Orion 6/6I Preparing to Use Your Telescope, Insert an Eyepiece, Focusing the Telescope

base, tighten the two screws with a screwdriver until the rack is secured in place.

Insert an Eyepiece

Remove the small cap covering the focuser drawtube and loosen the two eyepiece locking thumbscrews on the drawtube collar. Insert the chrome barrel of the 25mm Sirius Plössl eye- piece into the focuser and secure it with the thumbscrews. You can place the 10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece in the eyepiece rack for use later.

Congratulations! Your telescope is now fully assembled. Remove the dust cap from the front of the telescope when it is in use. Replace it when you are finished observing.

6.Preparing to Use Your Telescope

This section applies to both the StarBlast 6 (#9926) and Star­ Blast 6i IntelliScope (#27126).

It’s best to get a feel for the basic functions of the StarBlast 6/6i during the day, before observing astronomical objects at night. This way you won’t have to orient yourself in the dark! Find a spot outdoors where you’ll have plenty of room to move the telescope, and where you’ll have a clear view of some object or vista that is at least 1/4 mile away. It is not critical that the altazimuth base be exactly level (except when initially setting the vertical stop knob position on the StarBlast 6i IntelliScope), but it should be somewhat level to ensure smooth movement.

The StarBlast 6/6i was designed specifically for visual observa- tion of astronomical objects in the night sky. Like all Newtonian reflector telescopes, it is not well suited for daytime terrestri- al usage because the image in the eyepiece will be rotated somewhat from the normal, naked-eye view.

Placing the StarBlast 6/6i for Comfortable Viewing

One of the great assets of the StarBlast 6/6i is its extremely portable size. Due to its overall short length, you will find that viewing while sitting next to the telescope is the most comfort- able. If you wish to raise the telescope off the ground so that it can be used while standing or sitting in a chair, then a plat- form, such as a milk crate, sturdy table, or the hood of a car can be used.

Altitude and Azimuth (Aiming the Telescope)

The StarBlast 6/6i’s altazimuth base permits motion along two axes: altitude (up/down) and azimuth (left/right). See Figure 17. Moving the telescope up/down and left/right is the “natural” way people aim objects, which makes pointing the telescope intuitive and easy.

Simply take hold of the navigation knob and push or pull it to move the telescope and base in the desired direction. Both the altitude and azimuth motions can be made simultaneously and in a continuous manner for easy aiming. This way you can point to any position in the night sky, from horizon to horizon.

Altitude

Azimuth

Figure 17. The StarBlast 6/6i has two axes of motion: altitude (up/down) and azimuth (left/right).

You may find it convenient to hold one hand on one of the car- rying handles to help in leveraging the base while moving and aiming the telescope.

When aiming the telescope in altitude, you may find the opti- cal tube assembly is either too hard to move or does not stay in place. Use the altitude tension knob to adjust the friction on the altitude axis until you achieve the desired amount. Ideally, you should adjust the tension on the altitude axis so that the amount of friction roughly matches that of the azimuth axis (which is not adjustable).

Focusing the Telescope

With the 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece in the focuser, aim the optical tube so the front (open) end is pointing in the general direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. With your fingers, slowly rotate one of the focus wheels until the object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image starts to blur again, then reverse the rotation of the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact focus point.

Operating the EZ Finder II Reflex Sight

The EZ Finder II reflex sight (Figure 18) works by projecting a tiny red dot onto a lens mounted in the front of the unit. When you look through the EZ Finder II, the red dot will appear to float in space, helping you locate even the faintest of deep space objects. The red dot is produced by a light-emitting diode (LED), not a laser beam, near the rear of the sight. A replaceable 3-volt lithium battery provides the power for the diode.

To use the EZ Finder II, turn the power knob clockwise until you hear a “click” indicating power has been turned on. With your eye positioned at a comfortable distance, look through the back of the reflex sight with both eyes open to see the red dot. The intensity of the dot can be adjusted by turning the power knob. For best results when stargazing, use the dim- mest possible setting that allows you to see the dot without difficulty. Typically, a dim setting is used under dark skies and a bright setting is used under light-polluted skies or in daylight.

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