I cant get my Scope Aligned

I cant get my Scope Aligned i very close to thinking
about just selling itTheirs just not that many people
who do Astronomy inireland never mind dublin im only
brand new to Astronomy.

I wanted to get one of the best scopes to last me
ill just have to wait for a star party till someone shows
me how to align it. :smashpc:

If you post a little more information I'm sure someone will be able to advise.

For example make and model of the scope would help and a brief description of what isn't happening that you think should be happening.

Assuming it's a computerised goto ALT-AZ scope and you're trying to do a 1-star or N-star alignment (and we're not talking polar alignment issue with a German equatorial mount) then you need to achieve two things or the computer probably wont hack it.

1) get your mount as level as possible - use a spirit level. If your scope as one of those little bubble windows it may not be accurate enough.

2) find true north - a compass will give you magnetic north and its reading can be distorted by near-by ferro-magnetic (metal) objects - including parts of the scope.
I suggest using the pole star.

You may also have to level the telescope with respect to it's mount as part of the alignment procedure - again do this as accurately as you can and use a spirit level if you can. Before levelling you can point this (manually - not under computer control - at the pole star - thus finding true north - then manually drop to the level.

If you are unsure of what stars are what then start off by identifying the most prominent star in the sky that you can identify and do a one-star align (it probably wont find things accurately far from this reference star - but it will be close enough to learn what the other stars are so that you can proceed to an N-star align).

But if you can find a nearby club I'd recommend joining it - you'll get plenty of support and advice. It would be a shame to lose interest because of technical frustrations with any particular telescope. When I used my first scope (Meade ETX-70) a few years ago I had alignment problems - but a challenge overcome is an achievement.

Mark C.

I would like to echo what Mark said. There are actually quite a few amateur astronomers around Dublin, and in my experience they are extremely friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Post some details of your scope and mount and I'm sure that you will get good advice. Summer is a quiet time for astronomy so many of the Clubs don't meet regularly at this time of year, but you may find someone living close to you who would be willing to lend a hand - certainly I will if you are in the South Dublin area and if I am familiar with your setup. I met a person at a Club outing recently who had a scope for about six months but had never got it setup properly. Within a few minutes several people were helping and all the problems were solved. Usually, what seem like insuperable issues turn out to be very easy to solve when you get a little expert advice. Please persevere; tell us what the problems are and I bet you will be enjoying your scope within days. Mike.

i have a celestron C-11 sct im from tallaght but i dont live there
it doesnt matter i can drive to you thank you.

What kind of problems exactly are you getting?does the scope doesnt slew where it suppose to after the alligment or it shows an error during or after alligment??

Hi GLIESE 581G, That's a big scope! What kind of mount is it on?

Mike