Continue using stars as guideposts in this way until you are at the approximate position of the object you are trying to find (Figure 14). Look in the telescope’s eyepiece, and the object should be somewhere within the field of view. If it’s not, sweep the telescope carefully around the immediate vicinity until the object is found.
If you have trouble finding the object, start the starhop again from the brightest star near the object you wish to view. This time, be sure the stars indicated on the star chart are in fact the stars you are centering in the eyepiece. Remember, the finder scope (and main telescope eyepiece, for that matter) gives an inverted image, so you must keep this in mind when starhopping from star to star.
Terrestrial Viewing
The SkyView Pro 150mm not only excels at astronomical observing, it’s great for terrestrial (land) viewing too. The equatorial mount, however, is not well suited for land viewing due to its motion about R.A. and Dec. axes instead of altitude (vertical) and azimuth (horizontal) axes. Because of this, we recommend removing the optical tube from the SkyView Pro mount and placing it on an appropriate
The included mirror star diagonal, while preferred for astro‑ nomical observing because of its viewing angle and better resolution, is not optimal for land viewing because it inverts images from
For terrestrial viewing, it’s best to stick with low power eye‑ pieces that yield a magnification under 100x. At higher pow‑ ers, images rapidly lose sharpness and clarity due to “heat waves” caused by
Remember to aim well clear of the Sun, unless the front of the telescope is fitted with a professionally made solar filter and the finder scope is covered with foil or some other completely opaque material.
8. Astrophotography
With an optional camera adapter, the SkyView Pro 150mm EQ becomes a 1800mm f/12.0 telephoto lens for a
You may want to consider using a remote shutter release instead of the shutter release on the camera. Touching the
Figure 14. Starhopping is a good way to locate
in the finder scope and telescope eyepiece (1). Now move the scope carefully in the direction of the next bright star (2), until it is centered. Repeat (3 and 4). The last hop (5) should place the desired object in the eyepiece.
camera can vibrate the system and blur the resulting photo‑ graphic image.
9. Care and Maintenance
Storing
If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a lifetime. Store it in a clean, dry,
Eyepiece adapter
Figure 15. A 35mm SLR camera connects directly
to the eyepiece adapter with only the addition of a
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