Help us make it work please

kemberlis · Guest

Hi,

We just bought our 7 year old a bushnell telescope that we can't seem to make work right. The telescope is a 3" reflector model. We can't see anything in the eyepiece and it's a beautiful starry night. Any suggestions? We're lining the finderscope with the target, but can't see anything. Help!!

AstroBoy · Guest

You may want to get familiar with the scope using terrestrial viewing during daylight. This gives you a point of reference rather than a black sky.

I'd bet your finderscope is mis-aligned with the objective lens. It's easy to adjust normally, but you need a distant reference point to do it. Get the reference centered and in focus in the eyepiece, then check the finderscope and if the same reference isn't centered in the finderscope, adjust the alignment screws on the finderscope until it is.

Don't use an object that is too close as a reference as parallax error can occur and your adjustment will be off for distant objects.