Object search - I need some basic help

Hello,

I have a Celestron Ultima 8. I have had it for many years, but just this past month moved it from it's fork mount to a CG-5A computer mount. I was out with it last night and was a little dissapointed.

1. i am not sure I had it polar aligned the best, but even after 2 star alignment I was not getting items centered in my eyepiece.

Couple questions?

1. What should be the fixed latitude setting of my mount in Lexington, KY
2. Can you give advice for a type and size of eyepiece that would work best for finding objects when they come into the field of view?

Thanks,
Chris

Chris:

I have an older CG-5ASGT, not sure what the differences are. But here are some suggestions:

- Altitude setting.. I have a polar alignment scope I use and eyeball. Otherwise eyeball polaris though the aligmnet hole in the RA axis, that is good enough I think, particularly if you do the three star.

- I use the three star alignment and choose widely spaced stars.

- When centering the alignment stars, star with a low power eyepiece and then do the alignment with a higher power, maybe a 9mm or so.

- You should always finish your alignment in the same directions, I can never remember which they are, I think it is in the book.

- Once it is aligned, a low power widefield eyepiece is your best bet. Use a focal reducer if you have one, a 2 inch widefield if you have one. Otherwise a 32mm 50 degree AFoV plossl is your best bet.

- A Good site for Nexstar is Michael Swanson's:

www.nexstarsite.com



Good luck

jon