Tasco Galaxsee 675X Refractor Telescope.. Help!?

[Sandra D]

I understand that this telescope is HORRIBLE (after reading up about Tasco telescopes on yahoo answers). However, until I am able to buy another one (this was a christmas gift) I was wondering if anyone had any pointers for me. I basically find a bright star and point. All I can see is a bright, blurry, white circle. There has to be something cool that I can look at?!!? Even looking at the moon I cant see anything but a big white ball...

Any help would be much appreciated. I've tried to google ideas but I get lost very quickly.. Please tell me not every thing is going to be a bright, blurry, white ball!

[Dr Bob]

An important thing is to realize that "675x" is a lie. I don't know the exact size of your telescope, but I suspect it's similar to the 60 mm refractor I had as a kid.

A 60 mm refractor is 2.4 inches across. A rough rule of thumb is that the maximum usable magnification is 50x per inch of aperture, so don't use a magnification greater than 120 (more or less).

The magnification of a telescope is given by the following formula:
mag = (focal length of objective)/(focal length of eyepiece)

The eyepieces should have focal lengths written on them. The telescope probably has the objective focal length listed on the tube -- perhaps 600 mm, or something in that ballpark.

If your telescope is like the one I had, it comes with a barlow. You probably shouldn't bother with it, because it will just give you an excessively high magnification, which in turn gives you a big blurry image.

Some general guidelines:
1) Always start with a low-power (high focal length) eyepiece, and work your way up to higher power if you want.
2) Make sure the finder is aligned. This might be easier to do during the day. Put a low-power eyepiece in the telescope, and point it at a distant object (such as a distant telephone pole). Center the object in the telescope, and then adjust the finder so the object is centered there as well.

A telescope like this is not great, but you can still get nice views of some objects:
- moon
- planets -- particularly Saturn and Jupiter
- wide double stars (such as Albireo in the constellation Cygnus, which is high in the sky in the summer, or Mizar in the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper)

Currently, Saturn is high in the evening sky. The crescent moon will become visible in the western sky starting Monday, April 7. (It will be visible with difficulty on April 6, but much easier on April 7 and each night thereafter.) Jupiter rises after midnight, and will be well placed in the evening sky starting around late June this year.

And if you want to look on the bright side: You should be able to see the rings of Saturn, and that makes your telescope better than the one that Galileo used. (He saw them, but never clearly enough to see they were rings.)

[injanier]

First, the SR4 eyepiece and 3x barlow are useless. They are poor quality optics included only so Tasco can boast of 675 power; don't use them. Start with your lowest power eyepiece (the one with the highest number). Turn the focusing knob until you get the sharpest image. For stars, that means the smallest image. You probably need to have the star diagonal in place for the telescope to come to focus.

Your best views of the moon are along the terminator (the division between day and night), because the long shadows make the details stand out. The full moon tends to be nearly featureless.

Saturn is a good object to try for. This sit http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/skychart/ will make sky charts for you to show you where to find it. You should be able to see rings.

Your local astronomy club, if there is one, is a good place to learn how to use your telescope. Some hands-on help will be far more useful than any answers you can get on the internet.

[Jeff in Dallas]

Take your scope out on the next clear night and set it up and point it at the moon. Take all the eyepieces and barlows off of the scope. Put just your lowest power eyepiece in. Then point it directly at the moon. Then turn the focus knob until you see the best focus. Find a box in your closet to put the barlow and high power eyepieces in. You don't need them and they will only give you poor "blobs" through your scope. Its an advertising gimmick.

Your lowest power eyepiece is the one with the largest hole in it. Just keep it in place and keep the focus in the same spot. Everything you look at in the night sky will be in focus without having to turn the knob. Once you focus on the moon then you should only make very very small or no adjustments when you point at the next object such as a planet.

Get star chart software for your computer that will tell you where to find planets and what time and direction to look. I recommend Stellarium because its free and really cool.

After you are good at finding the moon and getting focus then move on to Saturn. Have fun.