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• The Moon: Our Moon offers craters, mountain ranges and fault
lines. The Moon is best observed during its crescent or half phase
when sunlight strikes the Moon’s surface at an angle—resulting
shadows add a sense of depth to the view. No shadows are visible
during a full Moon, causing the Moon’s surface to appear flat and
uninteresting.
•
Deep-Space: Deep Space objects are best viewed at a dark site,
away from city and other lights. Such objects include nebulae,
galaxies, multiple star systems, and star clusters.
•
Terrestrial objects: Your telescope may also be used for high
resolution land viewing. Terrestrial observations should almost
always be made using a low power eyepiece (such as the 17.5mm)
for bright, sharp images. Land objects offer limited applications at
higher powers because the telescope is being pointed through the
thickest part of the Earth’s atmosphere, which typically distorts
images in the eyepiece.
The general rule regarding power: Only use as much magnification as
supports a steady, well-defined image. The stability of the air varies
and is one reason why having various eyepieces is highly desirable.
Higher powers are no guaranty of better images; in fact, the opposite is
often true. Keep in mind, that land viewing and wide-field, deep-space
observation generally operate best with low-powered eyepieces.
POWER
The power, or magnification, of a telescope when used with a particular
eyepiece is determined by two factors: the focal length of the
telescope’s main (objective) lens and the focal length of the eyepiece
being used. The Barlow lens doubles the power of an eyepiece. To use
the 2X Barlow lens, place the Barlow into the roof prism
(3), followed
by the eyepiece. Use the thumbscrew to tighten in place.
The magnification values available with your eyepieces are as follows:
Eyepiece Power With 2X Barlow Lens
MA17.5mm 20X 40X
MA9mm 39X 78X
MAINTENANCE
The Meade 70mm Compact Refractor telescope should be stored in a
dry and dust-free location. It should not be stored in direct sunlight.
Avoid overcleaning the lens. A little dust on the the lens hardly affects
image quality.
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