HOW TO USE YOUR NEW TELESCOPE
Selecting an Ocular Lens:
1. You should always start viewing with the lowest power eyepiece, which in this case the 20 mm lens.
Note: the base power of each ocular lens is determined by the focal length of the telescope objective lens,
which for the model is 700 mm. A formula can be used to determine the power of each eyepiece: Telescope
OBJECTIVE lens (Primary Mirror) focal length EYEPIECE focal length = MAGNIFICATION (e.g. Using the 20
mm lens, the calculation would look like this: 700 mm ÷ 20 mm = 35X or 35 power. If you use 2X Barlow
together with the 20 mm lens, the magnification would be 70X (2X35) or 70 power.)
Focusing Telescope:
1. After selecting the desired Eyepiece (3), aim Main Telescope Tube (14) at a land-based target at least 900 m
away (e.g. a telescope pole or building). Fully extend focusing tube by turning Rack and Pinion Focusing
Mechanism (2).
2. While looking through selected Eyepiece (3) (in this case 20 mm), slowly retract focusing tube by turning Rack
and Pinion Focusing Mechanism (2) until object comes into focus.
Aligning Finderscope:
1. Look through Main Telescope Tube (14) and establish a well-defined target. (see focusing telescope section)
tighten the Stabilizer Bar Mounting Screw (11) and Azimuth Lock Screw (5) so that telescope’s aim is not
disturbed.
2. Looking through finderscope, alternate tightening each Finderscope Adjustment Screw (17) until crosshairs of
finderscope are precisely centered on the same object already centered in main telescope tube’s field of view.
3. Now, objects located first with Finderscope (1) will also be centered in the field of view of the Main Telescope
Tube (14).
Never Look Direct At The Sun With Your Telescope. Permanent Damage To Your Eyes May Result.
Enjoying Your New Telescope
1. First determine your targeted object. Any bright object in the night sky is a good starting point. One of the
favorite starting points in astronomy is the moon. This is an object sure to please any budding astronomer or
experienced veteran. When you have developed proficiency at this level, other objects become good targets.
Saturn, Mars, Jupiter and Venus are good second steps to take.
2. The first thing you need to do after assembling the telescope as planned is center the desired object in the fin-
derscope cross hairs. Provided you did a reasonable job aligning the finderscope, a quick look through the
main telescope tube at low power should reveal the same image. With the lowest power eyepiece (the one
with the largest number printed on it) you should be able to focus the same image that you saw through the
finderscope. Avoid the temptation to move directly to the highest power. The low power eyepiece will give you
wider field of view, and bright image – thus making it very easy to find your target object. At this point, with a
focused image in both scopes, you’ve passed the first obstacle. If you don’t see an image after attempting to
focus it in, you might consider aligning your finderscope again. Once you pass this step, you’ll enjoy the time
spent ensuring a good alignment. Every object you center in the finderscope will be easily found in the main
telescope tube, which is important for continuing your exploration of the night sky.
3. The low power eyepieces are perfect for viewing the full moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, and even con-
stellations. These should build your foundation. However, for more detail, try bumping up in magnificati on to
higher power eyepieces on some of these objects. During calm and crisp nights, the light/dark separation line
on the moon (called the ”Terminator”) is marvelous at high power. You can see mountains, ridges, and craters
jump out at you due to the highlights. Similarly, you can move up to higher magnifications on the planets and
nebulae. Star clusters and stars are best viewed through the lower power no matter what.
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