Collimation

My Telescope: http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=238462&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=9&iProductID=238462

It is my understanding that when using the red dot finder to collimate my new telescope, I want the red dot to apear exactly in the center of the primary mirror (there is a small circle in the center)? That is what I have done and for some reason the image of the moon after collimating my telescope seems slightly out of focus (it also could be the cloud cover though) compared to right before I adjusted the secondary mirror. Also I noticed that there is some small specs of debris in the primary mirror, what should I do to remove it?

Thanks in advance!

Regarding the small specs: They do not hurt much. You can use a small blower (a bulb blower would probably work well) if the stuff is just on the mirror, and not attached to it. But you don't have to worry about them. They will not affect the view at all.

As for why the scope looks out of focus--got me there. I assume you go through the whole collimation process. Getting the laser collimator to hit the center of the primary is only part of the job. You also have to line up the primary so that the lazer beam goes back to its origin.

And if your scope is seriously out of collimtion when you start, a laser collimator is not sufficient. You can get a reading that looks right for a laser collimator and still have a scope that is out of adjustment.

Alex

Hi Eric,
Yes, the laser is suppose to point to the center of the little circle, but that is only half of it. Now you must adjust the primary mirror to reflect it back upon itself so the red dot disappears back into the hole in the laser from which it came.
A small amount of dirt, dust or lint is always going to be on the mirror. Even after cleaning, it will have some withing hours of putting it back in place. So, only clean it when it gets dirty and only after you have learned how to do it properly and safely.