Thames & Kosmos TK1 User Manual Download Page 3

Page: 3 / 36

What’s inside your experiment kit:

Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off

You will also need:

Homemade red-light
flashlight

Possibly: warm clothing
for outside

Optional: rotating star
map (planisphere), star
finder app

TIP!

Any parts that are not

included with the kit

are indicated in

italic

letters

in the “You

will need” sections.

No. Description

Count

Aluminum stand with telescope cradle

Shelf for accessories

Telescope tube with dew shield and

pitch arm for height adjustment

4 Viewfinder

Star diagonal (mirror diagonal)

Eyepiece (10 mm)

Eyepiece (20 mm)

Barlow lens

Image reversal lens (erecting lens)

Star-knob tighteners for securing

the telescope in the cradle

Attachment screws for securing

the legs of the stand

Moon filter

› › › KIT CONTENTS

TK1 Telescope

677015-02-260115

Summary of Contents for TK1

Page 1: ...ranckh Kosmos Verlags GmbH Co KG Pfizerstr 5 7 70184 Stuttgart Germany 49 0 711 2191 0 www kosmos de Thames Kosmos 301 Friendship St Providence RI 02903 USA 1 800 587 2872 www thamesandkosmos com Thames Kosmos UK Ltd Goudhurst Kent TN17 2QZ United Kingdom 01580 212000 www thamesandkosmos co uk ...

Page 2: ...ann and Hermann Michael Hahn Project management Dr Mark Bachofer Technical product development Dr Petra Müller Manual design Atelier Bea Klenk Berlin Layout and typesetting werthdesign F Werth Horb a N Illustrations and graphics Gunther Schulz p 2 bottom right 16 25 27 28 29 30 31 Gerhard Weiland back page 26 Sven Melchert p 17 18 19 all others Friedrich Werth Photos Martin Gertz Stuttgart Planeta...

Page 3: ... the You will need sections No Description Count 1 Aluminum stand with telescope cradle 1 2 Shelf for accessories 1 3 Telescope tube with dew shield and pitch arm for height adjustment 1 4 Viewfinder 1 5 Star diagonal mirror diagonal 1 6 Eyepiece 10 mm 1 7 Eyepiece 20 mm 1 8 Barlow lens 1 9 Image reversal lens erecting lens 1 10 Star knob tighteners for securing the telescope in the cradle 2 11 At...

Page 4: ...How to Use Your Telescope 11 Check It Out Preparing for Nighttime Viewing 16 Check It Out Ten Observations to Get You Started 17 Not Just Stars and Planets 21 Identifying Constellations in the Sky 23 Check It Out Stars and Constellations 26 Star Charts for Different Seasons 27 Check It Out Moon Planets Satellites and More 31 The 20 Prettiest Constellations Back cover CONTENTS 2 ...

Page 5: ...them The stand holds the telescope for you and helps you keep it pointed at the exact part of the sky you want to look at The telescope itself is the long tube with a glass lens at the front The rear narrower end which is the end into which you look is where you will insert various other glass lenses and other accessories 3 3 ...

Page 6: ... of the stand to their full length Insert the three attachment screws into the threads in the center of the legs The legs should not collapse when you set up the stand with its legs spread apart 2 Screw the shelf to the stand s attachment bars with its rimmed side oriented upward To do that first unscrew the three wingnuts from the shelf and then screw them back in through the holes in the stand s...

Page 7: ...on until it hits the stop and secure it in place with at least one of the eyepiece extension s knurled screws It is best to start with the eyepiece with the largest millimeter readings TIP All of your telescope s optical elements have covers to protect them from dust If you remove the cover only while you are using the telescope for your observations and then place it back on afterwards the glass ...

Page 8: ...rews at the end of the telescope insert them into the two holes in the viewfinder bracket and tighten them again The holes in the bracket are elongated Make sure that the viewfinder sits parallel to the telescope 3 Outside during the day point the telescope at a target on the horizon at least 500 meters away such as a tower tree or building TIP You should adjust the viewfinder during the daytime 6...

Page 9: ...cus it by turning its eyepiece TIP When looking through the viewfinder or the telescope you will notice that everything is turned upside down It s supposed to look that way see page 10 For observation targets on the ground your telescope comes equipped with an image reversal lens see page 21 which will display images in their usual orientation 7 Assembling Your Telescope ...

Page 10: ...s several times Keep looking into the viewfinder to verify that the observation target is moving toward the center of the field of view 7 If adjustment of the three knurled screws is not enough you will have to loosen the two knurled screws again on the viewfinder bracket and correct the viewfinder s orientation before returning to the viewfinder alignment instructions described in step 6 8 After ...

Page 11: ... a magnifying lens you can view the observation target s image created at the focal point How Your Telescope Works The Visual Field When you look through the eyepiece you can only see a very small portion of the sky The greater the magnification the smaller that portion will be With the viewfinder on the other hand you can survey a relatively large area That is why it s easier to orient toward the...

Page 12: ...be at the top of the visual field north will be at the bottom east to the right and west to the left in other words exactly the opposite of when you look at the sky with your naked eye FACT SHEET Your Telescope s Specifications Objective Diameter 60 mm Focal length 700 mm Eyepieces 20 mm focal length 35x magnification 10 mm focal length 70x magnification 10 S S N N E View through the telescope N S...

Page 13: ...location where you won t be too bothered by the light from houses or street lights If your backyard or the balcony of your own home doesn t work take a parent or older brother or sister with you to find someplace darker How to Use Your Telescope 11 ...

Page 14: ...ts legs fully spread out and select a height that is comfortable for you by extending the stand s legs as far as you want You can view in a standing or sitting position Take any accessories that you won t be needing right away and place them on the shelf 3 The stand should be stable If the ground is soft you can press the tips of the legs into the soil a little That will help stabilize the telesco...

Page 15: ...n use the viewfinder bracket s sighting aid 3 Re tighten the height and tilt adjustment knobs 4 Insert the 20 mm eyepiece into the eyepiece extension secure it in place with at least one of the two knurled screws and turn the eyepiece extension until the image is sharp 5 Always place your observation target in the center of the visual field For the cradle tilt you can leave the knob fairly loose s...

Page 16: ...horizontally until your target is once again in the middle of your visual field 10 You will notice that you will see more and more details in the target the longer you practice DID YOU KNOW When you look through the telescope you will see how the brighter stars will flicker and change color This is a result of Earth s atmosphere You probably already know the same effect from hot summer days when t...

Page 17: ...he Barlow lens into the eyepiece extension until it hits the stop and clamp it in place with the two knurled screws Then insert the eyepiece into the Barlow lens Don t forget to screw it on tight How to Use Your Telescope 15 NOTE If your telescope is coming from the warm house it will cool off a lot in the first half hour While it cools your observation targets may look unstable and washed out The...

Page 18: ...tay as far away from streetlights as possible because the light will interfere with your viewing Of course you can always see lots more stars if you go with your parents on an outing away from any towns or cities and find a pitch black location with an unobstructed view of the sky all around To help you see in the dark to look at what s on your star wheel for example take a flashlight with you But...

Page 19: ...an which stands well off from the planet s disk and almost looks like a weak star It changes its position from one night to the next Use a high magnification For more see page 31 Ten Observations to Get You Started Stars will always be points of light no matter what kind of telescope or magnification you use They are just too far away But there are also the Moon planets binary stars star clusters ...

Page 20: ...ing on its distance from Earth When it s large you will also be able to see dark and light structures on its surface Use high magnification This planet displays patterns of light similar to those of our Moon Sometimes you can see it as a sickle other times as an almost full disk Unlike our Moon Venus won t show all these shapes within a single month Instead they will only appear over a period of s...

Page 21: ...ebula beneath the stars forming the belt You will be able to see its irregular shape more clearly with the help of the telescope Use low to medium magnification See the chart on page 30 This star cluster in the Taurus constellation is also visible with the naked eye With the telescope you will be able to see lots more stars within Pleiades Can you make out the chariot or dipper shape formed by the...

Page 22: ...of your telescope you will be able to make out the two stars and their different colors one reddish and the other blue Use high magnification See the star chart on page 28 Andromeda is our closest neighboring galaxy With your naked eye you will only be able to see it as a weak glow With the telescope it will reveal itself as a long diffuse patch the light from billions of stars belonging to the An...

Page 23: ...ic telescopes or binoculars to view mountains or vistas at tourist lookout points so too can you use your telescope to view your surroundings here on the ground And it has a greater magnification than most tourist binoculars You ll be able to see distant animals mountain tops or ships on the ocean so close that it s almost as if you could reach out and touch them with your hand Not Just Stars and ...

Page 24: ...crews 2 Then insert the eyepiece into the image reversal lens and clamp it on tight 3 Use the viewfinder to orient your telescope toward the observation target 4 Bring the target into focus by rotating the eyepiece extension TIP The image reversal lens is most useful with the 20 mm eyepiece That gives you a 53x magnification because the image reversal lens extends the objective focal length by a f...

Page 25: ... your telescope If you take it outside tonight under clear skies you will certainly be able to see a lot of stars With a little practice you will also be able to recognize constellations and it will become easier to focus your telescope on interesting observation targets 23 ...

Page 26: ... s date If say it is 9 PM on February 10 turn the 9 PM mark on the cover disk s scale to February 10 on the bordering date scale 2 Now the wheel is correctly set The see through oval section shows all the constellations that you will be able to see in the sky at this time 3 Turn the wheel without changing its setting so the word South is oriented to the bottom of the transparent part of the cover ...

Page 27: ...ctions DID YOU KNOW The stars that you see at the bottom edge of the chart are the ones that you will see down near the horizon And the stars that you see near the zenith are the ones that you will see high in the sky You will have to tilt your head way back to see them The actual zenith is the point exactly above your head Li le Dipper North Star Big Dipper Ursa Major Perseus Auriga Cepheus Cassi...

Page 28: ...ay is a softly glowing strip that you can sometimes see in the night sky if you re in a dark enough location It consists of thousands of weakly shining stars The Milky Way is actually our own galaxy If we could view it from far away it would look like a vast starry spiral There are a lot of other systems just like that in space come back out an hour later You will notice how the entire sky has shi...

Page 29: ... come to the bright star Arcturus in the constellation of Boötes meaning herdsman or plowman in Greek It will be shining with a reddish or ange glow 3 On the other hand if you extend a line from the two stars at the front edge of the dipper s ladle and proceed in a downward direction you will come to the constellation of Leo This will also be about halfway up the sky and looks a bit like a large c...

Page 30: ...ht star Deneb the principal star in the Cygnus constellation It will also be up high in the sky 3 The constellation of Cygnus looks a little like a giant cross so it is sometimes also called the Northern Cross If it s really dark you will be able to see that Cygnus is right in the middle of the Milky Way TIP The Milky Way is easiest to see in late summer or early autumn It gets dark earlier then a...

Page 31: ...ID YOU KNOW The North Star is positioned exactly above Earth s axis It is the only star in the sky that doesn t move always remaining in the same place The stars around it are called circumpolar stars literally around the pole star the North Star is also known as a pole star or Polaris While they do move they never set So you can always see them on any clear night Li le Dipper North Star Big Dippe...

Page 32: ...etelgeuse which is the principal star in the Orion constellation Beneath the belt and to the right you will find the bright star Rigel It has a bluish white glow 3 Now tilt your head back and look high in the sky There you will see the bright yellowish Capella which is the principal star in Auriga DID YOU KNOW The color of a star can provide information about its temperature Hotter stars shine whi...

Page 33: ...ery year Jupiter is the largest planet and shines with a striking brightness Saturn has a pretty ring but you will need your telescope to see it Mars is only clearly visible about every other year It has a reddish color The other planets are difficult to see or can t be seen at all with the naked eye DID YOU KNOW that the Moon and the planets cannot occur just anywhere in the sky They are only fou...

Page 34: ...nutes Other satellites will flash brightly for a few seconds and then disappear again If you are lucky you might be able to catch a shooting star during one of your evening stargazing sessions It will look like a bright trail of light flashing briefly across the sky Shooting stars are small pieces of rock or dust from space that burn up as they enter our atmosphere TIP Every year around the 12th o...

Page 35: ... utmost care during development and production With regard to product safety these experiment kits follow European and US safety standards as well as our own refined proprietary safety guidelines By working closely with our manufacturing partners and safety testing labs we are able to control all stages of production While the majority of our products are made in Germany all of our products regard...

Page 36: ...lying Horse Pegasus August January The Charioteer Auriga October May The Bull Taurus October March The Twins Gemini November May The Hunter Orion November March The Lesser Dog Canis Minor December May The Great Dog Canis Major January March The table lists a few of the constellations that you can most easily find in our night sky They are arranged according to their visibility during the year if y...

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