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Many people make certain mistakes when looking at sky objects through a telescope. As a result, they see nothing or an annoying blurry image instead of getting a glimpse of the fascinating worlds in outer space.
Want to avoid common amateur astronomer mistakes and get optimal results during telescope observation? You’re in the right place.
We’ve made some research and discovered the mistakes that amateur stargazers make. We’ve compiled them into 15 things you should avoid when using your telescope. At the end of this article, you’ll know what to do to get a rich stargazing experience.
The things you should avoid when using a telescope include the following:
1. Misaligned telescope
The main culprit of blurry images when stargazing is misaligned telescopes. Avoid exploring the heavens using a misaligned telescope because such a scope cannot focus properly, making you see a blurry image.
Know that every telescope will go out of alignment at some point. So, when using a telescope, you should check that it is properly aligned.
How often your scope goes out of alignment depends on how often you move and use it. This is because bumpy rides, handling, and assembling at an observing spot can knock a telescope out of alignment.
However, some telescopes hold alignment more than others because of their optical design.
Generally, reflectors (including Dobsonians) are most likely to go out of alignment because they have the most moving parts. They are followed by catadioptrics. The refractors are least likely to go out of alignment because of their fixed lens.
In fact, one reason refractors are excellent beginner telescopes is that they hold alignment well.
The Gskyer refractor telescope is one of the most popular telescopes for beginners and kids, as it holds alignment excellently. It produces stunning images and comes with a Barlow lens.
Plus, it features a phone adapter and wireless remote. Lastly, it is a budget-friendly scope.
2. Using the wrong eyepiece
Another popular culprit of dim and blurry images when stargazing is starting with eyepieces of high-power magnification. Avoid starting with the wrong eyepiece (a high-power eyepiece) because it’ll make your target object appear bigger but dimmer and more blurry.
The eyepiece is the part of the telescope that magnifies the image the scope’s objective produces.
A telescope’s magnification is determined by dividing its focal length by the eyepiece’s focal length. Thus, swapping the eyepiece with one of a shorter focal length gives higher magnification. That is, a 10mm eyepiece gives a higher magnification than a 25mm eyepiece.
A popular mistake by amateur astronomers is starting with lower focal length eyepieces to get higher magnifications. Avoid this!
Low focal length high-power magnification eyepieces give you larger images, but the images will be blurry. Higher magnification causes dimmer images because the amount of light from the object is spread over a larger area. It’s similar to zooming in on a picture – the image becomes bigger but fainter.
For the best stargazing experience when using a telescope, start with a high focal length, low-power magnification eyepiece. Low-power magnification eyepieces give you sharper images and let you see more of the sky. 25 – 40 mm focal length eyepieces are excellent to start with.
A good low-power magnification eyepiece to start with when viewing the night sky is the Orion 8741 25mm Sirius Plossl eyepiece. It gives crisp views of our solar system objects and deep-sky objects. Plus, it works with all types of telescopes – reflectors, refractors, and catadioptrics.
Read also: 5 Best Telescope Eyepieces for Viewing Planets (Read This First!)
3. Ignoring weather conditions
Another mistake amateur stargazers make is assuming that every day is the same for stargazing. However, all nights are different because of different atmospheric conditions.
Peering through the earth’s atmospheric shell has a most definite blurring effect. Atmospheric conditions like cloud cover, relative humidity, wind, atmospheric turbulence, dust storm, fog, mist, and haze affect astronomical observation quality.
With poor atmospheric conditions, objects appear to shimmer, and details will be blurry. So, for the best results, avoid ignoring weather conditions.
NASA spent over $2 billion to put the Hubble telescope in space to escape poor observations caused by atmospheric conditions.
Going into low earth orbit to use your telescope may not be possible. But you can take several steps to reduce atmospheric seeing problems.
Simply use your telescope when the conditions are right. Aim for clear skies and an exceptionally stable atmosphere with no humidity, dust, or wind.
There are many “clear sky clock” resources that give information about good seeing weather conditions. An example is clearskyalarmclock.com, which delivers weather forecasts for astronomical observations straight to your inbox.
4. Neglecting maintenance and upkeep
If you take good care of your telescope, it’ll take good care of your stargazing experience by consistently giving you impressive images for a fulfilling experience. However, if you neglect to maintain your telescope, it performs poorly and breaks down more quickly.
Proper maintenance is necessary if your car is to perform well and last long. You’ll need to change filters, top up fluids, replace spark plugs, drive smoothly, etc.
It’s the same with your telescope. Proper maintenance is necessary if your scope is to consistently give you sharp images and last long.
Gentle handling is necessary at all times because bumps can damage the telescope’s delicate glass.
- Avoid bumpy rides when transporting your scope
- Avoid putting things on top of your scope’s case (even if it is a hard case)
- Be careful when bringing out the scope, assembling it, disassembling it, or putting it back in its case
You should store your telescope in a cool, dry place. Hot places warm the image sensor, causing a high amount of dark current that blurs images. Also, damp places can cause a moisture buildup, marking the lens and spoiling image quality.
A telescope also needs occasional cleaning because its lens/ mirror will pick up dust over time.
Never attempt removing dust by blowing air from your mouth, as that will blow moisture onto the lens. Use an air-blowing bulb like this Pixel RB-20 strong cleaning air blower.
Then gently clean the lens using a lens-cleaning solution and optical wipes. Go for the Celestron lens cleaning kit, which comes with cleaning fluid, ten lens wipes, a lens cloth, and a retractable lens brush.
5. Overloading the mount
The telescope mount is the platform that supports the telescope tube and allows you to point it at different objects in the sky. An overloaded mount unbalances your telescope, causing wobbles that disrupt your viewing experience.
For an optimum viewing experience, a telescope should be stable on its mount.
An overloaded mount shakes, spoiling your field of view and interrupting your long photographic exposures. An unbalanced mount because of overloading also risks tipping over and damaging your optical lens assembly (OTA).
An unofficial rule is to not load a mount more than half its official rated capacity. You should avoid using a lightweight tripod, as it is more likely to be overloaded.
If you want a simple mount for terrestrial observing and scanning the night sky, go for the Celestron Heavy-Duty Altazimuth Tripod. With a 10 lbs weight capacity, the altazimuth mount is perfect for small and medium-sized telescopes.
Its aluminum legs are adjustable to the height you require, and a center brace stabilizes the legs in place when the tripod is open.
You may also like: Alt-Azimuth Mount vs Equatorial Mount (Which is best for you?)
6. Lack of understanding of the equipment
Understanding your telescope helps you interact with it better. So, before looking through your scope to explore sky objects, take some time to understand your scope, especially how it processes images.
For example, knowing whether your telescope gives erect or inverted images will help you understand the orientation of the celestial objects you view through its eyepiece.
To know what image your scope produces, aim it at an object (say a tree) and look into the eyepiece to see if the image is erect or inverted.
You may also like: How To Use a Telescope (Explained for Beginners)
7. Not focusing long enough on one object
Another mistake amateur astronomers make is taking only short looks at specific astronomical objects. However, stargazing is a hobby that requires patiently focusing on an object for long periods to see its rich features clearly.
Ever heard the saying, “good things come to those who wait”? It is even more true in the world of astronomy.
Astronomy requires patience. When looking at the night sky through your telescope, you need a prolonged focus on a specific object. For example, when viewing the planets, you will need long continuous looks through your scope’s eyepiece, even for more than 15 minutes at a time.
The prolonged focus allows your eye and brain to adjust to the light level in your eyepiece, which lets you see finer details. With short peeks, celestial targets will look uninspiring as you cannot make out more subtle details.
Note that because of the earth’s rotation, sky objects appear to move and will move out of your scope’s view. Thus, during prolonged focus, you’ll need to manually shift your scope to keep up with your target object’s apparent movement.
Interestingly, some mounts (specifically equatorial mounts) have motors that automatically move your scope to follow the apparent movement of sky objects, ensuring that your celestial target stays in view.
A good equatorial mount that accurately locates and tracks sky objects for prolonged focus is Celestron CG-4 German Equatorial mount and tripod.
8. Not using a dew shield
During night-time observations, moisture can build up on your telescope’s lens, rendering its images faint and dim. So, an amateur astronomer should not forget to use a dew shield to prevent moisture buildup.
Air contains water vapor. As the temperature outside gets colder, it will reach the dew point, and water droplets in the air condense to form dew. Dew formation will cause moisture to build up on your optics, leading to hazy images.
Dew usually forms faster when it’s humid outside, there’s little to no wind, and the dew point is high. So, dew formation will be a bigger problem for you if you live in a humid climate or near a water body.
A dew shield prevents the buildup of moisture around your telescope’s lens, ensuring unhindered viewing throughout the night. It does this by providing a small amount of warm air directly in front of the lens, thereby preventing dew from gathering on it.
While all telescopes suffer from problems from dew formation, catadioptrics are the worst hit. So, a dew shield is one of the first accessories you should buy when considering a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT).
Celestron Deluxe Telescope Dew Shield is an excellent device for preventing moisture from building on your scope’s lens. The flexible dew shield fits 6” and 8” Schmidt Cassegrains and EdgeHD telescopes.
9. Neglecting protection from the elements
Needless to say, protecting your telescope from the elements prolongs its lifespan. So, amateur astronomers should not neglect to protect their telescopes from sunlight, rain, wind, etc.
One rule of telescope observation is to keep your scope at or near the temperature outside. Doing so reduces how long the telescope takes to adjust to the temperature outside when you set it up at night.
This makes an observatory the best place to keep a telescope. A backyard observatory keeps the scope’s temperature close to the outside temperature. It also offers easy access to the night sky while protecting the scope from direct sunlight, rain, wind, dust, etc.
If you cannot invest in an observatory, an unheated garage or wooden toolshed will suffice.
10. Avoid using a telescope with too short a focal length
A telescope’s focal length is the distance light travels in the scope, from where it enters (the aperture) to where it exits (the focuser where you place the eyepiece). A scope with too short a focal length will have very little magnification, limiting your viewing experience.
A telescope’s focal length affects its magnification and field of view. A shorter focal length reduces a scope’s magnification while increasing the field of view.
With too short a focal length, a telescope will not have good magnifying power. This makes it unsuitable for observing solar system objects where you may need to zoom in.
Because of their large field of view, shorter focal length scopes are ideal for observing deep-sky objects like nebulae and distant galaxies. However, any scope with a focal length of less than 600mm will limit your viewing experience.
11. Avoid using a telescope in bright light conditions
A telescope works by collecting light from a celestial object. The more light it collects from the object, the clearer the image it produces. Light pollution (light from local sources) drowns the light from a sky object, causing blurry images.
For the best-seeing results, avoid observation locations with light pollution. Cities usually have high light pollution because of street lights.
Sometimes, moving to dark sky locations far from cities is impossible. If that is the case, you should take steps to reduce light interference with your astronomical observation.
For example, you could get into the shadow of a wall or a tree. You could also shield yourself from intrusive light by covering your head with a dark cloth. You could also use specialist filters called Anti-Light Pollution (ALP) filters.
The K&F Concept Light Pollution Reduction Filter is an excellent ALP filter to reduce light pollution and create crystal clear night skies for astronomy.
12. Not using a finder scope
A finder scope is a small auxiliary telescope with a large field of view attached to the main telescope. As its name suggests, the finder telescope is used for locating objects to be viewed through the main telescope.
A common complaint amongst amateur astronomers is that they can’t find objects with their telescopes (maybe the moon and a few bright planets, but that’s how far they go). The finder scope solves this problem.
Because of its large field of view, a finderscope makes it easy to find objects in the sky, which you can then view through the main telescope. So, to easily locate astronomical objects, avoid not using a finder scope.
However, you must align/ sync the smaller finder scope with the main telescope.
To do this, aim your scope at a distant and recognizable land object (like a flag or church steeple), and center it in the eyepiece. With the land target centered in the main telescope, turn to the finder telescope and center the same land target.
Most good finder scopes have crosshairs on them that make it easy to center the same land target centered on the main scope.
13. Not using a Barlow lens
A Barlow lens is a divergent lens that moves a telescope’s focal point out, effectively giving the scope a longer focal length. By increasing a scope’s focal length, a Barlow lens increases its magnification, allowing you to zoom in on details.
Many telescopes with very short focal lengths do not reach high powers (even with short focal length eyepieces). Such telescopes are problematic when viewing celestial targets that require magnifying.
A Barlow lens solves the problem by increasing the telescope’s magnification, allowing the short focal length scope reaches its maximum useable power.
1.5X – 3X Barlow lenses are common. A 2X Barlow lens will make an 18mm eyepiece deliver the magnification of a 9mm eyepiece. Thus, a Barlow lens makes a fairly short focal length scope and gives high-power viewing.
The Bysameyee 2X Barlow lens will double the magnification and capacity of any 1.25” eyepiece. The fully multi-coated lens offers a high-quality observation without introducing additional chromatic aberration.
You may also like: The Best Barlow Lens For Any Telescope
14. Not using the correct filter for observation
Many amateur stargazers who see fuzzy images when using a telescope make the mistake of not using telescope filters at all or using the wrong filters.
Telescope filters can screen out unwanted colors or wavelengths of light. This improves contrasts and enhances details, making you see images better when observing celestial objects.
Telescope filters come in different colors, each better suited for a specific viewing purpose.
For example, consider the Neweer CPL telescope filters, available in 5 colors (red, orange, yellow, green, and blue).
- Red makes mercury and venus stand out in the sky during daytime observation.
- Orange improves contrast between light and dark areas.
- Yellow improves contrast when viewing mars, allowing you to see the polar ice caps.
- Green enhances surface fog and frost patches on Mars.
- Blue is versatile as it can help you make out the binary star Antares, reveal dust storms on Mars, and more.
15. Not allowing the telescope to cool down
Another mistake amateur stargazers make is to quickly start observing the sky after setting up. But a telescope needs to acclimate to the ambient temperature outside for the best-seeing results.
Thus, you must let your telescope cool down before looking through its eyepiece to observe the heavens. After setting up outside, you should leave the telescope for over an hour before using it.
Takeaway: Avoid common amateur astronomer mistakes for a fulfilling stargazing experience
Many amateur stargazers get a lot of things wrong when using their telescopes, resulting in fuzzy images and underwhelming experiences. However, stargazing can be very fulfilling if you avoid these common mistakes.
You will get the best results when viewing celestial bodies through your telescope when you avoid these 15 mistakes mentioned in this article.
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