It took 30 minutes to align, and it never aligns properly in the eyepiece. If you don't keep running into the house to check the astronomy software, you're screwed. I think I need to adjust the position of the star finder. It doesn't say to do that in the manual, but if the two are inherently out of whack, it's not like the finder can be adjusted automatically. Maybe doing that will help.
No moon and just the usual light pollution, but I couldn't find Andromeda tonight even with scanning for ages in every direction of the "landing" spot. But back to these alignment issues... there needs to be some way to tell it "please stop spending all this time slowly slewing to a star in the west because no matter how many you pick, my house will be in front of each of them." I did tell it that, verbally, and to spite me it began slewing to Capella and Sirius - in the west. Almost as if it were programmed to give me the finger.
(It helps if you know that Capella was in the east and Sirius was below the horizon, preparing to rise in the east.)
I thought I would just point it at the sky in general and enjoy simply gazing. In fact, despite so nearly catching Uranus for the first time, this seemed like a fine and relaxing idea. But, I put the Barlow on and everything was pinpricks in haze. Clear night, no moon, just stupid light pollution, although tonight the neighbour's Wiz-bright porch light was hardly ever on.
Not that this is the telescope's fault, nor is all of my sneezing from the insect spray. Which I now have to wash off before going to buy some cake batter or whatever helps these days.
The tripod arrived yesterday, so I could go somewhere dark and reset the collective dials. However, it's Friday night, and life in Victoria being what it is, I don't go out alone wherever weekend pickups may roam.
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