User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS 09020

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion Observer 60 AZ ® TM 60mm Altazimuth Refracting Telescope #9020 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 0799 Optical tube Dew cap Objective lens Finder scope Finder scope bracket Finder scope focuser Altitude lock knob Eyepiece Eyepiece lock thumbscrew Star diagonal Focuser draw tube Focusing knob Altitude micro-motion knob Altitude micro-motion rod Altitude micro-motion lock knob Yoke Azimuth lock knob Tripod leg bolt Tripod leg Accessory tray bracket Accessory tray Observer 60 Altazimuth Parts Diagram 2 Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope. Your new Observer 60 AZ Refractor is designed primarily for astronomical viewing, but can also be used for terrestrial observation (with the recommended addition of an image-erecting diagonal prism). If you have never used a telescope before, we would like to welcome you to amateur astronomy. Learn to recognize the patterns of stars in the major constellations; a star wheel, or planisphere, available from Orion or from your local telescope shop, can greatly help. [. . . ] It's best, although perhaps less convenient, to escape the light-polluted city sky in favor of darker country skies. You'll be amazed at how many more stars and deep-sky objects are visible in a dark sky!Cooling the Telescope All optical instruments need time to reach "thermal equilibrium. " The bigger the instrument and the larger the temperature change, the more time is needed. Allow at least a half-hour for your telescope to cool to the temperature outdoors. In very cold climates (below freezing), it is essential to store the telescope 5 Eyepiece Selection Always start viewing with your lowest-power, widest-field eyepiece. After you've located and looked at the object with a low-power eyepiece, switch to a higher-power eyepiece and see if the object looks better or worse. Keep in mind that at higher power, an image will always be fainter and less sharp (this is a fundamental law of optics). Naturally, higher magnifications are desirable for viewing some celestial objects, but stay with low powers when searching for an object and for extended viewing. To calculate the power, or magnification, of a telescope, divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece being used: "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. In conditions of poor seeing, atmospheric turbulence causes objects viewed through the telescope to "boil. " If, when you look up at the sky with just your eyes, the stars are twinkling noticeably, the seeing is bad and you will be limited to viewing with low powers (bad seeing affects images at high powers more severely). Make sure you are not looking over buildings or any other source of heat; that will also cause image degradation. In conditions of good seeing, star twinkling is minimal and images appear steady in the eyepiece. Also, seeing generally gets better after midnight, when much of the heat absorbed by the Earth during the day has radiated off into space. Especially important for observing faint objects is good "transparency"--air free of moisture, smoke, and dust. Transparency is judged by the magnitude of the faintest stars you can see with the unaided eye (6th magnitude or fainter is desirable). Tracking Celestial Objects Celestial objects appear to move slowly across the sky because of the rotation of the Earth on its polar axis. When you observe an object through the telescope, you'll see it drift gradually across the field of view. To keep the object centered in the field, give the tube a light tug or push in altitude and/or azimuth as needed. Objects will appear to move faster at higher magnifications, when the field of view is narrower. How to Find Interesting Celestial Objects To locate celestial objects with your telescope, you first need to become reasonably familiar with the night sky. Unless you know how to recognize the constellation Orion, for instance, you won't have much luck locating the Orion Nebula. [. . . ] Care and Maintenance If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a lifetime. Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place, safe from rapid changes in temperature and humidity. Do not store the telescope outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK. Small components like eyepieces and other accessories should be kept in a protective box or storage case. [. . . ]