Altitude and Azimuth (Aiming the Telescope)
The StarBlast 6 altazimuth base (9) permits motion along two axes: altitude (up/down) and azimuth (left/right). See Figure 5. Moving the telescope up/down and left/right is the “natural” way people aim objects, which makes pointing the telescope intuitive and easy.
Altitude
Azimuth
Figure 5. The StarBlast 6 has two axes of motion: altitude (up/ down) and azimuth (left/right).
Simply take hold of the navigation knob (7) and move it left or right so that the base rotates. Move the telescope tube up or down in the same manner. Both 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.
You may find it convenient to hold one hand on one of the carrying handles (10) to steady it while moving and aiming the telescope.
Note About the Altitude Tension Adjustment Knob
When aiming the telescope in altitude, you may find the optical tube (3) is either too hard to move or does not stay in place. Use the altitude tension adjustment knob (6) to change the amount of tension between the base bracket
(18)and the altazimuth base (9) to find the right level of tension to properly move the telescope.
Focusing the Telescope
With the 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece (1) inserted into the focuser (4) and secured with the thumbscrews, aim the optical tube (3) so the front (open) end is pointing in the general direction of an object at least
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.
Do You Wear Eyeglasses?
If you wear eyeglasses, you may be able to keep them on while you observe. In order to do this, your eyepiece must have enough “eye relief” to allow you to see the entire field of view with glasses on. You can try looking through the eyepiece first with your glasses on and then with them off, to see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of the full field. If the glasses do restrict the field of view, you may be able to observe with your glasses off by just refocusing the telescope to your unaided vision.
If your eyes are astigmatic, images will probably appear best with glasses on. This is because a telescope’s focuser can accommodate for nearsightedness or far- sightedness, but not astigmatism. If you have to wear your glasses while observing and cannot see the entire field of view, you may want to purchase additional eye- pieces that have longer eye relief.
Short eye relief restricts the field of view for eyeglass wearers.
Long eye relief allows full field
of view to be seen with or without eyeglasses.
Operating the EZ Finder II Reflex Sight
The EZ Finder II reflex sight (2) (Figure 6) works by pro- jecting 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
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 turn- ing the power knob. For best results when stargazing, use the dimmest possible setting that allows you to see the dot without difficulty. Typically, a dim setting is used under dark
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