when the Moon is a crescent. No shadows
are seen during a full Moon, making it appear
flat and uninteresting.
Look for different features on the Moon. The
most obvious features are craters. In fact
you can see craters within craters. Some
craters have bright lines about them. These
are called rays and are the result of material
thrown out of the crater when it was struck
by a colliding object. The dark areas on the
Moon are called maria and are composed of
lava from the period when the Moon still had
volcanic activity. You can also see mountain
ranges and fault lines on the Moon.
TOO MUCH POWER?
Can you ever have too much power? If the type of
power you’re referring to is eyepiece magnification,
yes you can! The most common mistake of the
beginning observer is to “overpower” a telescope
by using high magnifications which the telescope’s
aperture and atmospheric conditions cannot
reasonably support. Keep in mind that a smaller,
but bright and well-resolved image is far superior
to one that is larger, but dim and poorly resolved.
Powers above 400x should be employed only under
the steadiest atmospheric conditions.
Fig. 5
Polaris
Little Dipper
Big Dipper
Cassiopeia
9
Pick out an easy object to observe: A
distant mountain, a large tree, a lighthouse or
skyscraper make excellent targets. Point the
optical tube so it lines up with your objects.
Try using the red-dot viewfinder to locate
objects too.
Unlock the lock knobs:
To move the
telescope, you will need to unlock the Vertical
lock knob (Fig 1, 14) (just rotate to unlock
or lock; when locking, only tighten to a “firm
feel,” do not over tighten).
Use the red dot viewfinder:
If you have
not done so, align the viewfinder (Fig 1, 7)
with the telescope’s eyepiece (Fig 1, 12) as
described earlier. Look through the red dot
viewfinder until you can see the object. It
will be easier to locate an object using the
red dot viewfinder rather than locating with
the eyepiece. Line up the object using the
viewfinders red dot.
Look through the eyepiece:
Once you
have the object lined up in the viewfinder,
look through the optical tube’s eyepiece. If
you have aligned your viewfinder, you will you
see the object in your eyepiece.
Focus:
Look through the eyepiece and
practice focusing on the object you have
chosen.
Observe the Moon:
When you feel
comfortable with the viewfinder, the eyepieces,
the locks and the adjustment controls, you
will be ready to try out the telescope at night.
The Moon is the best object to observe the
first time you go out at night. Pick a night
(c) nimax GmbH
