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28 • Telescope Basic
Accurate alignment of the finder makes it easy to find objects with the telescope,
especially celestial objects. To make aligning the finder as easy as possible, this
procedure should be done in the daytime when it is easy to find and identify objects.
The finderscope has a spring-loaded adjustment screw that puts pressure on the
finderscope while the remaining screws are used to adjust the finder horizontally
and vertically. To align the finder:
1 Choose a target that is in excess of one mile away. This eliminates any
possible parallax effect between the telescope and finder.
2 Release the R.A. and DEC clamps and point the telescope at your target.
3 Center your target in the main optics of the telescope. You may have to
move the telescope slightly to center it.
4 Adjust the screw on the finder bracket that is on the right (when looking
through the finder) until the cross hairs are centered horizontally on the
target seen through the telescope.
5 Adjust the screw on the top of the finder bracket until the cross hairs are
centered vertically on the target seen through the telescope.
Image orientation through the finder is inverted (i.e., upside down and back-
wards left-to-right). This is normal for any finder that is used straight-through.
Because of this, it may take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the
directional change each screw makes on the finder.
Aligning the Finder