Enjoying Your New Telescope

4.If the image of your eye is centered in the reflection of the secondary mirror, your secondary mirror is collimated. If it is off to one side, then secondary mirror adjustment will be required. By removing the plastic cap on the secondary mirror base at the end of the telescope tube nearest the Rack and Pinion Focusing Mechanism (1), you will see three screw heads. They are positioned 120 degrees apart. By adjusting these three screws very slowly and carefully, the secondary mirror will reflect an image of your eye that is perfectly centered in the reflection of the secondary mirror. Once this is accomplished replace the plastic cap. Your secondary mirror is now collimated.

5.Once secondary mirror collimation is confirmed, you will need to verify Primary Mirror (7) collimation. If the image of the secondary mirror is centered in the reflection of the primary mirror, then your primary mirror is collimated. If it is off to one side, then Primary Mirror (7) adjustment will be required. By locating the Primary Mirror (7) you will see three screw heads on the bottom end of the telescope furthest from the Rack and Pinion Focusing Mechanism (1). They are alsopositioned 120 degrees apart. By adjusting these three screws very slowly and carefully, the Primary Mirror (7) will reflect an image of the secondary mirror that is perfectly centered in the reflection of the Primary Mirror (7). Once this is accomplished your Primary Mirror (7) is now collimated.

6.Your telescope is now ready to deliver the best images possible.

1.First determine your targeted object. Any bright object in the night sky is a good starting point. One of the favorite starting points in astronomy is the moon. This is an object sure to please any budding astronomer or experienced veteran. When you have developed proficiency at this level, other objects become good targets. Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus are good second steps to take.

2.The first thing you need to do after assembling the telescope as planned is center the desired object in the finderscope's cross hairs. Provided you did a reasonable job aligning the finderscope, a quick look through the main telescope tube at low power should reveal the same image. With the lowest power eyepiece (the one with the largest number printed on it) you should be able to focus the same image that you saw through the finderscope. Avoid the temptation to move directly to the highest power. The low power eyepiece will give you a wider field of view, and brighter image--thus making it very easy to find your target object. At this point with a focused image in both scopes, you've passed the first obstacle. If you don't see an image after attempting to focus it in, you might consider aligning your finderscope again. Once you pass this step, you'll will enjoy the time spent ensuring a good alignment. Every object you center in the finderscope will be easily found in the main telescope tube, which is important for continuing your exploration of the night sky.

3.The low power eyepieces are perfect for viewing the full moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, and even constellations. These should build your foundation. However, for more detail, try bumping up in magnification to higher power eyepieces on some of these objects. During calm and crisp nights, the light/dark separation line on the moon (called the "Terminator") is marvelous at high power. You can see mountains, ridges and craters jump out at you due to the highlights. Similarly, you can move up to higher magnifications on the planets and nebulae. Star clusters and stars are best viewed through the low power no matter what.