However, if you are able to conceive a permanent setup for your mount, you can get polar alignment very accurate indeed. If your initial polar alignment is rough or you have a system that you need to move around a lot, perhaps for public outreach, then I agree that the finderscope remains useful, but only for the alignment phase of setting up.Īfter that, if your polar alignment and star alignment is accurate then your target should always be in the view of a wide field eyepiece if not bang in the centre. "What?" I hear you cry, "you still need it for the initial alignment for the GoTo to work accurately don’t you?"Well I think the answer is yes and no to that. Now don’t get me wrong, in terms of any basic or manual telescope, the finderscope still serves that purpose very well, and is a necessary piece of kit.īut when it comes to GoTo systems, it becomes a little less clear just how useful a finderscope can be. The trusty optical finderscope allowed us to get a wide field of view to visually home in on targets, or help us star hop to the next one. Once upon a time we were lost without them. Do you need a finderscope if you have GoTo mount? William Optics 7x50 straight-through finderscope If you were to use a straight-through finder, you would have to angle your face down the side of the telescope to see through it.Īn illuminated crosshair makes it so much easier to centre objects.īoth the Celestron illuminated RACI 9x50mm finderscope or the Altair 10圆0mm right-angled illuminated finderscope should be on your shortlist. Right-angled finders are better for Newtonian reflectors. Since Newtonian reflectors have the observing eyepiece on the side of the optical tube close to the front of the telescope, a right-angled finder is by far the most comfortable to use. There are two main types of optical finder, those with a straight-through view and those with a right-angled view. Sky-Watcher 9x50 right-angle finderscope What finderscope is best for a Newtonian? Return to the finderscope and adjust until the star is centred on the crosshairįor help with this, read our guide on how to polar align using the Sun.įollow our DIY Astronomy guides to make a smartphone finderscope or a finderscope illuminator.Look through the main telescope and centre the star in the eyepiece.At night, locate a bright star in the centre of your finderscope.Now turn to the finderscope and centre the same object on the crosshair.Locate a distant daytime object (not the Sun!) through your telescope and centre it in the eyepiece.When doing any sort of observation during the day, make sure not to look directly at the Sun without specially-designed solar filters, or this could seriously damage your eyesight. To set up a finderscope, start aligning in the daytime by finding a very distant object using your telescope, centring that object in your telescope eyepiece as accurately as you can. Remember that you will also need to buy and install a finderscope bracket for the optical tube.Īn accurately aligned finderscope makes locating objects much easier, but aligning it at night can be frustrating. Finderscopes and mounts are basic accessories that will help you - and your telescope - navigate the night sky and locate celestial targets. There are two types, those with a right-angle finder and those with a straight-through view.Ī right-angle finder is more expensive but is more convenient to use. The smaller optical tube provides a wide field of view to help you locate celestial objects before observing them through your main telescope, but it must be aligned accurately to your telescope before use. A finderscope is a simple but invaluable accessory that attaches to your telescope.
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