15
another suitably bright star near the bright star currently cen-
tered in the finder. Keep in mind that the field of view of the
finder scope is 6°, so you should choose another star that is
no more that 6° from the first star, if possible. Move the tele-
scope slightly, until the telescope is centered on the new star.
Continue using stars as guideposts in this way until you are at the
approximate position of the object you are trying to find (Figure
15). 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
star hopping from star to star.
8. Care and Maintenance
If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a life-
time. Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place, safe from rapid
changes in temperature and humidity. Do not store the tele-
scope outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK.
Small components like eyepieces and other accessories
should be kept in a protective box or storage case. Keep the
cap on the front of the telescope when it is not in use.
Your SkyView Deluxe telescope requires very little mechani-
cal maintenance. The optical tube is steel and has a smooth
painted finish that is fairly scratch-resistant. If a scratch does
appear on the tube, it will not harm the telescope. If you wish,
you may apply some auto touch-up paint to the scratch.
Smudges on the tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and
a household cleaner such as Windex or Formula 409.
Cleaning Lenses
Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens clean-
ing fluid specifically designed for multi-coated optics can be
used to clean the exposed lenses of your eyepieces or finder
scope. Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning fluid
designed for eyeglasses. Before cleaning with fluid and tissue,
however, blow any loose particles off the lens with a blower
bulb or compressed air. Then apply some cleaning fluid to a
tissue, never directly on the optics. Wipe the lens gently in a
circular motion, then remove any excess fluid with a fresh lens
tissue. Oily fingerprints and smudges may be removed using
this method. Use caution; rubbing too hard may scratch the
lens. On larger lenses, clean only a small area at a time, using
a fresh lens tissue on each area. Never reuse tissues.
Cleaning Mirrors
You should not have to clean your telescope’s mirrors very
often; normally once every year or so. Covering your tele-
scope when it is not in use will prevent dust from
accumulating on the mirrors. Improper cleaning can scratch
mirror coatings, so the fewer times you have to clean the mir-
rors, the better. Small specks of dust or flecks of paint have
virtually no effect on the visual performance of the telescope.
The large primary mirror and the elliptical secondary mirror of
your telescope are front-surface aluminized and over-coated
with hard silicon monoxide, which prevents the aluminum from
oxidizing. These coatings normally last through many, many
years of use before requiring re-coating (which is easily done).
To clean the secondary mirror, remove it from the secondary
mirror holder. Do this by holding the secondary mirror station-
ary while turning the central bolt on the secondary mirror
holder counterclockwise. Handle it carefully by the edges
only; do not touch the mirror surface. Then follow the same
procedure described below for cleaning the primary mirror.
To clean the primary mirror, carefully remove the mirror cell
from the telescope. This is done by first removing the three
spring-loaded collimation thumb screws from the bottom of
the mirror cell. Be careful not to lose the small nylon washers
or springs. You do not need to remove the smaller-headed
lock screws. Next, remove the primary mirror from the mirror
cell; you will need to remove the three mirror clips to do this.
Completely unthread the two Phillips-head screws in each
clip, and carefully lift the mirror from its cell. Be careful not to
touch the front surface of the mirror with your fingers! Set the
mirror on a clean, soft towel. Fill a clean sink, free of abrasive
cleanser, with room-temperature water, a few drops of liquid
dishwashing detergent, and if possible, a cap-full of rubbing
alcohol. Submerge the mirror (aluminized face up) in the
water and let it soak for several minutes (or hours if it’s a very
dirty mirror). Wipe the mirror under water with clean cotton
balls, using extremely light pressure and stroking in straight
lines across the surface. Use one ball for each wipe across
the mirror. Then rinse the mirror under a stream of lukewarm
Figure 15. Star hopping is a good way to locate hard-to-find objects.
Refer to a star chart to map a route to the object that uses bright stars
as guideposts. Center the first star you’ve chosen 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.
