Cannot bring the moon into focus

All telescopes have very small fields of view-- it must be pointed directly at the object in the sky or you will not see anything. Simply put the eyepiece with the largest number written on it into the focuser-- then during the day time practice focusing on a distant object like a building or telephone pole.

The moon should be your first target at night.

This is considered a toy telescope. Put the eyepiece with the largest number written on it into the focuser-- DO NOT USE the 2x barlow if you have one. Practice focusing on a distant object during the day time.

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A star is always just a point of light no matter what magnification you use! If you are seeing a "disk" when you focus on a star you are NOT focused! Make it a tiny dot.

Why not try focusing on the moon or Mars and Saturn. You will always need to re=focus slightly when you move to another sky object.

This is a small 70mm refractor style telescope.

Put the eyepiece with the largest number written on it into the telescope. DO NOT USE the 2x barlow if you have one. This will double the power of the eyepiece. Your scope is too small to use the 2x barlow.

Now go outside during the day time and practice focusing on a distant object.

This may also help you:
http://www.texasastro.org/telescope.php

Put the eyepiece with the largest number written on it into the telescope. DO NOT use the 2x barlow if you have one. Go outside during the day time and practice focusing on a distant object.

The moon should be your first target.

Do NOT use the barlow lens-- put the lowest magnification eyepiece into the scope-- practice focusing on the moon -- turn the focus knob slowly in and out until you get a sharp image.

Telescopes only show an area of sky about 1 degree wide or LESS--- this is about the size of the TIP of your finger held at arms length................ your scope is best used at low magnification.

Put the lowest magnification eyepiece in the telescope-- it's the one that has the LARGEST number written on it.

During the daytime, go outside and point the telescope toward a distant object at least 100 yards away and practice focusing the telescope--- turn the focus know very slowly. Do this until you learn how to get a clear view of the distant object.

Once you have it focused wait until dark --- don't turn the focus knob. Your first sky object should be the moon or Venus -- which is the BRIGHT "star" in the west after dark....

The C8 optical tube has a very large focal range. It should be capable of focusing on objects from 15' to infinity. To focus on object at infinity you have to move the primary mirror foward. You do this by rotating the focus knob CCW. Rotate the knob CCW until it comes toa stop them slowly bring the mirror back by rotating the knob CW while viewing the object. It will snap to focus so don't move too fast yor you'll miss it.

If you dont have any experience with telescopes, I suggest trying it first in daytime, since daytime objects are much better for getting experience. Also, start with the lowest power eyepiece, the one with the largest lens. Start by looking towards something pretty big, like a car or a house, and it needs to be some distance away to even have a chance to get a focus. If your target is closer than about 1/4 mile, you should add the right angle eyepiece attachment to allow you to focus in on closer objects.

When you are finally set up with the low power eyepiece, and have a good big target in the daytime, start looking thru the telescope while turning the knob thru the entire range. At some point of knob turning, you should see some image appear in the eyepiece..Turn the knob slowly to focus it clearly.

And this is for the shaky tripod. If you can hang a book under the middle of the tripod, the added weight will help stabilize the telescope, and you should be able to see a little better, without so much motion at the slightest touch.

After you look at the first car or house, you can see how careful you have to be to use the telescope, and you can start to look at other objects. When you move to the higher power eyepieces, it will be even more critical in getting it both aimed and focused. If its off by just a few degrees, you wont see what you are looking for.

When you start nightime viewing, start with the largest object in the sky, the moon. Its the same process as daytime, except the eyepiece mechanism will have to be adjusted a little closer to the main body of the telescope.

Viewing planets and stars will be the ultimate test. Stars and planets are harder to see, since they are small, and hard to see unless they are in focus. When you can see those views, you have passed the telescope test. Its a matter of careful aim, and having the telescope focus set close to the point where you can see objects that are VERY FAR AWAY. If you are able to focus on the moon, you will be fairly close to being able to focus on the planets. The hardest part is actually getting the planet in the view of the telescope, in other words, aiming it.

The last item that can really mess up the view is a fogged up lens. Usually this happens in the summer when the scope has been in the air-conditioned room, and then it fogs up when taken outside. The solution for this is to let the telescope sit outside for 20 minutes, so the fogged lenses can clear. By the way, the same fogging may happen when you bring the telescope inside during the winter.

I hope this helps you eventually get a clear view of some amazing views in the sky. Your final exam is to take a look at the moon, the rings of Saturn, and the moons of Jupiter, some time in the near future. Have Fun!

I bought one of these telescopes, and had trouble at first, but finally got some decent results. If you dont have any experience with telescopes, I suggest trying it first in daytime, since daytime objects are much better for getting experience. Also, start with the lowest power eyepiece, the 12mm 50x, the one with the largest lens. Start by looking towards something pretty big, like a car or a house, and it needs to be some distance away to even have a chance to get a focus. If your target is closer than about 1/4 mile, you should add the right angle eyepiece attachment to allow you to focus in on closer objects.

When you are finally set up with the low power eyepiece, and have a good big target in the daytime, start looking thru the telescope while turning the knob thru the entire range. At some point of knob turning, you should see some image appear in the eyepiece..Turn the knob slowly to focus it clearly.

And this is for the shaky tripod. If you can hang a book under the middle of the tripod, the added weight will help stabilize the telescope, and you should be able to see a little better, without so much motion at the slightest touch.

After you look at the first car or house, you can start to see how careful you have to be to use the telescope, and you can start to look at other objects. When you move to the higher power 100x eyepiece, it will be even more critical in getting it both aimed and focused. If its off by just a few degrees, you wont see what you are looking for.

When you start nightime viewing, start with the largest object in the sky, the moon. Its the same process as daytime, except the eyepiece mechanism will have to be adjusted a little closer to the main body of the telescope.

Viewing planets and stars will be the ultimate test. Stars and planets are harder to see, since they are small, and hard to see unless they are in focus. When you can see those views, you have passed the telescope test. Its a matter of careful aim, and having the telescope focus set close to the point where you can see objects that are VERY FAR AWAY. If you are able to focus on the moon, you will be fairly close to being able to focus on the planets. The hardest part is actually getting the planet in the view of the telescope, in other words, aiming it.

The last item that can really mess up the view is a fogged up lens. Usually this happens in the summer when the scope has been in the air-conditioned room, and then it fogs up when taken outside. The solution for this is to let the telescope sit outside for 20 minutes, so the fogged lenses can clear. By the way, the same fogging may happen when you bring the telescope inside during the winter.

I hope this helps you eventually get a clear view of some amazing views in the sky. Your final exam is to take a look at the moon, the rings of Saturn, and the moons of Jupiter, some time in the near future. Have Fun!