15
(Figure 13). Look in the telescope’s eyepiece, and the object
should be somewhere within the field of view. If it's not, sweep
the telescope carefully around the immediate vicinity until the
object is found.
If you have trouble finding the object, start the star hop again
from the brightest star near the object you wish to view. This
time, be sure the stars indicated on the star chart are in fact
the stars you are centering in the eyepiece. Remember, the
finder scope (and main telescope eyepiece, for that matter)
gives an inverted image, so you must keep this in mind when
star hopping from star to star.
8. Care and Maintenance
If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a life-
time. Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place, safe from rapid
changes in temperature and humidity. Do not store the tele-
scope outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK.
Small components like eyepieces and other accessories
should be kept in a protective box or storage case. Keep the
caps on the front of the telescope and on the focuser draw-
tube when it is not in use.
Your SpaceProbe 130ST EQ telescope requires very little
mechanical maintenance. The optical tube is steel and has a
smooth painted finish that is fairly scratch-resistant. If a
scratch does appear on the tube, it will not harm the tele-
scope. If you wish, you may apply some auto touch-up paint
to the scratch. Smudges on the tube can be wiped off with a
soft cloth and a household cleaner such as Windex or
Formula 409.
Cleaning Lenses
Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens clean-
ing fluid specifically designed for multi-coated optics can be
used to clean the exposed lenses of your eyepieces or finder
scope. Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning fluid
designed for eyeglasses. Before cleaning with fluid and tissue,
however, blow any loose particles off the lens with a blower
bulb or compressed air. Then apply some cleaning fluid to a tis-
sue, never directly on the optics. Wipe the lens gently in a
circular motion, then remove any excess fluid with a fresh lens
tissue. Oily fingerprints and smudges may be removed using
this method. Use caution; rubbing too hard may scratch the
lens. On larger lenses, clean only a small area at a time, using
a fresh lens tissue on each area. Never reuse tissues.
Cleaning Mirrors
You should not have to clean your telescope’s mirrors very
often; normally once every year or so. Covering your tele-
scope when it is not in use will prevent dust from
accumulating on the mirrors. Improper cleaning can scratch
mirror coatings, so the fewer times you have to clean the mir-
rors, the better. Small specks of dust or flecks of paint have
virtually no effect on the visual performance of the telescope.
The large primary mirror and the elliptical secondary mirror of
your telescope are front-surface aluminized and over-coated
with hard silicon monoxide, which prevents the aluminum from
oxidizing. These coatings normally last through many, many
years of use before requiring re-coating (which is easily done).
To clean the secondary mirror, remove the mirror in its holder
from the 4-vaned spider in the tube. Do this by grasping the
secondary mirror holder with your fingertips while turning the
central bolt on the spider’s central hub counterclockwise.
Handle the mirror holder only; do not touch the mirror surface.
Then follow the same procedure described below for cleaning
the primary mirror. The secondary mirror is glued into its hold-
er, and should not be removed from the holder for cleaning.
To clean the primary mirror, carefully remove the mirror cell
from the telescope. Do this by first removing the four screws
that connect the mirror cell to the tube. These screws are
located on the outside of the tube, just above the mirror cell
casting. Next, remove the primary mirror from the mirror cell;
you will need to remove the three mirror clips to do this.
Completely unthread the two Phillips head screws in each
clip, and carefully lift the mirror from its cell. Be careful not to
touch the front surface of the mirror with your fingers. Set the
mirror with the aluminized face up on a clean, soft towel. Fill
a clean sink, free of abrasive cleanser, with room-tempera-
ture water, a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent, and
if possible, a cap-full of rubbing alcohol. Submerge the mirror
(aluminized face up) in the water and let it soak for several
minutes (or hours if it’s a very dirty mirror). Wipe the mirror
under water with clean cotton balls, using extremely light
pressure and stroking in straight lines across the surface. Use
one ball for each wipe across the mirror. Then rinse the mir-
ror under a stream of lukewarm water. Any particles on the
surface can be swabbed gently with a series of clean cotton
balls, each used just one time. Dry the mirror in a stream of
air (a “blower bulb” works great), or remove any stray drops
of water with the corner of a paper towel. Water will run off a
clean surface. Cover the mirror surface with tissue, and leave
the entire assembly in a warm area until it is completely dry
before reassembling the telescope.
Figure 14. Remove the three
collimation screws indicated
to remove the mirror cell from
the tube.
