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Stared at Jupiter for 3 years before I realized my finder scope was off
I kept wondering why I could never center planets in my eyepiece. Frustrating. Then during a clear night in January I pointed my scope at the Pleiades. The finder showed a completely different spot in the sky. That's when it clicked. I had been fighting a misaligned finder scope for over three years. Has anyone else wasted that much time on such a simple fix?
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foster.patricia2d ago
Oh man, that's brutal but I bet a ton of people have done something similar. Three years is rough though. First thing I'd say is always check your finder alignment with a known bright star or the moon before each session. Takes like two minutes. I use a distant streetlight during the day if I'm setting up early. Also practical tip: loosen the finder screws just a bit, center a bright star in your main eyepiece at low power, then adjust the finder so the crosshairs match. Do it every single time you get a new scope or move it around a lot. I had a buddy who fought bad tracking for months before he realized his finder was off by a full degree.
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