Telescope Refractor How to collimate a Celestron AstroMaster 114 refractor telescope?
I have a Celestron Astro-Master 114 telescope, but I don't know how to collimate it can someone help me? If it helps, I already collimated it once and I could see, but i didn't do it correctly.
Because this is a Jones-Bird corrected optical system with a spherical short focus mirror, collimation in the normal way of Newtonians is almost impossible. But it can be done if you are careful.
(This first step may not be necessary if your collimation is close, and you can go on to the star test below)
If you are brave, you can remove the lens at the bottom of the focuser tube. Remember which way it came out, so you can put it back the same way.
Now you can use a sighting tube (or a collimating laser) to see down the focuser tube, to the secondary, and to the primary. You should be able to see centered images, along with your own eye.
After everything is centered well, put the lens back in. Now you can refine this rough alignment. Use a bright star that is tracked well by the motorized mount. If you don't have one, use a sun reflection off a glass globe like a lamp over 500 feet away that is on a black background. Center the star and focus carefully with a high power eyelens. You should see concentric rings around the dot. That is the diffraction pattern. If not concentric rings, a flare on one side is the misalignment. Move the scope so that the star moves to the side which shows a better concentric pattern. Now move only the mirror alignment screws to recenter the star. Repeat to get it perfect. These last steps should take only a very small fraction of a turn of one or two screws. Tighten the jam screws on the mirror mount, recheck the pattern.
I have used this routine on my 114GT Celestron Nexstar scope, and I run it at the maximum power of 280X if the sky is perfectly calm.
Celestron Nexstar Telescope What does location number (1-9) mean on my Celestron Nexstar 114GT mean?
I'm trying to align my telescope, and it's asking for the location number 1-9. What does this mean and which number should I choose?
I'm not familiar with Celestron's GoTo system, but I assume you can enter the co-ordinates of up to nine locations you could observe from. One might be your home town where you usually are, another may be a place you go to a hundred miles out of town to escape the lights, another may be the place you go to in North Dakota for your vacation. You'd choose whichever location you're at.
It's a good idea with a new scope to practise during daylight in your living room. You don't have to actually align the scope; it could be pointing any direction while you practise a few times. But you'll find out what it actually does at each step, you'll be able to read the instructions, and you'll remember at least some of it when you go out in the dark the first time.
Having trouble aligning my Nexstar 102slt telescope?
I have just brought a Celestron Nexstar 102slt telescope and i'm having trouble auto aligning it. Any surgestions.
Make sure your scope is pointing north before you begin.
Check that your finder and scope are seing the same thing (perhaps look for a distant streetlight?), find Polaris in the finder then relevel it.
THEN begin your 3 star alignment. Try not to use stars that are immediately next to each other. The scope copes better afterwards if it's had a larger area to calculate from.
