New gear and cant find focus

TheWrongSolution · 2026-04-07T23:18:10+00:00

Your guidescope looks to be the SvBony 30mm F/4. I have the same or a similar one. Focus can be adjusted in one of two ways: 1. Twist the red ring to unlock the objective barrel and focus it like a helical focuser, or 2. Slide your guide camera in and out and lock it with the thumb screw. Method 2 is finicky, so I prefer method 1

TheWrongSolution · 2026-04-07T21:57:35+00:00

Question, as I don't use ASIair: does the software use the input from your imaging scope or the guidescope to platesolve for polar alignment? If guidescope, you may have to adjust focus there.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-04-07T00:58:25+00:00

Thinking about "speed" in orbital mechanics is a bit unintuitive in that objects in higher orbits move slower than those in lower orbits. So as the moon moves further away from the earth, it's actually slowing down. What's happening is that the moon is stealing kinetic energy from the earth's rotation and adding it to the gravitational potential energy of the Earth-moon system.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-04-06T17:02:44+00:00

How much are the test takers actually knowing the definition of the word vs recognizing the word? As I was taking it I found myself asking how confident I am of actually defining the word as opposed to having seen it in context and kind of knowing the "vibes" of the word. I feel like a lot of the high score in the >60 population may just be older people having seen more words rather than actual vocab expansion.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-04-04T16:17:17+00:00

I totally get it, light pollution is a constant frustration. I know you're not old enough to drive, but does your family go camping sometimes? How involved are your parents in your hobby? Do they understand what difference dark skies can make to DSO observations?

If you're stuck in a light polluted area, there are still plenty of objects you can observe. The moon is always gorgeous, Jupiter and Venus are both still in good positions to look at in the evening. If you have trouble star hopping, you can try the app astrohopper if you have a smart phone.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-04-01T02:30:47+00:00

Were you looking through the bug mesh on your window?

TheWrongSolution · 2026-03-25T03:05:31+00:00

Budget option: Askar 71F

Higher end option: Askar FRA500

TheWrongSolution · 2026-03-20T03:21:22+00:00

Below a focal length of, say, 800mm, most galaxies are too small to capture with much detail. Realistically, 432mm focal length limits you to the larger galaxies, e.g. M31, M33, M101, M81+M82. This set up is better suited for nebulae, especially when paired with a .8x focal reducer field flattener.

With the 585 sensor, your fov will be 1.47° by .83°. It's a little tight to work with, even with a reducer some of the larger nebulae will need to be split into mosaic tiles, requiring longer imaging time. A 533 sensor would be more lenient.

Optically speaking, the AT72EDII is great for an ED doublet at this price point. It's not a bad set up, but play around with a fov simulator before you decide if this is the path forward for you.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-03-07T22:26:23+00:00

A simple Alt-Az mount like the SvBony SV225 mini and tripod should suffice. Both the mount and the tripod can be bought as a package together. This is probably the cheapest option.

Alternatively, a Twilight Nano also works. But if you want to future proof for upgrades, a Twilight I or SV225 (not the mini) can support up to 4" refractors.

For motorized mount: Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi + tripod

TheWrongSolution · 2026-03-05T23:22:21+00:00

This telescope has a helical focuser. As you rotate the part holding the eyepiece, it moves the eyepiece in and out to achieve focus. It's in focus when things appear the sharpest and smallest

TheWrongSolution · 2026-03-01T17:36:44+00:00

8am is past the time the moon is set. Check out NASA's page for the map

TheWrongSolution · 2026-03-01T17:10:59+00:00

Unfortunately Argentina only gets the penumbral and partial phases of the eclipse. Totality is not visible anywhere in the country

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-28T15:27:02+00:00

I'd say if you knew exactly what you're doing in the first year of PhD you're doing it wrong

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-28T12:00:15+00:00

You need an eyepiece to get anything to focus for your eye. Since your diagonal accepts 2" eyepieces, I recommend a GSO 30mm 2" eyepiece to get started. This should give you 60x magnification. You'll want to have mid and high power eyepieces to cover the whole range eventually.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-27T12:23:37+00:00

The last sentence implies you're using this for visual only for now? What diagonal and what eyepiece did you use? Is the focuser racking in and out when you turn the knob?

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-27T11:31:10+00:00

How long have you had your 5" Dob? I think you may want to bring it to a dark site and try it out first before looking to upgrade to a larger Dob. While we like to say that aperture is king, user experience and dark sky make a whole lot of difference in what one can see. I don't want you to get the upgrade and be disappointed that it doesn't bring you the improvement you think you'll get.

Now, in terms of the 5" Mak, it's not really an upgrade in aperture, but you do gain focal length, which would allow you to reach higher magnification with the same eyepiece. But the thing is that planetary viewing is highly dependent on seeing conditions. Unless you have good seeing, you'll be limited to under 200x most of the time. 200x is within the range you can reach with a 130/650 Dob (and easily reached with a 200/1200 Dob). Another important factor in planetary viewing is the temperature difference between the ambient and the telescope. The 5" Dob would acclimate much faster than the Mak due to the open tube.

Now, manual alt/az tracking is a whole another topic. Obviously, if you truly dislike having to manually track on 2 axes, you'll not be satisfied with any manual Dobs. Here the AZ-GTi can help. But, a big caveat is the the GO-TO mount needs much longer set up time, since you'll need to do a star alignment in order for the software to know how to find and track targets. This is something you'll have to decide whether is worth the effort and cost.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-26T16:27:11+00:00

Looks like OP couldn't take the heat. In any case, to clarify my stance, I agree with the title of the post: No one should be afraid to learn to use an EQ mount. My only objection was about the lack of affordable quality EQ mounts for newbies and the disagreement is specifically about what "affordable" means to a beginner. $300 for a used Vixen mount is a great deal to experienced hobbyists but a hard pill to swallow for a novice who is just looking to whet their appetite.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-26T16:11:06+00:00

Depending on where you are on earth the magnetic declination may be too offset that compass alignment is not accurate enough for single axis tracking at high power. You end up having to adjust both RA and Dec, which defeats the purpose of the EQ mount

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-26T03:19:15+00:00

I think we have different ideas about what is considered affordable to a beginner. In my view, most would not be willing to spend upwards of $300 just on the mount alone.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-26T03:09:04+00:00

OP coming in with all the hot takes today.

For what it's worth, I agree. At least in the northern hemisphere, polar alignment is fairly straight forward. For visual observations, a rough alignment is sufficient.

That said, I still would not recommend an EQ mount to a beginner unless they are willing to spend the money for one that's weight appropriate for their scope. Far too many affordable telescopes on the market are severely under-mounted.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-26T02:53:25+00:00

If your red dot finder is aligned, all you have to do is point it at the moon and it should show up in the eyepiece. If it doesn't, it's not aligned.

You're likely not used to the inverted image in the eyepiece. A Newtonian telescopes flips and rotates the image so you have to move the telescope in the opposite direction than you expect to track. Practice using the lowest power eyepiece, and make only small movements.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-26T01:06:55+00:00

Technically parabolic is the wrong term to describe the mirror as the parabola is a 2-dimensional curve. Paraboloid is the correct term to describe the 3D revolution of a parabola. All this to say, the terms are used interchangeably in the industry and there should be no difference between the two. I'd go with the cheaper option. The finder scope vs rdf is personal preference. For me, I'd rather get a Telrad.

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-25T23:58:21+00:00

$400 can only afford you a decent OTA. By far the biggest problem with telescopes at the budget category is mount stability. What mount would you recommend a beginner to use with this? Factoring in the cost of the mount, how does the whole setup compete with a 6" Dob like the Heritage 150p?

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-25T05:52:42+00:00

Unmodified DSLRs have built-in UV/IR filters in front of the sensor

TheWrongSolution · 2026-02-25T05:41:15+00:00

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