When you become an advanced
observer you can look for other
types of objects such as asteroids,
planetary nebula and globular clusters.
And if you’re lucky, every so often a bright
comet appears in the sky, presenting an
unforgettable sight.
The more you learn about objects in the
sky, the more you will learn to appreciate
the sights you see in your telescope. Start
a notebook and write down the observations
you make each night. Note the time and the
date.
Use a compass to make a circle, or trace
around the lid of a jar. Draw what you see
in your eyepiece inside the circle. The best
exercise for drawing is to observe the moons
of Jupiter every night or so. Try to make
Jupiter and the moons approximately the
same size as they look in your eyepiece.
You will see that the moons are in a different
position every night. As you get better at
drawing, try more challenging sights, like a
crater system on the moon or even a nebula.
Go your library or check out the internet for
more information about astronomy. Learn
about the basics: light years, orbits, star
colors, how stars and planets are formed,
red shift, the big bang, what are the different
kinds of nebula, what are comets, asteroids
and meteors and what is a black hole. The
more you learn about astronomy, the more
fun, and the more rewarding your telescope
will become.
SOME OBSERVING TIPS
Eyepieces: Always begin your observations
using the 25mm low-power eyepiece. The
25mm eyepiece delivers a bright, wide field
of view and is the best to use for most
viewing conditions. Use the high-power 9mm
eyepiece to view details when observing
the Moon and planets. If the image become
fuzzy, switch back down to a lower power.
Changing eyepieces changes the power or
magnification of your telescope.
By the way, users of reflecting telescopes
may have noticed something strange when
looking through your eyepiece. The image
is upside down and reversed. That means
reading words can be a problem. But it has
no affect on astronomical objects.
Optional Accessory Barlow lens: You can
also change magnification by using a Barlow
lens. The Barlow lens doubles the power of
your telescope (See Fig. 10).
Meade offers a complete line of eyepieces for
your telescope. Most astronomers have four
or five low-power and high power eyepieces
to view different objects and to cope with
different viewing conditions.
Objects move in the eyepiece: If you are
observing an astronomical object (the
Moon, a planet, star, etc.) you will notice
that the object will begin to move slowly
through the telescopic field of view. This
STAR CHARTS
S
tar charts and planispheres are useful for a variety of
reasons. In particular, they are a great aid in planning a
night of celestial viewing.
A wide variety of star charts are available in books,
in magazines, on the internet and on CD Roms.
Meade offers AutoStar Suite
TM
software. Contact your
local Meade dealer or Meade’s Customer Service
department for more information.
Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines print
star charts each month for up-to-the-minute maps of
the heavens.
Looking at or near the
Sun
will cause
irreversable
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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