User manual SKYWATCHER EQ2

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Telescopes with EQ1 & EQ2 Mount 060103V1 REFRACTOR B EQ1 D E F H I J K L M G 12 11 C A 10 9 8 7 6 5 1 2 3 4 EQ2 C D E F 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 1 2 3 a b B A G H a b EQ1 A. Tripod Leg c REFLECTOR/MAKSUTOV E F D C B G H I J K A 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 3 4 2 1 EQ1 C B E D F G EQ2 H I A J K 12 11 10 9 8 1 7 6 5 2 3 4 a b EQ1 A. Flexible Control Cable Altitude Adjustment T-bolt Azimuth Lock Knob R. A. Flexible Control Cable Counterweight Counterweight Locking Thumb Screw 8. [. . . ] At the top of the main shaft is a white line with "R" "A" on either side of it. Loosen the azimuth lock knob and rotate the mount until the white line points roughly at Polaris. Look through the finderscope and centre Polaris on the crosshairs by adjusting the azimuth and latitude settings if a more accurate polar alignment is desired. Fig. h 30 0 90 60 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 2010 0 unlock unlock EQ1 EQ2 Big Dipper Fig. i Polaris + NCP Little Dipper Cassiopeia After a while you will notice your target drifting slowly North or South depending on the direction of the pole relative to Polaris. After your telescope is polar aligned, no further adjustments in the azimuth and latitude of the mount should be made in the observing session, nor should you move the tripod. and DEC axis should be made in order to keep an object in the field. 14 Southern Hemisphere In the Southern Hemisphere you must align the mount to the SCP by locating it's position with star patterns, without the convenience of a nearby bright star. Two sets of pointers which help to locate the SCP are alpha and beta Crucis (in the Southern Cross) and a pointer running at a right angle to a line connecting alpha and beta Centauri (Fig. j). Fig. j alpha Centauri beta Centauri beta Crucis a eg is om tan Oc alpha Crucis Tracking Celestial Objects SCP + When observing through a telescope, astronomical objects appear to move slowly through the telescope's field of view. When the mount is correctly polar aligned, you only need to turn the R. A. slow-motion to follow or track objects as they move through the field. motor drive can be added to automatically track celestial objects by counteracting the rotation of the Earth. drive matches the Earth's rotation rate for stars to appear stationary in the telescope eyepiece. A second drive can be added to give DEC control which is very useful for doing astrophotography. Using the setting circles The quickest way to find objects is to learn the Constellations and use the Red Dot Finder, but if the object is too faint you may want to use setting circles on your mount. Setting circles enable you to locate celestial objects whose celestial co-ordinates have been determined from star charts. setting circle was set at the factory, and does not require calibrating the same manner as the R. A. setting circle is scaled in hours, from 1 through 24, with small lines in between representing 10 minute increments. The upper set of numbers apply to viewing in the Northern Hemisphere, while the numbers below them apply to viewing in the Southern Hemisphere (Fig. k). setting circle In order to set your Right Ascension circle you must first find a star in your field of view with known coordinates. A good one would be the 0. 0 magnitude star Vega in the Constellation Lyra. lock knobs on the mount and adjust the telescope so that Vega is centred in the field of view of the eyepiece. You are now ready to use the setting circles to find objects in the sky. Fig. k EQ1 R. A. lock knob 14 0 1 15 9 19 5 18 6 17 7 16 8 1 23 0 23 1 EQ2 R. A. Setting Circle 2 22 3 21 20 4 Pointer 1 23 2 22 4 20 3 21 8 16 11 13 10 14 9 15 15 17 7 18 6 5 19 0 Pointer Finding objects using the setting circles Example: Finding the faint planetary nebula M57; "The Ring" From a star chart, we know the coordinates of the Rings are Dec. Unlock the DEC lock knob and rotate your telescope in DEC until the pointer on the DEC setting circle reads 33º. [. . . ] The primary mirror is adjusted by the three adjusting screws at the back of your scope. The Fig. u three locking screws beside them serve to hold the mirror in place after collimation. (Fig. t) Primary mirror clip Aligning the secondary mirror Point the telescope at a lit wall and insert the collimating cap into the focuser in place of a regular eyepiece. You may have to twist the focus knob a few turns until the reflected image of the focuser is out of your view. [. . . ]