Meade Instruments Polaris 130mm
Contents
1. Large German Equatorial POLARIS 130 Optical tube Reflector Optical tube focal 650mm Primary mirror diameter 130mm 5 1 Focal Large German Equatorial What do the specifications mean Optical tube focal length is simply a measurement of the length of the optical tube In other words this is the distance light travels in the telescope before being brought to focus in you eyepiece For example the Polaris 90 Refractor tube is 900mm long Monture s Miroir Diagonal Miroir pe Image Focalis e The Newtonian Reflecting Telescope Primary mirror diameter reflectors Vis D inclihaisc du Miroir Primi or Objective lens diameter refractors is how big the mirror or lens is on your scope USE Telescopes are always described by how large their primary mirror lens is For example the objective lens on the Polaris 90 is 90mm or 3 5 inches Telescopes come in many different sizes They can be 70mm 8 inches 16 inches or even 3 feet in diameter The Hubble Space Telescope s primary mirror has a diameter of 2 4 meters thats 7 8 feet across The focal ratio helps determine Secondary Mirror Assembl Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable dam2. a us E 89 MEADE INSTRUCTION MANUAL Polaris Series German Equatorial Telescopes POLARIS SERIES WARNING Never use a Meade Telescope to look at the Sun Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye Eye damage is offen painless so there is no warning to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too late Do not point the telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope or viewfinder as it is moving Children should always have adult supervision while observing INTRODUCTION Your telescope is an excellent beginner s instrument and is designed to observe objects in the sky It can be your personal window to the universe allowing you to see bright galaxies planets stars and more The telescope is shipped with the following parts Optical tube German equatorial mount Stainless steel tripod with accessory tray Three 1 25 eyepieces MA25mm MA9mm MA6 3mm Red dot viewfinder with bracket Slow motion control cables 90 degree erect image diagonal prism Refractors only The Polaris Series of telescope includes optical tubes of different sizes and design Some optical tubes use lenses to focus the incoming light and are called refractors Other optical tubes use mirrors to bring the incoming light to focus and are called reflectors The lens or mirror diameter of the telescope is one of the m
3. 14 90 Degree Erect Image Prism 15 90 Degree Prism Thumb screws 16 Red dot viewfinder bracket mounting thumbscrews see Fig 4 5 17 Focuser 18 Focuser thumbscrew 19 Eyepiece 20 Red dot viewfinder On Off switch see Inset B 21 Declination axis see Fig 3 22 Right Ascension lock see Fig 3 23 Declination lock see Fig 3 24 Red dot viewfinder 25 Front dust cover not shown 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Leg brace support see Inset A Tripod leg lock knob see Inset Sliding leg extension OTA saddle plate lock knob s not Dew Shield Figure 1B Meade Polaris Refracting Telescope Inset A Accessory Tray Inset B Red Dot Viewfinder Assembly Inset C Tripod Leg Eyepiece holder slots see Inset A 25 Right Ascension setting circle Declination setting circle Latitude dial see Fig 3 Azimuth lock Focus knobs Azimuth base see Fig 3 Accessory tray Red dot viewfinder alignment screws see Inset B see Inset C visible SETUP YOUR TRIPOD The tripod is the basic support for your telescope Its height may be adjusted so that you can view comfortably Note Number in brackets e g 3 refer to Fig 1A and 1B unless noted otherwise The tripod is shipped from the factory pre assembled and needs only the mount and accessory tray attached 1 Spread the tripod legs out evenly apart 2 Set the height of your tripod a Rotate and loosen the
4. primary mirror tilt screws 3 Fig 13 you will notice that the out of focus star disk image will move across the eyepiece field Choose one of the 3 primary mirror tilt screws and slightly move the shadow to the center of the disk Then slightly move the telescope using the flexible cable controls to center the star disk image in the center of the eyepiece If any further adjustments are necessary repeat this process as many times as needed until the out of focus star disk appears as in Fig 18C when the star disk image is in the center of the eyepiece field With the star testing of the collimation complete tighten the 3 hex head primary mirror locking screws 2 Fig 13 CHANGING THE VIEWFINDER BATTERY If the viewfinder red dot does not illumi nate verify the viewfinder is on by rotating the knob below the viewfinder lens clock wise If the red dot does not illuminate the battery may need replacing push here to open battery compartment compartment To replace the battery press the left side of the viewfinder housing labeled push The battery compartment will slide out on the right side of the viewfinder see Fig 18 Replace the battery with a Lithium CR2032 battery with the positive side up Then push the battery compartment back into the viewfinder and power on Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look t
5. 16 Note The primary mirror is shown out of alignment C PRIMARY MIRROR ADJUSTMENTS If the secondary mirror 1 Fig 16 and the reflection of the primary mirror 2 Fig 16 appear centered within the draw tube 3 Fig 16 but the reflection of your eye and the reflection of the secondary mirror 4 Fig 16 appear off center you will need to adjust the primary mirror tilt screws of the primary mirror cell 2 Fig 13 These primary tilt screws are located behind the primary mirror at the lower end of the main tube To adjust the primary mirror tilt screws 2 Fig 13 first turn by several turns the primary mirror cell lock knobs 3 Fig 13 that are next to each primary mirror tilt screw The three primary mirror cell locking screws are Phillips head screws on all Polaris models Then by trial and error turn the primary mirror tilt Knobs 2 Fig 13 until you develop a feel for which way to turn each knob to center the reflection of your eye Once centered as in Fig 14 turn the 3 primary mirror cell locking screws 3 Fig 13 to re lock the tilt angle adjustment NOTE Some models have large thumb knobs for the primary mirror cell tilt knobs 2 Fig 13 Other models have Phillips head screws as the primary mirror cell tilt screws On these models the primary mirror cell tilt screws 2 Fig 13 are the screws that have the screw heads touching the rear cell D STAR TESTING THE COLLIMATION With the collimatio
6. When the telescope 15 balanced proceed to aligning the red dot viewfinder ALIGN THE RED DOT VIEWFINDER Perform the first part of this procedure during the daytime and the last step at night 1 Point the telescope at an easy to find land object such as the top of a telephone pole or a distant mountain or tower Look through the eyepiece and turn the focuser knob 31 until the image is sharply focused Center the object precisely in the eyepiece s field of view 2 Turn on the red dot viewfinder by turning the on off switch 20 clockwise 3 Look through the red dot viewfinder 24 Turn one or more of the viewfinder s alignment screws 34 until the red dot is precisely over the same object as you centered in the eyepiece 4 Check this alignment at night on a celestial object such as the Moon or a bright star and use the viewfinders alignment screws to make any necessary refinements 5 When finished turn off the red dot viewfinder by rotating the on off switch 20 counter clockwise UNDERSTANDING CELESTIAL MOVEMENTS AND COORDINATES Understanding where to locate celestial objects and how those objects move across the sky is the key to enjoying the hobby of astronomy Most amateur astronomers practice star hopping to locate celestial objects They use star charts or astronomical software to identify bright stars and star patterns as landmarks in their search for Looking at or near the Sun will cause ir
7. for many popular Star Parties around the United States and Canada high a power eyepiece is one of the most common mistakes made by new astronomers Dress Warm Even on summer nights the air can feel cool or cold as the night wears on It is important to dress warm or to have a sweater jacket gloves etc nearby Know your observing site If possible know the location where you will be observing Pay attention to holes in the ground and other obstacles Is it a location where wild animals such as skunks snakes etc may appear Are there viewing obstructions such as tall trees street lights headlights and so forth ASTRONOMY RESOURCES The Meade 4M Community 27 Hubble Irvine CA 92618 Astronomical League Executive Secretary 5675 Real del Norte Las Cruces NM 88012 The Astronomical Society of the Pacific 390 Ashton Ave San Francisco CA 94112 The Planetary Society 65 North Catalina Ave Pasadena CA 91106 International Dark Sky Association Inc 3225 N First Avenue Tucson AZ 85719 2103 The best locations are dark locations the darker the better Deep space objects are easiest to see under dark skies But it is still possible to observe even in a city Surf the Web and visit your local library The internet contains a huge amount of astronomical information both for children and adults Check out astronomy books from your library Look for star charts these are available on a monthly basis in As
8. one hand and slide the counterweight onto the counterweight shaft 6 so it is about 2 from the bottom of the shaft 4 Secure in place by tightening the counterweight lock knob 7 5 Thread the safety nut 8 into the counterweight shaft until tight Note Make sure the safety knob 8 always remains in place on the shaft This safety feature prevents the counterweight from accidentally falling off the shaft PREPARE THE MOUNT 1 Attach the flexible cables 3 and 4 These cables are secured in place with a firm tightening of the thumbscrews located at the attachment ends of each cable 2 Tilt the polar axis of the telescope to roughly a 45 angle with the horizon Loosen the latitude adjustment lock 9 so you can move the mount to the desired position 3 Turn the latitude adjusting screw 11 clockwise until the latitude scale 29 on the side of the mount reads approximately 45 4 Re tighten the latitude adjustment lock 9 to secure the mount in place ATTACH THE OPTICAL TUBE TO THE MOUNT 1 Lay the optical tube saddle plate 13 onto the top of the mount as shown in Fig 1 2 Tighten the ota saddle plate lock knob s 38 to a firm feel ATTACH THE RED DOT VIEWFINDER An eyepiece 19 has a narrow field of view The red dot viewfinder 24 has a wider field of view which makes it easier to locate objects Once the red dot viewfinder is aligned to the optical tube the red dot can be used to l
9. telescope as it is moving Little Dipper 22 Polaris Big Dipper Cassiopeia Equatorial mount with the celestial pole follow this procedure 1 Slightly loosen the Azimuth lock 30 of the Azimuth base so that the entire telescope with mounting may be rotated in a horizontal direction Rotate the telescope until it points due North Use a compass or locate Polaris the North Star as an accurate reference to North See Fig 8 2 Level the mount with the horizon if necessary by adjusting the heights of the three tripod legs 3 Determine the latitude of your observing location by checking a road map or atlas Release the latitude lock 9 and tilt the telescope mount so that the star Polaris is centered in the telescope s red dot viewfinder Then center it in the MA25mm eyepiece Next re tighten the latitude lock 4 If the above steps 1 3 were performed with reasonable accuracy your telescope is now sufficiently well aligned 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 a different latitude The only polar alignment procedure that you need to perform each time you use the telescope is to point the polar axis due North as described in step 1 above THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE We have one very important rule that you should always follo
10. using the telescopes coarse and fine adjustment controls At higher powers astronomical objects will seem to move through the field of view of the eyepiece more rapidly Place the object to be viewed at the edge of the field and without touching the telescope watch it drift through the field to the other side before repositioning the telescope so Meade Factoid The Sun is gigantic It would take 109 earths side by side to make up the diameter of the sun and 1 3 million Earth s to fill its volume Yet due to distance the Sun looks exactly the same size as the moon in our sky that the object to be viewed is again placed at the edge of the field ready to be further observed Vibrations Avoid touching the eyepiece while observing through the telescope Vibrations resulting from such contact will cause the image to move Avoid observing sites where vibrations cause image movement for example near railroad tracks Viewing from the upper floors of a building may also cause image movement Let your eyes dark adapt Allow five or ten minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted before observing Use filtered flashlight to protect your night vision when reading star maps or inspecting the telescope Stay away from bright lights too Do not use a regular flash light or turn on other lights when observing with a group of other astronomers You can make your own red filtered flashlight by tap
11. A Meade Polaris Reflecting Telescope Inset A Accessory Tray Inset B Red Dot Viewfinder Assembly Inset C Tripod Leg 17 Tripod legs 26 Eyepiece holder slots see Inset A e Large Equatorial Mount 27 Right Ascension setting circle 31 K 40 Right Ascension control cable 28 Declination setting circle Qe Declination control cable 29 Latitude dial see Fig 3 8 e Counterweight s 30 Azimuth lock 41 D D Counterweight shaft 31 Focus knobs Counterweight lock knobs 32 Azimuth base see Fig 3 1 5 Counterweight safety knob 33 Accessory tray see Inset A D 1 y Latitude adjustment lock see Fig 3 34 Red dot viewfinder alignment D thumbscrews see Fig 4 5 39 Primary Mirror collimation adjust 4 Focuser ments not visible 1 4 e Focuser thumbscrew 40 Camera adapter mounting screw Eyepiece 41 Secondary Mirror collimation adjust Red dot viewfinder On Off switch ments Right Ascension lock see Fig 3 Declination lock see Fig 3 Q Red dot viewfinder Front dust cover not shown FIGURE 1B Tripod legs Small Equatorial Mount Right Ascension control cable Declination control cable Counterweight s Counterweight shaft Counterweight lock knobs Counterweight safety knob ONOARWNH gt 9 Latitude adjustment lock not visible 10 Polar axis see Fig 3 11 Latitude adjustment knob 12 Main optical tube OTA 13 Optical tube saddle plate see Fig 3
12. OB SERVING to hold the eyepiece securely REFRACTOR MODELS ONLY 1 First slide the 90 degree erect image prism 14 Fig 1B directly into the focuser draw tube 17 2 Tighten the focuser thumbscrew s 18 to hold the 90 degree prism securely Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving 3 Then slide the MA25mm eyepiece 19 directly into 90 degree erect image prism 14 Fig 1B 4 Tighten the 90 degree erect image prism thumbscrew 15 Fig 1B to hold the eyepiece securely BALANCING THE TELESCOPE In order for the telescope to move smoothly on its mechanical axes it must first be balanced as follows Note If the counterweight is positioned as recommended previously then the telescope is already approximately balanced 1 Loosen the right ascension lock 22 The telescope mount will turn freely about the polar axis Rotate the telescope about the polar axis so that the counterweight shaft 6 is parallel to the ground horizontal 2 Loosen the counterweight locking knob 7 and slide the counterweight 5 along the shaft 6 until the telescope remains in any given position without tending to drift up or down around the polar axis 10 NOTE Always re tighten the counterweight lock knob 7 before rotating the RA axis to prevent the counterweight from sliding unexpectedly
13. age to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving how fast the photographic speed of a telescope is The lower the focal ratio number the faster the exposure F 5 is faster than f 10 The slower the focal ratio the longer the exposure time is needed when a camera is hooked up to the telescope For example the Polaris 90 Refractor has slow focal ratio at f 10 Sometimes astronomers use focal reducers to make slow exposure telescopes have faster focal ratios THE SPECIFICATIONS TO CALCULATE THE MAGNIFICATION OF YOUR EYEPIECE The power of a telescope is how much it magnifies objects Each telescope has its own set of focal lengths and therefore different magnifications when used with various eyepieces For example the Polaris 90 used with the 25mm eyepiece magnifies an object 36 times The 9mm eyepiece used with the Polaris 90 will magnify objects 100 times You calculate how much magnification an eyepiece will have with your specific telescope Just divide the telescope focal length by the focal length of the eyepiece Focal Length of the Telescope Focal Length of the Eyepiece Magnification Look at the specifications For example you will see that the focal length of the Polaris 90 is 900mm Let s say that you have obtained 6 3mm eyepiece You can tell what the focal length of your eyepiece is as it is always printed on the side of
14. close to or even through a larger galaxy You may be able to see the Andromeda Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving galaxy and several others in your telescope They will appear as small fuzzy clouds Only very large telescope will reveal spiral or elliptical details You will also be able to see some nebulas with your scope Nebula means cloud Most nebulas are clouds of gas The two easiest to see in the Northern Hemisphere are the Orion nebula during the winter and the Triffid nebula during the summer These are large clouds of gas in which new stars are being born Some nebulas are the remains of stars exploding These explosions are called supernovas eyepiece barlow When you become an advanced observer you can look for other types of objects such as asteroids planetary nebula and globular clusters And if you re lucky every so often a bright comet appears in the sky presenting an unforgettable sight The more you learn about objects in the sky the more you will learn to appreciate the sights you see in your telescope Start a notebook and write down the observations you make each night Note the time and the date Use a compass to make a circle or trace around the lid of a jar Draw what you see in your eyepiece inside the circle The best exercise for drawing is to observe t
15. e followed or tracked by moving the telescope about one axis the polar axis If the telescope is reasonably well aligned with the pole 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 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 Meade Polaris German TOO MUCH POWER Can you ever have too much power If the type of power you re referring to is eyepiece magnification yes you can The most common mistake of the beginning observer is to overpower a telescope by using high magnifications which the telescope s aperture and atmospheric conditions cannot reasonably support Keep in mind that a smaller but bright and well resolved image is far superior to one that is larger but dim and poorly resolved Powers above 400x should be employed only under the steadiest atmospheric conditions Looking at or near the Sun vill cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the
16. eep your telescope in the best condition As with any quality instrument lens or mirror surfaces should be cleaned as infrequently as possible Front surface aluminized mirrors reflecting models in particular should be cleaned only when absolutely necessary In all cases avoid touching any mirror surface A little dust on the surface of a mirror or lens causes negligible loss of performance and should not be considered reason to clean the surface When lens or mirror cleaning does become necessary use a camel s hair brush or compressed air gently to remove dust If the telescope s dust cover is replaced after each observing session cleaning of the optics will rarely be required Fingerprints and organic materials the lens or mirror may be removed with a solution of 3 parts distilled water to 1 part isopropyl alcohol You may also add 1 drop of biodegradable dishwashing soap per pint of solution Use soft white facial tissues and make short gentle strokes Change tissues often CAUTION Do not use scented or lotioned Primary Mirror Cell tissues or damage could result to the optics DO NOT use a commercial photographic lens cleaner COLLIMATION ALIGNMENT OF OPTICS REFLECTING MODELS ONLY All Meade Polaris Reflecting telescopes are optically aligned at the factory prior to shipment It is unlikely that you will need to align or collimate the optics after receipt of the instrument However if the telesc
17. escope as it is moving Meade as an optional accessory and enhance contrast to improve your observation of lunar features Spend several nights observing the Moon Some nights the Moon is so bright that it makes other objects in the sky difficult to see These are nights that are excellent for lunar observation Observe the Solar System After observing the Moon you are ready to step up to the next level of observation the planets There are four planets that you can easily observe in your telescope Venus Mars Jupiter and Saturn Nine planets maybe more travel in a fairly circular pattern around our Sun Any system of planets orbiting one or more stars is called a solar system Our Sun by the way is a single yellow dwarf star It is average as far as stars go and is a middle aged star Beyond the planets are clouds of comets icy planetoids and other debris left over from the birth of our sun Recently astronomers have found large objects in this area and they may increase the number of planets in our solar system The four planets closest to the Sun are rocky and are called the inner planets Mercury Venus Earth and Mars comprise the inner planets Venus and Mars can be easily seen in your telescope Venus is seen before dawn or after sunset because it is close to the Sun You can observe Venus going through crescent phases But you cannot see any surface detail on Venus because it has a very thick a
18. gas are huge and small at the same time The main rings are so large they could almost reach from the earth to the moon But they are only about a half of a mile just a few city blocks wide move the telescope These can come in very handy especially when you wish to move the telescope in very small fine control steps Observe the Moon When you feel comfortable with the viewfinder the eyepieces the locks and the adjustment controls you will be ready to try out the telescope at night The Moon is the best object to observe the first time you go out at night Pick a night when the Moon is a crescent No shadows are seen during a full Moon making it appear flat and uninteresting Look for different features on the Moon The most obvious features are craters In fact you can see craters within craters Some craters have bright lines about them These are called rays and are the result of material thrown out of the crater when it was struck by a colliding object The dark areas on the Moon are called maria and are composed of lava from the period when the Moon still had volcanic activity You can also see mountain ranges and fault lines on the Moon Use a neutral density filter often called a moon filter when observing the Moon Neutral density filters are available from Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the tel
19. he moons of Jupiter every night or so Try to make Jupiter and the moons approximately the same size as they look in your eyepiece You will see that the moons are in a different position every night As you get better at drawing try more challenging sights like a crater system on the moon or even a nebula Go your library or check out the internet for more information about astronomy Learn about the basics light years orbits star colors how stars and planets are formed red shift the big bang what are the different kinds of nebula what are comets asteroids and meteors and what is a black hole The more you learn about astronomy the more fun and the more rewarding your telescope will become SOME OBSERVING TIPS Eyepieces Always begin your observations using the 25mm low power eyepiece The 25mm eyepiece delivers a bright wide field of view and is the best to use for most viewing conditions Use the high power 9mm eyepiece to view details when observing the Moon and planets If the image become fuzzy switch back down to a lower power Changing eyepieces changes the power or magnification of your telescope By the way users of reflecting telescopes may have noticed something strange when looking through your eyepiece The image is upside down and reversed That means reading words can be a problem But it has no affect on astronomical objects Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye D
20. her and further East of the zero R A grid line Ohr Omin Osec carry higher R A coordinates Declination Dec This celestial version of latitude is measured in degrees arc minutes and arc seconds 15 27 33 Dec locations North of the celestial equator are indicated with a plus sign e g the Dec of the North celestial pole is 90 Any point on the celestial equator such as the THE MEADE 4M COMMUNITY You haven t just bought a telescope you have em barked on an astronomy adventure that never ends Share the journey with others by accepting your free membership in the 4M community of astronomers Go to www Meade4M com to activate your membership today constellations of Orion Virgo and Aquarius is said to have a Declination of zero shown as 0 0 0 All celestial objects therefore may be located with their celestial coordinates of Right Ascension and Declination 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 Earth s rotation During any 24 hour period stars make one complete revolution about the pole circling 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 b
21. hrough the telescope as it is moving OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES Additional Eyepieces 1 25 barrel diameter only For higher or lower viewing magnifications Meade s Series 4000 Super Pl ssl eyepieces available in a wide variety of Sizes provide a high level of image resolution and color correction at an economical price Contact your Meade Dealer or see the Meade catalog for more information Visit us on the web at www meade com MEADE CONSUMER SOLUTIONS If you have a question concerning your telescope call Meade Instruments Consumer Solutions Department at 800 626 3233 Consumer Solutions Department hours are 7 00AM to 5 00PM Pacific Time Monday through Friday Call the Meade Consumer Solutions Department first before returning the telescope to the factory giving full particulars as to the nature of the problem as well as your name address and daytime telephone number The great majority of servicing issues can be resolved by telephone avoiding return of the telescope to the factory MEADE LIMITED WARRANTY Every Meade telescope and telescope accessory is warranted by Meade Instruments Corp 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 Meade will repair or replace a product or part thereof found by Meade to be defective provided the defective part is returned to Meade freight prepaid with proof of purchase This warranty a
22. ight is an excellent exercise for novice astronomers Any small telescope can see the four Galilean moons of Jupiter Fig 9 plus a few others but how many moons does Jupiter actually have No one knows for sure Nor are we sure how many Saturn has either At last count Jupiter had over 60 moons and held a small lead over Saturn Most of these moons are very small and can only be seen with very large telescopes Probably the most memorable sight you will see in your telescope is Saturn Although SURF THE WEB The Meade 4M Community http www meade4m com Sky amp Telescope http www skyandtelescope com Astronomy http www astronomy com Astronomy Picture of the Day http antwrp gsfc nasa goc apod Photographic Atlas of the Moon http www lpi ursa edu research lunar orbiter Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures http oposite stsci edu pubinfo pictures html you may not see many features on the surface of Saturn its ring structure will steal your breath away You will probably be able to see a black opening in the rings known as the Cassini band Saturn is not the only planet that has rings but it is the only set of rings that can be seen with a small telescope Jupiter s rings cannot be seen from Earth at all the Voyager spacecraft discovered the ring after it passed Jupiter and looked back at it It turns out only with the sunlight shining through them can the rings be seen Uranus and Neptune als
23. ing red cellophane over a flashlight lens Viewing through windows Avoid setting up the telescope inside a room and observing through an opened or closed window pane Images may appear blurred or distorted Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do look through the telescope as it is moving due to temperature differences between inside and outside air Also it is a good idea to allow your telescope to reach the ambient surrounding outside temperature before starting an observing session When to observe Planets and other objects viewed low on the horizon often lack sharp ness the same object when observed higher in the sky will appear sharper and have greater contrast Try reducing power change your eyepiece if your image is fuzzy or shimmers Keep in mind that a bright clear but smaller image is more interesting than a larger dimmer fuzzy one Using too JOIN AN ASTRONOMY CLUB ATTEND A STAR PARTY One of the best ways to increase your knowledge of astronomy is to join an astronomy club Check your local newspaper school library or telescope dealer store to find out if there s a club in your area Many groups also hold regularly scheduled Star Parties at which you can check out and observe with many different telescopes and other pieces of astronomical equipment Magazines such as Sky and Telescope and Astronomy print schedules
24. like a map of the Earth The celestial poles are defined as those two points where the Earth s North and South poles if extended to infinity would cross the celestial sphere Thus the North Celestial Pole is that point in the sky where the North Pole crosses the celestial sphere The North Star Polaris is located very near the North Celestial Pole So just as an object s position on the Earth s surface can be located by its latitude and longitude celestial objects may also be located using Right Ascension and Declination For example You can locate Los Angeles California by its latitude 34 and longitude 118 Similarly you can locate the Ring Nebula also known as 57 by its Right Ascension 18hr and its Declination 33 RIGHT ASCENSION R A This Celestial version of longitude is measured in units of hours hr minutes min and seconds sec Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving on a 24 hour clock similar to how Earth s time zones are determined by longitude lines The zero line was chosen to pass through the constellation Pegasus a sort of cosmic Greenwich meridian R A coordinates range from Ohr Omin Osec to 23hr 59min 59sec There are 24 primary lines of R A located at 15 degree intervals along the celestial equator Objects located furt
25. ly aligned all of these reflections will appear concentric i e centered as illustrated in Fig 14 Any deviation from the concentric reflections will require adjustments to the secondary mirror assembly and or the primary mirror cell Fig 12 B SECONDARY MIRROR HOLDER ADJUSTMENTS If the secondary mirror 1 Fig 15 is centered in the draw tube 2 Fig 15 but the primary mirror is only partially visible in the reflection 3 Fig 15 one or more of the 3 Phillips head secondary mirror collimation screws need adjusting First unthread each of the secondary mirror collimation screws slightly to the point of where you can tilt the secondary holder from side to side By Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving grasping the secondary holder with your hand tilt the secondary mirror holder until you see the primary mirror become as centered in the reflection of the diagonal mirror as possible Once you are at the best position thread in the 3 Phillips head secondary mirror collimation screws to lock the holder in place Then if necessary make adjustments to these 3 Phillips head screws to refine the tilt angle of the secondary mirror until the entire primary mirror can be seen centered within the secondary mirror reflection When the secondary mirror is correctly aligned it will look like Fig
26. n performed you will want to test the accuracy of the alignment on a star Use the 25mm eyepiece and point the telescope at a moderately bright second or Looking at or near the Sun ill cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving third magnitude star then center the star image in the telescope s field of view With the star centered follow the method below Bring the star image slowly out of focus until one or more rings are visible around the central disc If the collimation was performed correctly the central star disk and rings will be concentric circles with a dark spot dead center within the out of focus star disk this is the shadow of the secondary mirror as shown in Fig 17C An improperly aligned telescope will reveal elongated circles Fig 17 with an off center dark shadow elf the out of focus star disk appears elongated Fig 17A you will need to adjust the primary mirror adjusting tilt screws of the primary mirror cell 3 Fig 13 To adjust the primary mirror tilt screws 3 Fig 13 first unscrew several turns the 3 hex head primary mirror cell locking screws 2 Fig 13 to allow free turning movement of the tilt knobs Using the flexible cable controls move the telescope until the star image is at the edge of the field of view in the eyepiece as in Fig 17B you make adjustments to the
27. o have faint rings Optional color filters help bring out detail and contrast of the planets Meade offers a line of inexpensive color filters Whats Next Beyond the Solar System Once you have observed our own system of planets it s time to really travel far from home and look at stars and other objects You can observe thousands of stars with your telescope At first you may think stars are just pinpoints of light and aren t very interesting But look again There is much information that is revealed in stars The first thing you will notice is that not all stars are the same colors See if you can find blue orange yellow white and red stars The color of stars sometimes can tell you about the age of a star and the temperature that they burn at Other stars to look for are multiple stars Very often you can find double or binary stars stars that are very close together These stars orbit each other What do you notice about these stars Are they different colors Does one seem brighter than the other Almost all the stars you can see in the sky are part of our galaxy A galaxy is a large grouping of stars containing millions or even billions of stars Some galaxies form a spiral like our galaxy the Milky Way and other galaxies look more like a large football and are called elliptical galaxies There are many galaxies that are irregularly shaped and are thought to have been pulled apart because they passed too
28. o not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving Optional Accessory Barlow lens You can also change magnification by using a Barlow lens The Barlow lens doubles the power of your telescope See Fig 10 Meade offers a complete line of eyepieces for your telescope Most astronomers have four or five low power and high power eyepieces to view different objects and to cope with different viewing conditions Objects move in the eyepiece If you are observing an astronomical object the Moon a planet star etc you will notice that the object will begin to move slowly through the telescopic field of view This STAR CHARTS Star charts and planispheres are useful for a variety of reasons In particular they are a great aid in planning a night of celestial viewing A wide variety of star charts are available in books in magazines on the internet and on CD Roms Meade offers AutoStar Suite software Contact your local Meade dealer or Meade s Customer Service department for more information Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines print star charts each month for up to the minute maps of the heavens movement is caused by the rotation of the Earth and makes an object move through the telescope s field of view To keep astronomical objects centered in the field simply move the telescope on one or both of its axes vertically and or horizontally as needed try
29. ocate and place objects more easily in the telescopes eyepiece 1 Note the two thumbscrews 16 Fig 4 thread onto two bolts on the optical tube Remove the thumbscrews from the tube 2 Line up the two holes on the red dot viewfinder bracket over the two bolts Slide the bracket over the bolts with the viewfinder lens facing the front of the telescope 3 Replace the thumbscrews 16 on to the bolts and tighten to a firm feel NOTE The Polaris 80 and 90 models use a dovetail to secure the red dot viewfinder For these models slide the viewfinder bracket into the viewfinder holder and secure with the single Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving locking screw 16 Fig 5 INSERT THE EYEPIECE REFLECTOR MODELS ONLY 1 Slide the MA25mm eyepiece 19 directly into eyepiece holder on the focuser 17 2 Tighten the focuser thumbscrew s 18 SUN WARNING UN EVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO LOOK AT THE SUN LOOKING AT OR NEAR THE SUN WILL CAUSE INSTANT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYE EYE DAMAGE IS OFTEN PAINLESS SO THERE IS NO WARNING TO THE OBSERVER THAT DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE DO NOT POINT THE TELE SCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AT OR NEAR THE SUN DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AS IT IS MOVING CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION WHILE
30. ope received unusually rough handling Primary Mirror Misalignment shipment it is possible that the optics must be re aligned for best optical performance In any case this alignment procedure is simple and requires only a few minutes the very first time the telescope is used Take the time to familiarize yourself with the following collimation procedure so that Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving you will recognize a properly collimated instrument and can adjust the collimation yourself if necessary A CORRECT COLLIMATION The properly collimated aligned mirror system in the Meade Polaris telescope assures the sharpest images possible This occurs when the primary mirror and secondary mirror are tilted so that the focused image falls directly through the center of the focuser draw tube These mirror tilt adjustments are made with the secondary mirror assembly and the primary mirror cell Fig 13 and will be discussed later A Collimation To inspect the view of the mirror collimation look down the focuser draw tube with the eyepiece removed The edge of the focuser drawtube 1 Fig 14 will frame the reflections of the primary mirror with the 3 mirror clips 2 Fig 14 the secondary mirror 3 Fig 14 the spider vanes 4 Fig 14 and your eye 5 Fig 14 Proper
31. ost important pieces of information about the telescope The size of the lens or mirror also known as aperture determines how much detail you will be able to see in your telescope The optical tubes focal length information is also important and will help later on to calculate the viewing magnification Setting up your telescope involves these simple steps Setup your tripod Attach the accessory tray the mount the counterweight counterweight shaft and the mount Attach the optical tube to the mount Attach the red dot viewfinder Attach the eyepiece Study the picture on the next page s and become acquainted with the parts of your telescope Figure 1A shows a typical reflector telescope whereas Figure 1B shows a refractor Then proceed to Setup your Tripod 17 18 19 20 see Inset 42 Optional motor drive gear Large EQ Declination axis see Fig 3 mount only 22 23 24 25 21 Polar axis see Fig 3 screws see Inset B E m Latitude adjustment knob 35 Leg brace support see Inset A 9o 5 39 Main optical tube OTA 36 Tripod leg lock knob see Inset C d Optical tube saddle plate see Fig 3 37 Sliding leg extension Cradle rings see Inset C Cradle ring lock knobs 38 OTA saddle plate lock knob s not Red dot viewfinder bracket mounting visible G U RE 1 A Figure 1
32. pplies to the original purchaser only and is non transferable Meade products purchased outside North America are not included in this warranty but are covered under separate warranties issued by Meade international distributors RGA Number Required Prior to the return of any product or part a Return Goods Authorization RGA number must be obtained from Meade by writing or by calling 800 626 3233 Each returned part or product must include a written statement detailing the nature of the claimed defect as well as the owner s name address and phone number This warranty is not valid in cases where the product has been abused or mishandled where unauthorized repairs have been attempted or performed or where depreciation of the product is due to normal wear and tear Meade specifically disclaims special indirect or consequential damages or lost profit which may result from a breach of this warranty Any implied warranties which cannot be disclaimed are hereby limited to a term of one year from the date of original retail purchase This warranty gives you specific rights You e3 Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving may have other rights which vary from state to state Meade reserves the right to change product specifications or to discontinue products without notice This warranty super
33. pside down and backwards in this model telescope due to the position of the eyepiece Unlock the lock knobs To move the telescope you will need to unlock the Right Ascension 22 Fig 3 and Declination 23 Fig 3 lock knobs just rotate to unlock or lock when locking only tighten to a firm feel do not over tighten Use the red dot viewfinder If you have not done so align the viewfinder 24 with the telescope s eyepiece 19 as described earlier Look through the red dot viewfinder until you can see the object It will be easier to Meade Factoid Jupiter s four brightest moons are easily visible in a telescope When Galileo Galilei first observed them rotating around Jupiter in 1610 he saw proof that the earth wasn t the center of everything in the universe as many then supposed locate an object using the red dot viewfinder rather than locating with the eyepiece Line up the object using the viewfinders red dot Look through the eyepiece Once you have the object lined up in the viewfinder look through the optical tube s eyepiece If you have aligned your viewfinder you will you see the object in your eyepiece Focus Look through the eyepiece and practice focusing on the object you have chosen Try out the slow motion flexible cable control Practice using the right ascension control cable 3 and declination control cable 4 to Meade Factoid Saturn s rings of ice dust and
34. reversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving astronomical objects Another technique for locating objects is to use the setting circles that are provided on your telescope UNDERSTANDING HOW CELESTIAL OBJECTS MOVE Due to the Earth s rotation celestial bodies appear to move from East to West in a curved path through the skies All stars and celestial objects are mapped onto an imaginary sphere surrounding the Meade Factoid Just below the constellation Orion s famous belt of three stars in the middle of his sword is The Great Orion Nebula This wonderful telescope target is really a cosmic star factory where a glowing gas cloud surrounds hot young stars Earth This mapping system is similar to the system of latitude and longitude on Earth surface maps In mapping the surface of the Earth lines of longitude are drawn between the North and South Poles and lines of latitude are drawn in an East West direction parallel to the Earth s equator Similarly imaginary lines have been drawn to form a latitude North Celestial 90 D c Pole Vicinity of Polaris Celestial Equator Rotation of the Ascension South Celestial 90 Dec Pole and longitude on the celestial sphere These lines are known as Right Ascension and Declination The celestial map also contains two poles and an equator just
35. sedes all previous Meade product warranties 2014 MEADE INSTRUMENTS CORP OBSERVATION LOG OBSERVER OBJECT NAME DATE 8 TIME OBSERVED CONSTELLATION EYEPIECE SIZE SEEING CONDITIONS J EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES DRAWING IMAGE OBSERVATION LOG OBSERVER OBJECT NAME DATE 8 TIME OBSERVED CONSTELLATION EYEPIECE SIZE SEEING CONDITIONS 0 EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES DRAWING OF IMAGE 92618 9 9
36. the eyepiece Divide 900mm 6 3mm which equals 142 86 Round this off to the nearest whole number and you find the 6 3mm eyepiece used with the Polaris 90 magnifies objects 143 times If you use a Barlow lens with one of your eyepieces it doubles the magnification of Qe eyepiece Other types of Barlows can triple or further increase the power of an eyepiece To find out how much your magnification is when you use a 2x Barlow multiply your eyepiece s magnification by two For example the 25mm low power eyepiece used with the Polaris 90 magnifies an object 36 times Multiply 36 by 2 and you get 72 times magnification with a Barlow Eyepiece s magnification x 2 Magnification with a 2X Barlow lens It s worth repeating Keep in mind that a bright clear but smaller image is more interesting than a larger dimmer fuzzy one Using too high a power eyepiece is one of the most common mistakes made by new astronomers So don t think that higher magnification is necessarily better quite often the best view is with lower magnification value TAKING CARE OF YOUR TELESCOPE Yourtelescope is a precision optical instrument designed for a lifetime of rewarding viewing e Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving It will rarely if ever require factory servicing or maintenance Follow these guidelines to k
37. tmosphere of gas When Mars is close to the Earth you can see some details on Mars and sometimes even Mars polar caps But quite often Mars is further away and just appears as a red dot with some dark lines crisscrossing it Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune and Pluto comprise the outer planets These planets except for Pluto are made mostly of gases and are sometimes called gas giants If they had grown much bigger they may have become stars Pluto is made mostly of ice Jupiter is quite interesting to observe You can see bands across the face of Jupiter The more time you spend observing these bands the more details you will be able to see One of the most fascinating sights of Jupiter are its moons The four largest moons are called the Galilean moons after the astronomer Galileo who observed them for the first time If you ve never watched the Galilean moons in your telescope before you re missing a real treat Each night the moons appear in different positions around the Jovian sky This is sometimes called the Galilean dance On any given night you might be able to see the shadow of a moon on the face of Jupiter see one moon eclipse another or even see a moon emerge from behind Jupiters giant disk Drawing Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving the positions of the moons each n
38. tripod leg lock thumbscrew 36 to unlock the sliding leg extension 37 b Slide the inner portion of the leg 37 in or out to the desired length c Rotate and tighten the leg lock thumbscrew 36 to re lock the inner tripod leg d Repeat for the other two legs so when complete the top of the tripod is level ATTACH THE ACCESSORY TRAY The accessory tray attaches at the center of the tripod legs and is a convenient place to hold eyepieces and other Meade accessories while observing such as the Barlow lens To attach place the hole in the center of the accessory tray over the attachment point as shown in Fig 2 Then rotate the tray until the wings of the tray snap into place on the tripod leg brace supports To remove the tray rotate the tray so it unlocks then remove ATTACH THE MOUNT Next attach the mount body 2 to the tripod by placing the base of the mount on top of the tripod Next secure the mount to the tripod Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving using the large azimuth lock knob 30 at the top of the tripod Tighten to a firm feel ATTACH THE COUNTERWEIGHT SHAFT AND COUNTERWEIGHT 1 Thread the counterweight shaft 6 into the mounts declination axis 21 Fig 3 until it stops 2 Remove the safety knob 8 and set aside 3 Hold the counterweight 5 firmly in
39. tronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines HAVE A GOOD TIME ASTRONOMY IS FUN SPECIFICATIONS POLARIS 70 Optical tube design Refractor Optical tube focal length 900mm Objective lens diameter 70mm 2 8 Focal ratio eene 1 12 9 Mount Small German Equatorial Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving POLARIS 80 Optical tube Refractor Optical tube focal length 900mm Objective lens diameter 80mm 3 1 Focal ratio cre ree d d Small German Equatorial POLARIS 90 Optical tube design Refractor Optical tube focal length 900mm Objective lens diameter 90mm 3 5 Focal ratio reete lO Mount Large German Equatorial POLARIS 114 Optical tube design Reflector Optical tube 900mm Primary mirror diameter 114mm 4 5 Focal mee ee Mount Large German Equatorial POLARIS 127 Optical tube Reflector Optical tube focal length Primary mirror diameter 127mm 5 07 F caltatig eee rere 77 9 Mount
40. w when using your telescope Have Fun Have a good time when you re observing You may not know everything that there is to know about a telescope or what all the sights in the universe are but that s OK Just point You will enjoy your telescope even more as you learn more about it But don t be scared off by difficult terms or complicated procedures Don t panic Just relax and enjoy your scope You will begin to grow and learn more about astronomy the more you observe Go on the internet or to the library and read some books about the stars and planets Read about astronomers of old Many of them had telescope no bigger than the one you are using right now Galileo who is one of the first astronomers to use a telescope discovered four of the moons of Jupiter with a telescope about the same size as yours and his didn t even focus very well OBSERVING Observe during the daytime Try out your telescope during the daytime at first It is easier to learn how it operates and how to observe when it is light Pick out an easy object to observe A distant mountain a large tree a lighthouse or skyscraper make excellent targets Point the optical tube so it lines up with your object Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun Do not look through the telescope as it is moving observe at first In Reflecting telescope models objects will appear u
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