TO MOVE THE TELESCOPE
Your telescope is altazimuth mounted.
Altazimuth is just a complicated way of
saying that your telescope moves up and
down and from side to side. Other
telescopes may be mounted in different
ways.
1. Slightly loosen one of the star-shaped
altitude control knobs (5). Loosening
this knob allows you to move the
telescope up and down.
2. Slightly loosen the horizontal lock knob
(6). Loosening this lock allows the
telescope to be moved from side to side.
3. Once an object is found, re-tighten the
control knobs. You can then use the
slow motion control (16) to make
smooth and precise movements as you
can follow (or “track”) an object as it
moves in the eyepiece.
SUN WARNING
NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO LOOK AT
THE SUN!
LOOKING AT OR NEAR THE SUN WILL
CAUSE INSTANT AND IRREVERSIBLE
DAMAGE TO YOUR EYE. EYE DAMAGE IS
OFTEN PAINLESS, SO THERE IS NO
WARNING TO THE OBSERVER THAT
DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED UNTIL IT IS TOO
LATE. DO NOT POINT THE TELESCOPE OR
ITS VIEWFINDER AT OR NEAR THE SUN. DO
NOT LOOK THROUGH THE TELESCOPE OR
ITS VIEWFINDER AS IT IS MOVING.
CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE ADULT
SUPERVISION WHILE OBSERVING.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
We have one very important rule that you
should always follow when using your
telescope:
Have Fun!
Have a good time when you’re observing. You
may not know everything that there is to
know about a telescope or what all the
sights in the universe are, but that’s OK. Just
point and observe at first.
You will enjoy your telescope even
more as you learn more about it. But
don’t be scared off by difficult terms
or complicated procedures. Don’t
panic! Just relax and enjoy your
scope.
You will begin to grow and learn more about
astronomy the more you observe. Go to the
library and read some books about the stars
and planets. Read about astronomers of old.
Many of them had telescope no bigger than
the one you are using right now. Galileo, who
is one of the first astronomers to use a
telescope, discovered four of the moons of
Jupiter with a telescope about the same size
as yours (and his didn’t even focus very
well!).
THE MEADE 4M COMMUNITY
You haven’t just bought a telescope, you have embarked
on an astronomy adventure that never ends. Share the
journey with others by accepting your free membership
in the 4M community of astronomers.
Go to www.Meade4M.org to activate your membership
today.
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