Observing Guidelines, Care of Optics and Main Tube

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I. OBSERVING GUIDELINES

Several basic guidelines should be followed for best results in using your telescope:

1.Try not to touch the eyepiece while observing. Any vibrations resulting from such contact will immediately cause the image to move.

2.Allow your eyes to become “dark-adapted” prior to making serious observations. Night adaptation generally requires about 10-15 minutes for most people.

3.Let the telescope “cool down” to the outside environmental temperature before making observations. Temperature differentials between a warm house and cold outside air require about 30 minutes for the telescope’s optics to regain their true correct figures. During this period the telescope will not perform well.

4.If you wear glasses and do not suffer from astigmatism, take your glasses off when observing through the telescope. You can re-focus the image to suit your own eyes. Observers with astigmatism, however, should keep their glasses on, especially with lower powered eyepieces. The effects of astigmatism are reduced with higher power eyepieces, so eyeglasses may be removed to improve eye relief.

5.Avoid setting up the telescope inside a room and observing through an open window (or, worse yet, through a closed window!). The air currents caused by inside/outside temperature differences will make quality observing impossible.

6.Perhaps most importantly of all, avoid “overpowering” your telescope. The maximum usable magnifica- tion at any given time is governed by the seeing conditions. If the telescopic image starts to become fuzzy as you increase in power, drop down to a reduced magnification. A smaller, but brighter and sharper, image is far more preferable to a larger, but fuzzy, indistinct one.

As you use your telescope more and more, you will find that you are seeing more and finer detail: observing through a large-aperture telescope is an acquired skill. Celestial observing will become increasingly rewarding as your eye becomes better trained to the detection of subtle nuances of resolution.

J. CARE OF OPTICS AND MAIN TUBE

With the reasonable care due any fine instrument, your Meade telescope will last a lifetime. If the eyepieces become dirty, try cleaning them with a camel’s hair brush or compressed air. If you must wipe the surface of the lenses, do so gently with a soft cloth so as not to scratch the protective coatings.

The aluminum coating on the primary and secondary mirrors may last more than ten years without significant deterioration. (The coatings will last a shorter period if regularly exposed to salty or polluted air.) Minor blemishes, scratches, or streaks will NOT impair the telescope’s performance. Re-coating, when necessary, is relatively inexpensive. Contact your local Meade dealer for information on mirror re-coating services.

The most common error is to clean the optics too often. If cleaning does become necessary, clean as follows:

1.Using distilled water and cotton, gently swab the surface of the mirror to remove any dust or dirt. Use the cotton to make one pass over the mirror and then use new cotton. This will keep the dirt previously removed from contacting the mirror surface and scratching the coatings.

2.Dip a wad of cotton in a mild detergent solution (1/2 teaspoon to 1 pint of water) and gently swab the entire surface. This will remove any oily deposits or fingerprints.

3.Swab the entire surface. Do not turn over the cotton wads or dissolved skin oils may deposit on the mirror’s surface. Immediately take a dry swab and continue wiping the entire surface gently. Keep changing wads until the mirror surface is completely dry and free of streaks.

When cleaning the outside of the Starfinder optical tube (1), use a mild detergent, (Pine-Sol, Formula 409, Fantastic, or oil soap). Oil soap is preferred as it also acts as a preservative for the paint. Solvent or alcohol- based cleaning solutions will diminish the original luster of the paint.