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rooftops and chimneys, as they often have warm air currents
rising from them. Similarly, avoid observing from indoors
through an open (or closed) window, because the tempera-
ture difference between the indoor and outdoor air will cause
image blurring and distortion.

If at all possible, escape the light-polluted city sky and head
for darker country skies. You’ll be amazed at how many more
stars and deep-sky objects are visible in a dark sky!

“Seeing” and Transparency

Atmospheric conditions vary significantly from night to night.
“Seeing” refers to the steadiness of the Earth’s atmosphere at
a given time. In conditions of poor seeing, atmospheric turbu-
lence causes objects viewed through the telescope to “boil”.
If, when you look up at the sky with your naked eyes, the stars
are twinkling noticeably, the seeing is bad and you will be lim-
ited to viewing with low powers (bad seeing affects images at
high powers more severely). Planetary observing may also be
poor.

In conditions of good seeing, star twinkling is minimal and
images appear steady in the eyepiece. Seeing is best over-
head, worst at the horizon. Also, seeing generally gets better
after midnight, when much of the heat absorbed by the Earth
during the day has radiated off into space.

Especially important for observing faint objects is good “trans-
parency”—air free of moisture, smoke, and dust. All tend to
scatter light, which reduces an object’s brightness. Trans-
parency is judged by the magnitude of the faintest stars you can
see with the unaided eye (6th magnitude or fainter is desirable).

If you cannot see stars of magnitude 3.5 or dimmer then con-
ditions are poor. Magnitude is a measure of how bright a star
is—the brighter a star is, the lower its magnitude will be. A
good star to remember for this is Megrez (mag. 3.4), which is
the star in the “Big Dipper” connecting the handle to the “dip-
per”. If you cannot see Megrez, then you have fog, haze,
clouds, smog, or other conditions that are hindering your
viewing Figure 11).

Eyepiece Selection

By using eyepieces of different focal lengths, it is possible to
attain many magnifications or powers with the Observer 70.
Your telescope comes with two Explorer II eyepieces (Figure
12): a 25mm, which gives a magnification of 28x, and a
10mm, which gives a magnification of 70x. Other eyepieces
can be used to achieve higher or lower powers. It is quite
common for an observer to own five or more eyepieces to
access a wide range of magnifications.

To calculate the magnification, or power, of a telescope-eye-
piece combination, simply divide the focal length of the tele-
scope by the focal length of the eyepiece:

Telescope Focal Length (mm)

Magnification =

Eyepiece Focal Length (mm)

For example, the Observer 70 EQ, which has a focal length of
700mm, used in combination with the 25mm eyepiece, yields
a magnification of:

700mm

= 28x

25mm

Whatever you choose to view, always start by inserting your
lowest-power (longest focal length) eyepiece to locate and
center the object. Low magnification yields a wide field of
view, which shows a larger area of sky in the eyepiece. This
makes finding and centering an object much easier. Trying to

Figure 11. 

Megrez connects the Big Dipper’s handle to it's “pan”.

It is a good guide to how conditions are. If you can not see Megrez
(a 3.4 mag star) then conditions are poor.

16

Light Pollution

Most of us live where city lights interfere with our view
of the heavens. As our metropolitan areas have become
more developed, the scourge of light pollution has
spread, washing out many stars and nonstellar celestial
objects from our sight. Faint deep sky objects become
difficult or impossible to see through the murk of light
pollution. Even bright nebulas like the Orion and Lagoon
Nebulas lose much of their delicate detail. The Moon
and planets are not affected; they require steady air
more than dark skies, so they remain good targets for
city-dwelling observers.

The International Dark-Sky Association is waging the
fight against light pollution. The IDSA was founded in
1988 with the mission of educating the public about the
adverse impact that light pollution has on the night sky
and astronomy. Through educational and scientific
means, the nonprofit IDA works to raise awareness
about the problem and about measures that can be
taken to solve it.

Do you need help dealing with local officials to control
street or building lighting in your area?  The IDA’s exten-
sive support materials can show you how. Help pre-
serve dark skies, join the IDA today! For information,
write to IDA, 3225 N. First Ave., Tuscon, AZ 85719-2103
or visit their website: www.darksky.org.

The best way to avoid immediate problems with light pol-
lution, however, is to take you telescope to where there
are dark skies. You will be amazed at how many stars
you can see when you get away from the city lights.

2.4

1.7

3.4

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Содержание Observer 70 EQ 9882

Страница 1: ... Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 Customer Support 800 676 1343 E mail support telescope com Corporate Offices 831 763 7000 P O Box 1815 Santa Cruz CA 95061 Orion Observer 70 EQ 9882 Equatorial Refractor Telescope ...

Страница 2: ...2 ...

Страница 3: ... 9 3 Tripod legs 10 with attached accessory tray bracket 11 1 Accessory tray 11 with attachment screws 1 Counterweight shaft 26 1 Counterweight 7 1 EZ Finder II reflex sight 4 1 EZ Finder II mounting bracket 17 3 Tripod attachment screws with wingnuts and washers 32 3 Leg lock knobs 13 1 Latitude adjustment T bolt 30 1 25mm Explorer II eyepiece 3 1 10mm Explorer II eyepiece 1 Dust cover 1 90 Mirro...

Страница 4: ...4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 Observer 70 Refractor 9 11 12 10 13 Figure 1 Observer 70 EQ Components ...

Страница 5: ...al mount 5 and hold the optical tube 1 Counterweight This counterweight will balance the optical tube 1 when it is being aimed at celestial objects Right ascension slow motion control cable This cable along with the declination slow motion con trol cable 9 is used to make small movements in right ascension when aiming the telescope Right ascension is explained in the Aligning the Equatorial Mount ...

Страница 6: ...Figure 2a Optical tube components 6 14 15 17 Observer 70 Telescope Tube Figure 2b Observer 70 focuser detail 16 6 19 20 3 21 2 18 1 4 3 2 18 ...

Страница 7: ...eel 19 which adjusts a rack and pinion system to bring objects into focus Focus wheels These wheels when turned move the focuser draw tube 18 in or out Use it to bring things into focus when you are looking in the eyepiece 3 Diagonal holder thumbscrews These two thumbscrews secure the 90 mirror star diagonal 2 into the focuser drawtube 18 These should only be loosened to remove or rotate the star ...

Страница 8: ...Equatorial mount detail 8 Figure 3b Observer 70 EQ tripod leg and mount attachment detail 22 23 24 Observer 70 Tripod and Mount 25 26 27 7 28 9 30 32 32 29 31 Right Ascension Axis D e c l i n a t i o n A x i s 8 ...

Страница 9: ...atitude scale This scale gives a general indication of the latitude set ting of the equatorial mount 5 Latitude lock T bolt This bolt must be loosened to make adjustments in the latitude of the telescope Latitude adjustment T bolt This bolt use used to make adjustments in the latitude setting of the equatorial mount 5 Azimuth lock knob Loosening this knob will allow the equatorial mount 5 to be ad...

Страница 10: ...ing to the mark at 40 To do this loosen the latitude lock T bolt 29 and turn the latitude adjust ment T bolt 30 until the pointer and the 40 line up Then retighten the latitude lock T bolt The declination Dec and right ascension R A axes may need re positioning rotation as well Be sure to loosen the R A and Dec lock knobs 23 25 before doing this Retighten the R A and Dec lock knobs once the equato...

Страница 11: ...5 is locked The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the R A axis Rotate it until the counterweight shaft 26 is parallel to the ground i e horizontal 2 Now loosen the counterweight lock knob 27 and slide the weight along the shaft until it exactly counterbalances the telescope Figure 4a That s the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go of the telescope with...

Страница 12: ...EZ Finder II When the EZ Finder II is properly aligned with the telescope an object that is centered on the EZ Finder II s red dot should also appear in the center of the field of view of the telescope s eyepiece Alignment of the EZ Finder II is easiest during day light before observing at night Aim the telescope at a distant object at least 1 4 mile away such as a telephone pole or chimney and ce...

Страница 13: ...r Alignment For Northern Hemisphere observers approximate polar alignment is achieved by pointing the mount s R A axis at Polaris also called the North Star It lies within 1 of the north celestial pole NCP which is an extension of the Earth s rota tional axis out into space Stars in the Northern Hemisphere appear to revolve around the NCP To find Polaris in the sky look north and locate the patter...

Страница 14: ...everal turns in the opposite direction from which it was originally being turned Then man ually slew the telescope closer to the object you wish to observe remember to first loosen the Dec lock knob 25 You should now be able to use the Dec slow motion control cable again to fine adjust the telescope s position Tracking Celestial Objects When you observe a celestial object through the telescope you...

Страница 15: ...ake any adjustment to the lat itude adjustment T bolt 30 That will nullify the mount s polar alignment Remember once the mount is polar aligned the telescope should be moved only on the R A and Dec axes To point the scope overhead first loosen the R A lock knob 23 and rotate the telescope on the R A axis until the coun terweight shaft is horizontal parallel to the ground Then loosen the Dec lock k...

Страница 16: ... higher or lower powers It is quite common for an observer to own five or more eyepieces to access a wide range of magnifications To calculate the magnification or power of a telescope eye piece combination simply divide the focal length of the tele scope by the focal length of the eyepiece Telescope Focal Length mm Magnification Eyepiece Focal Length mm For example the Observer 70 EQ which has a ...

Страница 17: ...ll get a new view of the Moon every night The best time to observe our one and only natural satellite is dur ing a partial phase that is when the Moon is NOT full During partial phases shadows are cast on the surface which reveal more detail especially right along the border between the dark and light portions of the disk called the terminator A full Moon is too bright and devoid of surface shadow...

Страница 18: ...ou see in books and magazines most will look like dim gray smudges Our eyes are not sensitive enough to see color in deep sky objects except in a few of the brightest ones But as you become more experienced and your observing skills get sharper you will be able to ferret out more and more subtle details and structure To find deep sky objects in the sky it is best to consult a star chart and planis...

Страница 19: ...19 ...

Страница 20: ...y Watsonville CA 95076 If the product is not registered proof of purchase such as a copy of the original invoice is required This warranty does not apply if in Orion s judgment the instrument has been abused mishan dled or modified nor does it apply to normal wear and tear This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state For further wa...

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