FOCUSING TELESCOPE:
1.After selecting the desired eyepiece, aim main telescope tube at a
2.While looking through selected eyepiece (in this case the 25 mm), slowly retract focusing tube by turning Rack & Pinion Focusing Mechanism (1) until object comes into focus.
ALIGNING FINDERSCOPE:
1.Look through
2.Looking through Finderscope (2), alternate tightening each Finderscope Adjustment Screw surrounding the Finderscope (2) in the Finderscope Mount until crosshairs of Finderscope (2) are precisely centered on the same object already centered in Main Telescope Tube's field of view as seen through the 1.25" Format Eyepiece (18).
3.Now, objects located first with the Finderscope (2) will be centered in the field of view of the main telescope as seen through the 1.25" Format Eyepiece (18).
UNDERSTANDING THE EQUATORIAL MOUNT
The Equatorial Mount is designed to move in any direction. It can be set to allow manual controls to track the movements of celestial bodies across the sky. This is referred to as diurnal movement; movement of celestial bodies in the direction opposite to that of the earth’s rotation and is around the earth’s axis.
By aligning the telescope’s polar axis (also referred to as the Right Ascension Axis (4)) with celestial North, you will place the telescope in parallel with the earth’s axis and thus be able to locate stars in the sky based on star atlas information. To compensate for your position on earth, the polar axis is set in one of three ways:
∙Set up the telescope at night. Loosen the Declination Axis (15) and rotate the telescope around the declination axis until the arrow on the
declination scale points to 90 degrees. Tighten the Declination Axis (15). The telescope is now roughly in parallel with the polar axis.
∙Loosen the Right Ascension Axis (4) and turn the telescope until the objective end faces due north. The objective end for reflector telescopes is nearest the Rack and Pinion Focusing Mechanism (1). This can be done by approximating the location of the pole star (Polaris or North Star) or by the use of a compass. True North is then found by directing the telescope at Polaris, as magnetic North is slightly away from true North.
∙Look up the latitude of your area in any geographical atlas. Adjust the Latitude Adjustment Screw (13) and set the Latitude Scale (14) to the correct latitude for your area. Aim the Finderscope (2) at Polaris. You will probably notice that Polaris is not dead center in the Finderscope's (2) field of view. This is probably because your telescope is not absolutely level with the ground. Loosen the thumb screw located directly under the equatorial mount. This can be found in the center of the underside of the mount very close to the position where the Aluminum Tripod Legs (8) attach to the mount. Turn the telescope so that it is directly aimed at Polaris. Tighten both the thumb screw and Latitude Adjustment Screw (13). Polaris is 1 degree from the North celestial pole. Therefore, the sighting of stars will have to be slightly adjusted as you locate them in the heavens.