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can see the object. It will be easier to locate
an object using the red dot viewfinder rather
than locating with the eyepiece. Line up the
object using the viewfinders red dot.
Look through the eyepiece: Once you have
the object lined up in the viewfinder, look
through the optical tube’s eyepiece. If you
have aligned your viewfinder, you will you see
the object in your eyepiece.
Focus: Look through the eyepiece
and practice focusing on the object you
have chosen.
Try out the slow-motion flexible cable
control: Practice using the right ascension
control cable (3) and declination control
cable (4) to move the telescope. These can
come in very handy, especially when you wish
to move the telescope in very small (fine
control) steps.
Observe the Moon: When you feel
comfortable with the viewfinder, the
eyepieces, the locks and the adjustment
controls, you will be ready to try out the
telescope at night. The Moon is the best
object to observe the first time you
go out at night. Pick a night when the
SURF THE WEB
• The Meade 4M Community:
http://www.meade4m.org
•
Sky & Telescope
:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com
•
Astronomy
:
http://www.astronomy.com
• Astronomy Picture of the Day:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.goc/apod
• Photographic Atlas of the Moon:
http://www.lpi.ursa.edu/research/lunar_orbiter
• Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures:
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pictures.html
Moon is a crescent. No shadows are
seen during a full Moon, making it
appear flat and uninteresting.
Look for different features on the
Moon. The most obvious features are
craters. In fact you can see craters within
craters. Some craters have bright lines
about them. These are called rays and are
the result of material thrown out of the
crater when it was struck by a colliding
object. The dark areas on the Moon are
called maria and are composed of lava from
the period when the Moon still had volcanic
activity. You can also see mountain ranges
and fault lines on the Moon.
9
Just below the constellation Orion’s
famous belt of three stars (in the
middle of his sword), is The Great
Orion Nebula. This wonderful
telescope target is really a cosmic
star factory where a glowing
gas cloud surrounds hot
young stars.
or skyscraper make excellent targets. Point
the optical tube so it lines up with your
object. Objects will appear upside down and
backwards in this model telescope.
Unlock the lock knobs: To move the
telescope, you will need to unlock the Right
Ascension (3, Fig. 5) and Declination (4, Fig.
5) lock knobs (just rotate to unlock or lock;
when locking, only tighten to a “firm feel,” do
not overtighten).
Use the red dot viewfinder: If you have not
done so, align the viewfinder (22) with the
telescope’s eyepiece (17) as described earlier.
Look through the red dot viewfinder until you
Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible 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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