telescope Focal Length (mm)  
                            Eyepiece Lens Focal Length (mm)


    #5 For most applications, do not move to a magnification above the "Maximum Useful Magnification" number.
  • Lenses that take you above this "Maximum Useful Magnification" number will most likely have issues gathering enough light to see anything.
  • You will find most of the time, you don't need Magnification near that number.
  • Some telescopes have an applicable Maximum Magnifications that exceeds the Maximum Useful Magnification that can only be used with the moon.

               Maximum Useful Magnification = Telescope Aperture (mm) x 2


    #6 Most telescopes have a purpose and range of use. Know your telescope's strengths.
    Some telescopes are better for faint galaxies and nebulae, while others are better for planets.
  • The scopes ability has a lot to do with your f-number.
  • A lower f-number is considered "faster" because it gathers more light per unit of time, making it highly effective for capturing these faint, expansive targets like galaxies and nebulae.
  • A slow number is good for brighter objects like planets - to see the planet detail.
  • f/2 to f/4 are very fast numbers.
  • f/5 to f/8 are a mid range numbers.
  • f/9 to f/15 are slow numbers.


    To find the f-number: 
              N  =  Telescope Focal length (mm)
                   Aperture diameter (mm)
    Where:
    N = Focal ratio (often written as f/N )


    #7 Get a red flashlight or put some red cello tape over your smartphone light.
    It takes a long time for your eyes to get completely dark-adapted (up to 45 minutes), and it only takes a second for your iris to snap shut when a bright light comes on.


    #8 Master "Averted Vision"
    When looking at extremely faint objects like deep-sky galaxies, do not look directly at the center of the object.
    The edges of your retina can see dimmer than the center.
    For really faint objects like galaxies, point your eye a little to the edge of the field of view and try to resolve the galaxy using the edge of your eye.
    Takes practice, but you’d be surprised at the small details that jump out at you while doing this.
    Look slightly to the side; your eye's peripheral vision is more sensitive to faint light, revealing finer details.


    #9 Don't use inverters for the night sky.
    More people than not say that you should not use an image inverter (erecting eyepiece or diagonal) with a Newton Reflector.
    From my experiance, that is true. While inverters allow you to see right-side-up images for terrestrial viewing,
    they degrade optical quality, reduce image brightness, and rarely achieve focus in standard Newtonian designs.





    • (c) 2000-2026 by Michael Gibson.
    All graphics, code (php, html, css, javascript, ect.), content (unless source states other), and posts by Michael Gibson.
    Graphics, content and code created with GIMP, gedit, and usually vim. This page uses CSS that works on *ALL* browsers that are CSS compliant. Like FireFox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari. Moving code to PHP 8.x
    You are using Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)