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Collimating your Telescope
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These are some of the best links I have found regarding collimation. No matter what kind of telescope you have, you are not achieving optimal results unless you learn the art of collimation. The first time I really learned how, and spent the time to tweak the collimation on my SCT, I could not believe the differance in what I could resolve.
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Good collimation using the defocused star method (described below) requires a night with excellent seeing and high magnification. If you are like me, and live in an urban area nights of exceptional seeing are rare. A type I picked up from one of the SCT e-groups is making and using an artificial star. There are numerous ways to achieve this, my favorites are using a silver or gold Christmas tree ornament (round) outside. It will create a point-like reflection from the sun. Another method is to take a pin and prick a tiny hole in some aluminum foil and wrap it around the head of a flashlight. You can do this indoors, or outdoors at night.
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This site illustrates the differance between a collimated scope and one that is "well collimated". You can not just stop with the rough centering of a defocused star. Great collimation requires a night of great seeing and very high magnification.
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This site also documents the process of collimating your SCT.
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