User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS INTELLISCOPE DOBSONIAN XT8

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion SkyQuest IntelliScope XT6, XT8, XT10 ® TM TM #9816, #9918, #9950 Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope. com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 P. O. C 11/10 Secondary mirror holder with 4-vane spider (not visible) Finder scope Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Focuser Navigation knob Optical tube Tensioning knob IntelliScope Controller Port modular jack Retaining knob (opposite side) Computerized Object Locator (optional) Right side panel Eyepiece rack Primary mirror cell Front brace Handle Top baseplate Ground baseplate Figure 1. The SkyQuest XT8 IntelliScope Left side panel Foot (3) 2 Congratulations on your purchase of an Orion SkyQuest XT IntelliScope Dobsonian. It is a high-performance astronomical instrument designed to provide dazzling views of celestial objects and unprecedented ease of use. [. . . ] Make sure you are comfortable with the weight of the whole assembly before attempting the carry it! a. b. c. 11 rethread the knobs back into the bearings so that you do not lose them. It is not designed to support the weight of the telescope tube and could break off or damage the tube. Note: The SkyQuest may be too heavy for some users to lift and carry as one unit. It is especially important that the optical tube does not get knocked around; this can cause the optics to become misaligned, and could dent the tube. We recommend transporting and storing the tube assembly in an optional padded case for proper protection. light. It is a good idea to check the collimation of your telescope before each observing session and make any necessary adjustments. To check collimation, remove the eyepiece and look down the focuser drawtube. You should see the secondary mirror centered in the drawtube, as well as the reflection of the primary mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflection of the secondary mirror (and your eye) centered in the reflection of the primary mirror, as depicted in Figure 18a. If anything is off-center, as in Figure 18b, proceed with the following collimation procedure. The Collimation Cap and Mirror Center Mark Your SkyQuest telescope comes with a quick collimation cap. This is a simple cap that fits on the focuser drawtube like a dust cap, but has a hole in the center and a reflective inner surface. The cap helps center your eye so that collimation is easier to perform. As an additional aid in collimation, the primary mirror of every SkyQuest telescope has a tiny adhesive ring marking its exact center. This center ring will not affect the images you see when observing with the telescope in any way (since it lies directly in the shadow of the secondary mirror), but will greatly facilitate collimation when using the supplied collimation cap or other, more sophisticated collimation devices such as the Orion LaserMate Laser Collimator. Alignment (Collimation) of the Optical System To get the sharpest images, your telescope's optical system must be in precise alignment. The process of aligning the primary and secondary mirrors with each other and with the mechanical axis of the telescope is called collimation. Your telescope's optical system was collimated at the factory and will probably not need any further adjustment. But rough handling during shipment can knock the optics out of alignment, in which case you will need to recollimate the system. Collimation is relatively easy to do and can be done in day- b. c. a. Note: 10" model has 4 mirror clips d. e. Figure 18. (a) When the mirrors are properly aligned, the view down the focuser drawtube should look like this. (b) With the collimation cap in place, if the optics are out of alignment, the view might look something like this. (c) Here, the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser, but it needs to be adjusted (tilted) so that the entire primary mirror is visible. [. . . ] Then apply some cleaning fluid to a tissue, never directly on the optics. Wipe the lens gently in a circular motion, then remove any excess fluid with a fresh lens tissue. On larger lenses, clean only a small area at a time, using a fresh lens tissue on each area. Cleaning Mirrors You should not have to clean the telescope's mirrors very often; normally once every few years or so. [. . . ]