User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS STARMAX 102 EQ

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion StarMax 102mm EQTM ® #9824 Equatorial Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope. com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 P. O. A 0501 Finder scope Finder scope bracket Meniscus lens 1/4"-20 adapter Eyepiece Dec. setting circle Star diagonal Eyepiece adapter Focus knob Latitude lock t-bolt Latitude adjustment t-bolt Dec. setting circle Counterweight Counterweight lock knob Accessory tray Accessory tray bracket Accessory tray bracket attachment point Leg lock knob Figure 1. [. . . ] Remember, once the mount is polar aligned, the telescope should be moved only on the R. A. axis until the counterweight shaft is horizontal (parallel to the ground). lock knob and rotate the telescope until it is pointing straight overhead. Similarly, to point the telescope directly south, the counterweight shaft should again be horizontal. What if you need to aim the telescope directly north, but at an object that is nearer to the horizon than Polaris?You can't do it with the counterweight down as pictured in Figure 1. To point the telescope to the east or west, or in other directions, rotate the telescope on its R. A. Depending on the altitude of the object you want to observe, the counterweight shaft will be oriented somewhere between vertical and horizontal. Figure 8 illustrates how the telescope will look pointed at the four cardinal directions--north, south, east, and west The key things to remember when pointing the telescope is that a) you only move it in R. A. and Dec. , not in azimuth or latitude (altitude), and b) in actual use the counterweight and shaft will rarely appear as it does in Figure 1. Use these numbers on the R. A. For Northern Hemisphere observers, use the lower set of numbers on the R. A. coordinate indicator arrow is between the "R" and the "A" on the plastic gear cover. The telescope (not shown) is pointing north of the celestial equator, so the approximate coordinates of the mount in the image are R. A. Finding Objects With the Setting Circles Now that both setting circles are calibrated, look up in a star atlas the coordinates of an object you wish to view. setting circle are positive when the telescope is pointing north of the celestial equator (Dec. = 0°), and negative when the telescope is pointing south of the celestial equator. Most setting circles are not accurate enough to put an object dead-center in the telescope's eyepiece, but they should place the object somewhere within the field of view of the finder scope, assuming the equatorial mount is accurately polar aligned. Use the slow-motion controls to center the 9 ture difference between the indoor and outdoor air will cause image blurring and distortion. If at all possible, escape the light-polluted city sky and head for darker country skies. You'll be amazed at how many more stars and deep-sky objects are visible in a dark sky!"Seeing" and Transparency Atmospheric conditions vary significantly from night to night. "Seeing" refers to the steadiness of the Earth's atmosphere at a given time. [. . . ] Make sure to have a firm grip on the tube as it releases from the mount. Now, connect the optical tube to a photo tripod by threading the tripod's 1/4"-20 shaft into the hole in the tube's mounting block. The included mirror star diagonal, while preferred for astronomical observing because of its viewing angle and better resolution, is not optimal for land viewing because it inverts images from left-to-right. We recommend purchasing an optional 45° correct-image diagonal for terrestrial observing; it provides a more comfortable viewing angle for land viewing and an image that is oriented the same as the naked eye. [. . . ]