I can find Venus in this telescope, but the planet is obstructed by the telescope's mirror. Is my telescope defective?
1978039
I never figured out to work this telescope myself. There was always some obstruction in the view for me as well. I just simply wouldn't recommend wasting any more time trying to figure it out.
1978040
That doesn't sound right to me. At a guess, perhaps your telescope alignment with Venus is not correct.
1978041
jmich; Like you, I certainly was not trying to be glib. I just did not encounter the problem you did. I do have one idea, though: The scope comes with two eyepieces. One of the eyepieces is useful, but the other one I found useless. The target could not be centered or even seen. Hope this helps.J
1343357
You need to get an eyepiece and see if it works - if you are able to view things after yiu've gotten one, that's probably all you needed
761907
Hi David, I had a similar problem when I ordered one of these off amazon. It arrived without the mount so I had to look for one. turns out, unless you buy the telescope straight from Orion, they will not sell the mount separately. However, if it was bought off of amazon you should be able to send it back. I contacted amazon and they gave me a full refund including shipping and they paid return shipping. Hope this helped =]
1252806
Hi Amy, unfortunately the telescope was a gift so I am unsure of its full capabilities. Perhaps if you contact the manufacturer directly, they may be able to assist you better.
1552329
Venus is very bright and due to its thick cloud cover its difficult to see anything but the light. But it is neat to focus on it and watch it go through its phases as the year goes by...similar to the moon phases. I have also gotten excellent views of Jupiter with the storm bands and 3 moons clearly visible, as well as Saturn and its rings. Moon viewing is amazing. Its hard to see a lot because of all the artifical light at night now, but i did take it to an Army field exercise where it was at least significantly darker, and actually got a glimpse of the Andromeda galaxy and the orion nebula. For the price...I have seen some incredible things with this telescope. Venus is very bright and due to its thick cloud cover its difficult to see anything but the light. But it is neat to focus on it and watch it go through its phases as the year goes by...similar to the moon phases. I have also gotten excellent views of Jupiter with the storm bands and 3 moons clearly visible, as well as Saturn and its rings. Moon viewing is amazing. Its hard to see a lot because of all the artifical light at night now, but i did take it to an Army field exercise where it was at least significantly darker, and actually got a glimpse of the Andromeda galaxy and the orion... » Read More Venus is very bright and due to its thick cloud cover its difficult to see anything but the light. But it is neat to focus on it and watch it go through its phases as the year goes by...similar to the moon phases. I have also gotten excellent views of Jupiter with the storm bands and 3 moons clearly visible, as well as Saturn and its rings. Moon viewing is amazing. Its hard to see a lot because of all the artifical light at night now, but i did take it to an Army field exercise where it was at least significantly darker, and actually got a glimpse of the Andromeda galaxy and the orion nebula. For the price...I have seen some incredible things with this telescope. « Show Less
1012057
I had contacted the Little Tikes company for a replacement telescope and got it; visit their website and contact customer service. Good luck
1592310
Hello I'm not a expert but the telescope collimation might be off. The focus assembly could have a problem. Hope this helps.
403745
Hi Naomi, The first thing you need is to have the tripod perfectly set, (check the bubble is perfectly centered) Second: use the biggest eyepiece (25mm Eyepiece). the one with the biggest number on it. This eyepiece is called the finder, because it's easier to find objects with it. Then fix your target, pick the brightest object in the sky (the moon usually) Now this is the hard to explain part... this is how I explained to my mom. Start looking at the eyepiece from around two inches, draw circles with your head looking for a light into the eyepiece, once you find a light go closer and closer till you are really near to the eyepiece (if you lose the light start all over again) The final step is to focus the telescope. You have the light perfectly fixed but not focused. Once focused, fix the object perfectly centered in the eyepiece and now center the same object in the Star Pointer Finderscope. Sorry for my English :) G
1846875
search online for the manual...that shows a complete assembly...put in the full model name "Celestron 31042 AstroMaster 114 EQ Reflector Telescope" followed by the word manual in your search engine, that should help
2107702
Nope. Or better one cannot see Pluto using this telescope. And if you ask this question you should do more research into what you might need to see Pluto.
925017
I bought this kit also and unfortunately I haven't been able to use it but once because it's too cold outside. I saw the moon and it's landscape and it's amazing . If you don't know anything about telescopes; you should try watching tutorials on YouTube or read a magazine about telescopes.
2042951
I have no problem making out Jupiter's stripes, but haven't seen the spot. I haven't had a clear enough night at a time of transit (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/3304091.html?page=1&c;=y). In addition to what comes in the package, I added a 3x barlow lens to increase the effective focal length.
1554883
Sorry Kevin, i am the wrong person. i bought this telescope for my son and he couldn't use it and i am stock now. I bought it cuz i thought it would be just easy. but i was wrong.
1719016
You need a filter for looking at the planets during the day. At night try a moon filter, or visit your local astronomy shop.
1818132
My suggestion is to contact them through their official site at http://www.telescope.com/home.jsp?gclid=CIyM0PKN78ICFaNj7AodrmQAew they have a chat feature that you may find useful.
703241
Good morning! I was consulting on this and indeed astronomical telescopes invert the image and above what is below and what is left is right. What you have bought is a telescope to see stars, and stars, or planets, or galaxies, all the same right to see them inside out. greeting
212404
In my opinion, this scope was very poor. I had problems with assembly, and the scope did not work as described. My recommendation is you return it and put that money towards a better starwatcher. We were looking so forward to seeing the night sky, and were unable to have the telescope work. I hope this was helpful. In my opinion, the pieces not working as expected, is not worth replacing parts. I hope you can find one that will work for you. I, and other Amazon customers had dissatisfactory experiences when using this particular model. Happy new year!