18
Aim the telescope at a deep-sky object. It should be a fairly
large deep-sky object, as the camera le ns will likely have a
wide field of view. Check to make sure that the object is also
centered in the camera’s viewfinder. Turn the motor drive on.
Now, look into the telescope’s eyepiece and center the bright-
est star within the field of view. Remove the eyepiece and insert
the illuminated reticle eyepiece into the focuser drawtube. Turn
the eyepiece’s illuminator on (dimly!). Recenter the bright star
(guide star) on the crosshairs of the reticle eyepiece. Check
again to make sure that the object to be photographed is still
centered within the camera’s field of view. If it is not, recenter
it by repositioning the camera on the piggyback adapter, or by
moving the main telescope. If you move the main telescope,
then you will need to recenter another guide star on the illu-
minated eyepiece’s crosshairs. Once the object is centered in
the camera and a guide star is centered in the reticle eye-
piece, you’re ready to shoot.
Deep-sky objects are quite faint, and typically require expo-
sures on the order of 10 minutes. To hold the camera’s shutter
open this long, you will need a lock shutter release cable. Set
the camera’s shutter to the “B” (bulb) setting. Depress the
locking shutter release cable and lock it. You are now exposing
your first deep-sky object.
While exposing through the camera lens, you will need to mon-
itor the accuracy of the mount’s tracking by looking through
the illuminated reticle eyepiece in the main telescope. If the
guide star drifts from its initial position, then use the hand con-
troller of the motor drive to “move” the guide star back to the
center of the crosshairs. Any drifting along the Dec. axis is a
result of improper polar alignment, so if the guide star drifts
greatly in Dec., the mount may need to be polar aligned more
accurately.
When the exposure is complete, unlock the shutter release
cable and close the camera’s shutter.
Astrophotography can be enjoyable and rewarding, as well
as frustrating and time-consuming. Start slowly and consult
outside resources, such as books and magazines, for more
details about astrophotography. Remember….have fun!
10. care and Maintenance
If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a lifetime.
Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place, safe from rapid chang-
es in temperature and humidity. Do not store the telescope
outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK. Small
components like eyepieces and ot her accessories should be
kept in a protective box or storage case. Keep the dust cover
on the front of the telescope when not in use.
Your SkyView Pro 8 EQ requires very little mechanical main-
tenance. The optical tube is steel and has a smooth painted
finish that is fairly scratch-resistant. If a scratch does appear
on the tube, it will not harm the telescope. Smudges on the
tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and a household clean-
er such as Windex or Formula 409.
cleaning lenses
Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens clean-
ing fluid specifically designed for multi-coated optics can be
used to clean the exposed lenses of your eyepieces or find-
er scope. Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning fluid
designed for eyeglasses. Before cleaning with fluid and tissue,
however, blow any loose particles off the lens with a blower
bulb or compressed air. Then apply some cleaning fluid to a
tissue, never directly on the optics. Wipe the lens gently in a
circular motion, then remove any excess fluid with a fresh lens
tissue. Oily fingerprints and smudges may be removed using
this method. Use caution; rubbing too hard may scratch the
lens. On larger lenses, clean only a small area at a time, using
a fresh lens tissue on each area. Never reuse tissues.
cleaning Mirrors
You should not have to clean the telescope’s mirrors very
often; normally once every year or so. Covering the telescope
with the dust cover when it is not in use will prevent dust from
accumulating on the mirrors. Improper cleaning can scratch
mirror coatings, so the fewer times you have to clean the mir-
rors, the better. Small specks of dust or flecks of paint have
virtually no effect on the visual performance of the telescope.
The large primary mirror and the elliptical secondary mirror of
your telescope are front-surface aluminized and over-coated
with hard silicon dioxide, which prevents the aluminum from
oxidizing. These coatings normally last through many years of
use before requiring re-coating (which is easily done).
To clean the secondary mirror, first remove it from the
telescope. Do this by holding the secondary mirror holder sta-
tionary while turning the center Phillips head screw. Be careful,
there is a spring between the secondary mirror holder and
the Philips head screw. Be sure that the spring or the second-
ary holder will not fall into the optical tube and hit the primary
mirror. Handle the mirror by its holder; do not touch the mirror
surface. Then follow the same procedure described below for
cleaning the primary mirror. You do not need to remove the
secondary mirror from its holder when cleaning.
To clean the primary mirror, carefully remove the mirror cell
from the telescope. For the SkyView Pro 8 EQ, this means
you must loosen the six screws on the side of the tube near
the primary mirror. You do not need to remove the collimation
screws on the bottom of the mirror cell. Remove the mirror cell
from the tube. You will notice the primary mirror is held down
with three clips held by two screws each. Loosen the screws
and remove the clips.
You may now remove the mirror from the mirror cell. Do not
touch the surface of the mirror with your fingers. Lift the mirror
carefully by the edges. Set the mirror on a clean soft towel.
Fill a clean sink free of abrasive cleanser, with room-tempera-
ture water, a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent, and if
possible, a capfull of 100% isopropyl alcohol. Submerge the
mirror (aluminized face up) in the water and let it soak for a
few minutes (or hours if it’s a very dirty mirror). Wipe the mir-
ror under water with clean cotton balls, using extremely light
pressure and stroking in straight line across the mirror. Use
one ball for each wipe across the mirror. Then rinse the mirror