User manual MEADE POLARIS 60EQ-D

[. . . ] Instruction Manual Polaris 60EQ-D: 2. 4" (60mm) Equatorial Refracting Telescope Meade Instruments Corporation 6001 OAK CANYON, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA 92618-5200 U. S. A. (949) 451-1450 s FAX: (949) 451-1460 s www. meade. com © 2000 Rev. A 6/02 P O L A R IS ­2­ WARNING: NEVER ATTEMPT TO OBSERVE THE SUN THROUGH YOUR TELESCOPE!OBSERVING THE SUN, EVEN FOR THE SHORTEST FRACTION OF A SECOND, WILL CAUSE INSTANT AND IRREVERSIBLE EYE DAMAGE, AS WELL AS PHYSICAL DAMAGE TO THE TELESCOPE ITSELF. WHEN OBSERVING DURING THE DAYTIME, DO NOT POINT THE TELESCOPE EVEN CLOSE TO THE SUN. Limited Warranty Every Meade telescope, spotting scope, and telescope accessory is warranted by Meade Instruments Corporation ("Meade") to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from the date of original purchase in the U. S. A. [. . . ] Thus there are 24 primary lines of R. A. , located at 15 degree intervals along the celestial equator. Objects located further and further east of the prime (0h0m0s) Right Ascension grid line carry increasing R. A. With all celestial objects therefore capable of being specified in position by their celestial coordinates of Right Ascension and Declination, the task of finding objects (in particular, faint objects) in the telescope can be simplified. (13) of the Polaris 60EQ-D telescope may be dialed, in effect, to read the object's coordinates, positioning the object in the vicinity of the telescope's telescopic field of view. However, these setting circles may be used to advantage only if the telescope is first properly aligned with the North Celestial Pole. ­8­ LINING UP WITH THE CELESTIAL POLE Objects in the sky appear to revolve around the celestial pole. (Actually, celestial objects are essentially "fixed, " and their apparent motion is caused by the Earth's axial rotation). During any 24 hour period, stars make one complete revolution about the pole, making concentric circles with the pole at the center. By lining up the telescope's polar axis with the North Celestial Pole (or for observers located in Earth's Southern Hemisphere with the South Celestial Pole), astronomical objects may be followed, or tracked, simply by moving the telescope about one axis, the polar axis. If the telescope is reasonably well aligned with the pole, therefore, very little use of the telescope's Declination flexible cable control is necessary -- virtually all of the required telescope tracking will be in Right Ascension. (If the telescope were perfectly aligned with the pole, no Declination tracking of stellar objects would be required). For the purposes of casual visual telescopic observations, lining up the telescope's polar axis to within a degree or two of the pole is more than sufficient: with this level of pointing accuracy, the telescope can track accurately by slowly turning the telescope's R. A. flexible cable control and keep objects in the telescopic field of view for perhaps 20 to 30 minutes. POLAR ALIGNMENT OF THE EQUATORIAL MOUNT To line up the Polaris 60EQ-D with the pole, follow this procedure: 1) Release the Azimuth lock (23) of the Azimuth base, so that the entire telescope-with-mounting may be rotated in a horizontal direction. 2) Level the mount, if necessary, by adjusting the heights of the three tripod legs. Little Dipper Polaris Big Dipper Cassiopeia 3) Determine the latitude of your observing location by Figure 3: Finding Polaris checking a road map or atlas. Release the latitude lock (24) and tilt the telescope mount so that the star "Polaris" is centered in the telescope's viewfinder eyepiece, then re-tighten the latitude lock (24). 4) If steps (1) - (3) above were performed with reasonable accuracy, your telescope is now sufficiently wellaligned to the North Celestial Pole for visual observations. Once the mount has been polar-aligned as described above, the latitude angle need not be adjusted again, unless you move to a different geographical location (i. e. The only polar alignment procedure that need be done each time you use the telescope is to point the polar axis due North, as described in step (1) above. USING THE TELESCOPE 1. With the telescope aligned to the Pole, you are now ready to begin observations. Land objects, during the daytime are a good way to become accustomed to the functions and operations of the telescope. lock (14) and Declination lock (12), located near the Declination setting circle (13). With a slight amount of hand-pressure the telescope should now be able to turn freely on its 2 axes. With the object centered on the viewfinder's cross hairs, re-tighten the R. A. [. . . ] Terrestrial observations should almost always be made using a low power eyepiece for bright, sharp images. Land objects will not normally accept higher powers because the telescope is being used through the thickest part of the Earth's atmosphere, unlike astronomical observations made by pointing the telescope up through the atmosphere. · · CALCULATING POWER The power, or magnification, at which a telescope is operating is determined by 2 factors: the optical, or focal, length of the telescope's objective lens and the focal length of the eyepiece. To compute power, divide the focal length of the eyepiece into the focal length of the objective lens. The resulting quotient is the magnifying power of the telescope when used with the eyepiece in question. [. . . ]