7
Viewing with Eyeglasses
If you wear eyeglasses, you may be able to keep
them on while you observe, if your eyepieces have
enough eye relief to allow you to see the whole field
of view. You can try this by looking through the
eyepiece first with your glasses on and then with
them off, and see if the glasses restrict the view to
only a portion of the full field. If they do, you can
easily observe with your glasses off by just
refocusing the telescope the needed amount.
If you suffer from severe astigmatism, however, you
may find images noticeably sharper with your glass-
es on point you want to look at. Then look through
the telescope’s eyepiece to see if that point is cen-
tered in the field of view. If it is, the job is done. If
not, make the necessary adjustments
Aligning the Finderscope
The finder scope must be aligned accurately with the
telescope for proper use. To align it, first aim the
main telescope in the general direction of an object
at least 1/4-mile away -the top of a telephone pole,
a chimney, etc. Position that object in the center of
the telescope’s eyepiece.
Now, look in the finderscope. Is the object visible?
Ideally, it will be somewhere in the field of view. If it
is not, some coarse adjustments of the two
finderscope alignment thumb screws will be needed
to get the finderscope roughly parallel to the main
tube. With the image in the finderscope’s field of
view, you will now use the alignment thumb screws
to center the object on the intersection of the
crosshairs.
By loosening one alignment thumb screw and
tightening another you change the line of sight of
the finderscope. Continue making adjustments to the
various alignment thumb screws until the image in
both the finder scope and the telescope’s eyepiece is
exactly centered. Check the alignment by moving
the telescope to another object and fixing the
finderscope’s crosshairs on the exact point you want
to look at.
Then look through the telescope’s eyepiece to see if
that point is centered in the field of view. If it is, the
job is done. If not, make the necessary adjustments
until the two images match up. The finderscope
alignment needs to be checked before every
observing session. This can easily be done at night,
before viewing through the telescope. Choose any
bright star or planet, center the object in the tele-
scope eyepiece, and then adjust the finderscope’s
alignment thumb screws until the star or planet is
also centered on the finder’s crosshairs.
The finderscope is an invaluable tool for locating
objects in the night sky; its usage for this purpose
will be discussed later., in detail.
Focusing the FinderScope
If, when looking through the finderscope, the images
appear somewhat out of focus, you will need to
refocus the finderscope for your eyes. Loosen the
lock ring located behind the objective lens cell on the
body of the finderscope Back the lock ring off by a
few turns, for now. Refocus the finderscope on a
distant object by threading the objective lens cell in
or out on the finderscope body. Precise focusing will
be achieved by focusing the finderscope on a bright
star. Once the image appears sharp, retighten the
lock ring behind the objective lens cell. The finder
scope’s focus should not need to be adjusted again.
Aiming/Pointing the Telescope
With the finder scope aligned, the telescope can be
quickly and accurately pointed at anything you wish
to observe. The finderscope has a much wider field
of view than the telescope’s eyepiece, and therefore
it is much easier to first center an object in the find-
er scope. Then, if the finderscope is accurately
aligned, the object will also be centered in the tel-
escope’s field of view.
Start by once again moving the telescope until it is
pointed in the general direction of the object you
want to see. Some observers find it convenient to
sight along the tube to do this. Now, look in the
finderscope. If your general aim is accurate, the
object should appear somewhere in the field of view.
Make small adjustments to the telescope’s position
until the object is centered on the finder’s crosshairs.
Now, look in the telescope’s eyepiece and enjoy the
view!
Focusing the Telescope
Insert the low power 26mm eyepiece into the
focuser and secure it with the thumb screw . Move
the telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in
the general direction of an object at least 250m
away. Now, with your fingers, slowly rotate one of
the focusing knobs until the object comes into sharp
focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the
image just starts to blur again, then reverse the
rotation of the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the
exact focus point.
If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focusing
knob so the drawtube is in as far as it will go. Now
look through the eyepiece while slowly rotating the
focusing knob in the opposite direction. You should
soon see the point at which focus is reached.
On the underside of the focuser there are two metal
thumbscrews. The thumbscrew closest to the body
of the scope will lock the focuser position, the other
thumbscrew will adjust focuser tension.
Focusing the telescope
