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5
Getting Started
Getting Started
Now that you have the telescope at home,
please get familiar with the different parts and
functions shown on page 3. The brief explana-
tion at the library should help to get you started.
Practice indoors with the telescope before
going outside and trying to use it in the dark.
When the telescope is not in use, please leave the
eyepiece dust cap and the front cover in place.
Setting up: Set-up the telescope on a stable
surface to help avoid vibrations. Do this while
it is still daylight to make it easy to see and to
allow the mirror to reach ambient temperature.
The image will be much better if you let the
telescope cool down to outside air temperature
before you start observing after dark, and it is
much easier to set-up in daylight, just before
sunset.
Try out the telescope during the day:
DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN! You will
permanently damage your eyes.
The images will be upside down and backward
when viewing in the eyepiece. When seen at
night, the objects in the sky are light years
away. That they are upside down really doesn’t
matter.
The Zoom eyepiece is permanently mounted
in the focuser. Remove the dust caps from the
eyepiece and front of the telescope tube.
Focusing the Telescope
Always start by using the lowest power. Turn
the body of the Zoom so the pointer is at
21mm, to locate and center the object. Low
magnification shows a larger area of sky in the
eyepiece and makes finding and centering an
object much easier. If conditions permit, zoom
in for a closer look. 7mm is about 65X power of
magnification. The Zoom in the image below is
shown at 9mm.
With the eyepiece adjusted for low power
(21mm), practice aiming the telescope in the
general direction of an object at least 1/4-mile
away. Use a steeple, utility pole, or a chimney.
Slowly rotate 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 wheels to make
sure you’ve hit the exact focus point. Use this
same technique at night when focusing on
objects in the sky.
In the EyepieceNormal
Eyepiece with Zoom set at 9 mm.
Focus Wheels
Getting Started
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