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HELPFUL HINTS
1. Your telescope is a very sensitive instrument. For best results and fewer vibrations set your
telescope up on a level location on the ground rather than your concrete driveway or your
wooden deck. This will provide a more stable foundation for viewing, especially if you’ve
drawn a crowd with your new telescope.
2. If possible, view from a location that has relatively few lights. This will allow you to see
much fainter objects. You’d be surprised how much more you’ll see from your local lake
or park when compared to a backyard in the city.
3. Using your telescope out a window is NEVER recommended.
4. View objects that are high in the sky if possible. Waiting until the object rises well above
the horizon will provide a brighter and crisper image. Objects on the horizon are viewed
through several layers of earth’s atmosphere. Ever wonder why the moon appears orange
as it sets on the horizon? It’s because you are looking through a considerable more
amount of atmosphere than you would directly overhead. (Note: If objects high in the sky
are distorted or wavy, you are probably viewing on a very humid night.) During nights of
unstable atmosphere, viewing through a telescope can be frustrating if not impossible.
Astronomers refer to crisp, clear nights as nights of “good seeing.”
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ENJOYING YOUR NEW TELESCOPE
You may already be trying to decide what you plan to look at first, once your telescope is setup and aligned. Any bright object in 1.
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.
The low power eyepiece 2. (the one with the largest number printed on it) is perfect for viewing the full moon, planets, star clusters,
nebulae, and even constellations. These should build your foundation. Avoid the temptation to move directly to the highest
power. The low power eyepiece will give you a wider field of view, and brighter image—thus making it very easy to find your
target object. However, for more detail, try bumping up in magnification to a higher power eyepiece 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 individual stars are best viewed through the low power no matter what.
The recurring astronomical theater we call the night sky is an ever-changing billboard. In other words, the same movie does not play 3.
all the time. Rather, the positions of the stars change not only hourly as they seem to rise and set, but also throughout the year. As
the earth orbits the sun our perspective on the stars changes on a yearly cycle about that orbit. The reason the sky seems to move
daily just as the sun and the moon “move” across our sky is that the earth is rotating about its axis. As a result you may notice that
after a few minutes or a few seconds depending on what power you are viewing at, the objects in your telescope will move. At higher
magnifications especially, you will notice that the moon or Jupiter will “race” right out of the field of view. To compensate, just move
your telescope to “track” it in the necessary path.
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