Meade NG70-SM, Instruction Manual

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planetoids and other debris left over from
the birth of our sun. Recently astronomers
have found large objects in this area and
they may increase the number of planets in
our solar system.
The four planets closest to the Sun are rocky
and are called the inner planets. Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars comprise the inner
planets. Venus and Mars can be easily seen
in your telescope.
Venus is seen before dawn or after sunset,
because it is close to the Sun. You can
observe Venus going through crescent
phases. But you cannot see any surface
detail on Venus because it has a very thick
atmosphere of gas.
When Mars is close to the Earth, you can see
some details on Mars, and sometimes even
Mars’ polar caps. But quite often, Mars is
further away and just appears as a red dot
with some dark lines crisscrossing it.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
comprise the outer planets. These planets,
are made mostly of gases and are
sometimes called gas giants. If they had
grown much bigger, they may have become
stars.
Jupiter is quite interesting to observe. You
can see bands across the face of Jupiter. The
more time you spend observing these bands,
the more detail you will be able to see.
One of the most fascinating sights of Jupiter
are its moons. The four largest moons are
called the Galilean moons, after the
astronomer Galileo, who observed them for
the first time. If you’ve never watched the
Galilean moons in your telescope before,
you’re missing a real treat! Each night, the
moons appear in different positions
around the Jovian sky. This is
sometimes called the Galilean dance.
On any given night, you might be able
to see the shadow of a moon on the face of
Jupiter, see one moon eclipse another or
even see a moon emerge from behind
Jupiter’s giant disk. Drawing the positions of
the moons each night is an excellent
exercise for novice astronomers.
Any small telescope can see the four
Galilean moons of Jupiter (Fig. 5), plus a few
others, but how many moons does Jupiter
actually have? No one knows for sure! Nor
are we sure how many Saturn has either. At
last count, Jupiter had over 60 moons, and
7
Fig. 5
Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
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