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3. The Basic Components of Your Telescope
Figure 1 shows the fully assembled Observer 70. All the major components of the telescope are described and numbered to help you identify each part and understand its use. Refer back to this figure when assembling the telescope.
1Optical tube
This is the main optical component of the telescope. The glass lens at the front of the tube gathers incoming light and focuses it by bending (or refracting) the light rays. The tube assembly has several parts built into it, which are shown and discussed in detail in the next section.
290° Mirror star diagonal
The diagonal contains a mirror that reflects the light gath- ered through the optical tube to the eyepiece. The diag- onal is angled to allow for viewing objects that are high in the sky from a comfortable position.
325mm Explorer II eyepiece
The eyepiece is the part of the telescope that you actually look through to see things. The focal length of the eye- piece and the telescope determines the magnifying power of the telescope. Magnification is discussed in more detail in the Using Your Telescope section.
4EZ Finder II reflex sight
This is a special “finder” that helps you aim the telescope and locate objects in the sky for viewing. The EZ Finder
IIgenerates a red LED “dot” that shows where your telescope is aimed. The use of the EZ Finder II is dis- cussed in the Getting Started section.
5Altazimuth yoke mount
The mount couples the telescope to the tripod and allows you to move the optical tube easily both up and down and right and left.
6Tripod legs
These aluminum tripod legs support the telescope and can extend from 27" to 50" long.
7Accessory tray
This tray is a convenient place for holding extra eyepieces and other small pieces of equipment.
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