Carson Optical RP-400 instruction manual Polar Alignment, Using the Telescope, Image Orientation

Every celestial object has a corresponding R.A. and Dec. coordinate. Given the proper coordinates, you can use the setting circles on your telescope mount to locate any celestial object. The coordinates can only be used if the telescope is first aligned with the North (or South) Celestial Pole.

Polar Alignment:

If the telescope is accurately aligned with the celestial pole, very little dec- lination adjustment will be necessary to track a celestial object. Most of the tracking can be done using the Right Ascension cable (Fig. 1-8).

To line up your telescope with the pole:

• Make sure the equatorial mount is locked in the “home” position, meaning that the optical tube assembly is parallel to the correspond- ing portion of the mount below it and that the declination axis is straight up and down with the counter weight (Fig. 2-12) in it’s low- est position. For reference, the equatorial mount in Fig. 2 is in the home position.

• Loosen the equatorial mount locking screw (Fig. 3-25) so that the entire telescope (with mount) rotates freely on the tripod.

• Rotate the entire telescope until the polar axis (See Fig. 2) points due North. If you are not sure which direction is North, locate Polaris and point the polar axis towards it. Polaris is less than one degree away from the Celestial North Pole and is accurate enough for polar alignment.

• If needed, level the mount by adjusting the tripod legs accordingly.

• Determine the latitude of the area you are in. Use the latitude turn screws (Fig. 3-18) to tilt the telescope until the pointer indicates the correct latitude on the Latitude Dial (Fig. 3-23).

• Then fine tune the latitude turn screws (Fig. 3-18) until Polaris ap- pears in the center of your telescope field of view.

• Do not move the telescope in R.A. or Dec. while polar aligning. These adjustments should remain locked.

• If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you should follow these steps but point the polar axis due South and locate Sigma Octantis instead of Polaris.

Your telescope is now polar aligned for the area you are using it. You will need only to point the telescope North (or South in the Southern Hemisphere) when using it from now on. You will only need to repeat the polar alignment if you move to a different location and your latitude has changed.

Using the Telescope:

Once you have properly assembled, balanced and aligned your telescope you are finally ready to start using it.

• To locate an object using the telescope, first loosen the R.A. lock (Fig. 3-22) and Dec. lock (Fig. 3-24) allowing the telescope to rotate along both axes. Look through the finder scope (Fig. 1-5) to sight the object you are looking for and center it in the finder scope cross- hairs. You may need to focus the finder scope by turning the finder scope focus knob (Fig. 4-27). Then re-tighten the R.A. and Dec. locks.

• It is best to use the lowest power eyepiece (the Plossl 20mm eye- piece) at first. This allows for a wider field of view making it easier to locate objects. Once the object is centered in the field of view you can switch the eyepiece to higher magnifications.

• Once the object is centered in the field of view, turn the focus knobs (Fig. 1-6) until the image is clear and sharp.

• You will notice that the object you are viewing will slowly move across the field of view (caused by the rotation of the Earth). You will need to turn the R.A. flexible cable (Fig. 1-8) to keep the object centered.

Image Orientation:

When looking through the telescope with the 90° corner lens installed you will notice that the image you see is reversed from left to right. This is nor- mal for refractor telescopes.

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