Star Charts

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Changing eyepieces changes the power or magnification of your

10telescope.

By the way, you might have noticed something strange when you looked through your eyepiece. Although the image is right- side up, it is reversed. That means reading words can be a problem. But it has no affect on astronomical objects. If you wish to have a fully corrected image, check out Meade’s optional Erecting Prism in the Optional Accessory section.

Barlow lens: You can also change magnification by using a Barlow. Remove the

Star charts and planispheres are useful for a variety of reasons. In particular, they are a great aid in planning a night of celestial viewing.

A wide variety of star charts are available in books, in magazines, on the internet and on CD Roms. Meade offers Autostar Suite™ software. Contact your local Meade dealer or Meade’s Customer Service department for more information.

Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines print star charts each month for up-to-the-minute maps of the heavens.

Fig. 6

eyepiece

barlow

diagonal mirror

eyepiece from the diagonal mirror and slide in the Barlow. And then place the eyepiece into the Barlow. Tighten the thumbscrews to secure the Barlow lens and the eyepiece in place. The Barlow lens included with your telescope doubles the power of your telescope. See Fig. 6.

Meade offers a complete line of eyepieces for your telescope. Most astronomers have four or five low-power and high power eyepieces to view different objects and to cope with different viewing conditions.

Objects move in the eyepiece: If you are observing an astronomical object (the Moon,

a planet, star, etc.) you will notice that the object will begin to move slowly through the telescopic field of view. This movement is caused by the rotation of the Earth and makes an object move through the tele- scope’s field of view. To keep astronomical objects centered in the field, simply move the telescope on one or both of its axes— vertically and/or horizontally as needed—try using the telescopes coarse and fine adjustment controls. At higher powers, astronomical objects will seem to move through the field of view of the eyepiece more rapidly.

Place the object to be viewed at the edge of the field and, without touching the telescope, watch it drift through the field to the other side before repositioning the telescope so that the object to be viewed is again placed at the edge of the field, ready to be further observed.

Vibrations: Avoid touching the eyepiece while observing through the telescope. Vibrations resulting from such contact will cause the image to move. Avoid observing sites where vibrations cause image movement (for example, near railroad