Why is the eyepiece in my telescope blurry?
Eirik N asked:
The eyepiece in my telescope is all blurry. I’ve tried to look at distant land with the 20 MM but i see only blur, even if I try to focus it…
Whats wrong?
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The eyepiece in my telescope is all blurry. I’ve tried to look at distant land with the 20 MM but i see only blur, even if I try to focus it…
Whats wrong?
August 12th, 2009 at 4:28 am
wrong eye piece for the distance you are trying to see
August 15th, 2009 at 2:13 am
clean the eyepiece and the primary mirrors. clean the secondary mirror if you have one.
August 15th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Don’t use the 2x barlow, just the eyepiece. Practice focusing on a distant object several blocks away during the day time.
August 18th, 2009 at 4:15 am
There are several things that could potentially be wrong. First is that either the eyepiece or the telescope’s objective lens or mirror is dirty. Avoid anything stronger than soapy water when cleaning glass surfaces.
If that doesn’t fix it then your telescope’s collimation may be off. That’s not as easy to correct because it involves re-aligning the mirror (in reflectors and cassegrains) and knowing how to tell when it is spot-on. There is something called a “star test” that can check for collimation. Refractor lenses rarely get knocked out of collimation after the scope has been completely assembled. But they aren’t always perfectly aligned to begin with, and once constructed it is horribly difficult to adjust the lens.
It’s also possible that your eyepiece is screwed up mechanically; if one of the lenses comes loose or a part falls out then you’ll be in trouble. Try another eyepiece to see if it works better.
If none of your eyepieces are able to focus at all and you don’t suspect a collimation problem then it may be that your telescope’s focal point doesn’t occur in the same spot where the eyepiece is put. If the scope is “farsighted” you can attain focus by buying a longer focusing tube that will put the eyepiece further back. If it’s “nearsighted” and the focus is inside the telescope tube, then you are pretty much S.O.L.