Beginning Astronomy with a Celestron … So, what's the matter?
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Beginning Astronomy with a Celestron … So, what's the matter?
I am an engineer and like to solve problems. Like I say in my second book, I also like Astronomy. This is not a book about Astronomy though. There are many good books about beginning Astronomy and learning the night sky. This book is about common problems you may run into when starting Astronomy with a new telescope. It specifically addresses some items you may run into when setting up and using a Celestron NexStar 8se telescope, which is a great telescope for pursuing Astronomy. Some items covered for the Celestron NexStar 8se telescope also apply to other Celestron telescope models.
This is not intended to be a replacement for your manual. Be sure to follow the manual as much as possible. This book contains helpful information that is not detailed in the manual that will hopefully save you some time and frustration.
The format of this book is simple. It contains a list of questions with a discussion of how to resolve the problem at hand.
How do I mount the telescope onto the fork arm base? How far can I slide the telescope tube onto the fork arm? What all should I do to get started? How do I align the finderscope? What if I cannot center the object in the finderscope? How critical is it for the tripod to be level? What do I need to keep in mind when I use SkyAlign? Which eyepiece should I use when aligning? What should I do if I bump the telescope later in the evening? Are there any commonly used telescope settings I should verify or adjust? What should I do if the eyepiece attachments hit the base when slewing to a new position? Do I need to change any settings if I attach heavier viewing equipment to the end of the telescope? How careful should I be aligning the telescope? How quick do I have to be when aligning the telescope? Which alignment method should I use? How can I find good alignment stars? Why do I need to always finish the centering of an object in a certain direction during alignment? Should I also finish centering objects in the same way I used during alignment? Why does the telescope go in the opposite direction from the button I pressed? Can I manually move the telescope on the arm when it is turned off? What else should I consider buying now? What can I do to keep the telescope from shaking when I focus? Where is the DC cord for the Celestron Power Tank? How do I keep the power cord and other cables from getting wrapped around the tripod during the evening? What can I plug into the ports on the base and the hand controller? Should I add a GPS to my telescope? Should I get a hard case or soft case for carrying my telescope away from home? How do I pack my telescope in a carrying case? What should I do if the Goto is not exact? How can I find faint objects better? Is there a way to move the telescope wirelessly? Do I have to balance the telescope? Why can I not see some objects as well that are low down in the sky? How can I keep it from pointing to objects that I know I cannot see due to surrounding houses, etc. ? Why does it take so long to begin moving sometimes? How can I keep the Moon from moving in the eyepiece? If I selected to replace a star during an alignment process do I need to perform a factory reset afterwards? What do I do if I have changed some of the permanent setup values and my telescope is no longer working right? How is the best way to use the hand controller to point the telescope at an object yourself? How do I improve the alignment later in the evening? What should I look at first? Is there any way to speed up the scrolling speed of information about an object so it doesn’t take so long to read? How do I easily put the lens cover back on in the dark? How can I easily tell which cap goes over the visual back of the telescope when packing up? Should I consider adding a wedge to my telescope mount? How can I begin trying astrophotography with my telescope?