Orion 130ST EQ Telescope User Manual
Contents
1. celestial coordinates Every object resides in a specific location on the celestial sphere That location is denoted by two numbers its right ascension R A and declination Dec In the same way every location on Earth can be described by its longitude and latitude R A is similar to longitude on Earth and Dec is similar to latitude The R A and Dec values for celestial objects can be found in any star atlas or star catalog The R A setting circle is scaled in hours from 1 through 24 with small marks in between representing 10 minute incre ments there are 60 minutes in 1 hour of R A The lower set of numbers closest to the plastic R A gear cover apply to viewing in the Northern Hemisphere while the numbers above them apply to viewing in the Southern Hemisphere The Dec setting circle is scaled in degrees with each hash mark representing 1 increments Values of Dec coordinates range from 90 to 90 For Northern Hemisphere observ ers use the numbers on the setting circle that are closest to the eastern horizon The 0 mark indicates the celestial equator values north of the Dec 0 mark are positive while values south of the Dec 0 mark are negative So the coordinates for the Orion Nebula listed in a star atlas will look like this R A 5h 35 4m_ Dec 5 27 That s 5 hours and 35 4 minutes in right ascension and 5 degrees and 27 arc minutes in declination there are 60 arc mi2. adjustments of the two black nylon finder scope alignment thumb screws will be needed to get the finder scope roughly parallel to the main tube Note The image in both the finder scope and the main telescope will appear upside down rotated 180 This is normal for finder scopes and reflector telescopes see Figure 5 By loosening or tightening the alignment thumb screws you change the line of sight of the finder scope Continue making adjustments to the alignment thumb screws until the image in both the finder scope and the telescope s eyepiece is exactly centered Check the alignment by moving the telescope to another object and fixing the finder scope s crosshairs on the exact point you want to look at Then look through the telescope s eyepiece to see if that point is centered in the field of view If it is the job is done If not make the neces sary adjustments until the two images match up The finder scope alignment needs to be checked before every observing session This can easily be done at night before viewing through the telescope Choose any bright star or planet center the object in the telescope eyepiece and then adjust the finder scope s alignment screws until the star or planet is also centered on the finder s crosshairs The finder scope is an invaluable tool for locating objects in the night sky its usage for this purpose will be discussed later in detail When transporting the telescope we recommen
3. an observer to own five or more eyepieces to access a wide range of magnifications This allows the observer to choose the best eyepiece to use depending on the object being viewed To calculate the magnification or power of a telescope and eyepiece combination simply divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece of st focal length of telescope Magnification nu focal length of eyepiece For example the SpaceProbe 130ST EQ which has a focal length of 650mm used in combination with the 25mm eye piece yields a magnification of 650mm 25mm 26x Every telescope has a useful limit of magnification of about 2x per millimeter of aperture Which comes to about 260x for the SpaceProbe 130ST Claims of higher power by some telescope manufacturers are a misleading advertising gimmick and should be dismissed Keep in mind that at higher powers an image will always be dimmer and less sharp this is a fun damental law of optics The steadiness of the air the seeing can also limit how much magnification an image can tolerate Whatever you choose to view always start by inserting your lowest power longest focal length eyepiece to locate and center the object Low magnification yields a wide field of view which shows a larger area of sky in the eyepiece This makes acquiring and centering an object much easier If you try to find and center objects with high power narrow field of view
4. are very faint so it is important that you find an observing site well away from light pollution Take plenty of time to let your eyes adjust to the darkness Do not expect these subjects to appear like the photographs you see in books and magazines most will look like dim gray smudges Our eyes are not sensitive enough to see color in deep sky objects except in a few of the brightest ones But as you become more experienced and your observing skills get sharper you will be able to ferret out more and more subtle details and structure How to Find Deep Sky Objects Star Hopping Star hopping as it is called by astronomers is perhaps the simplest way to hunt down deep sky objects to view in the night sky It entails first pointing the telescope at a bright star close to the object you wish to observe and then progress ing to other stars closer and closer to the object until it is in the field of view of the eyepiece It is a very intuitive tech nique that has been employed for hundreds of years by pro fessional and amateur astronomers alike Keep in mind as with any new task that star hopping may seem challenging at first but will become easier over time and with practice To star hop only a minimal amount of additional equipment is necessary A star chart or atlas that shows stars to at least magnitude 5 is required Select one that shows the positions of many deep sky objects so you will have a lot of options to choose from If yo
5. focuser and the reflection of the pri mary mirror is centered in the secondary mirror but the small reflection of the secondary mirror with the dot of the col limation cap is off center To access the primary mirror collimation screws remove the cover plate on the rear end of the optical by unthreading the three Phillips head screws with a screwdriver The tilt of the mirror is adjusted with three pairs of collimation screws Figure 11 The collimation screws can be turned with a Phillips head screwdriver and a 2 5mm Allen wrench Each pair of collimation screws work together to adjust the tilt of the primary mirror The set screw pushes the mirror for ward while the Phillips head screw pulls the mirror cell back One must be loosened and the other tightened by the same amount in order to adjust the tilt Try tightening and loosening one of the pairs of collimation screws one turn Look into the focuser and see if the secondary mirror reflection has moved closer to the center of the primary You can tell this easily with the collimation cap and mirror center mark by simply watch ing to see of the dot of the collimation cap is moving closer or farther away from the ring on the center of the primary mirror Repeat this process on the other two pairs of collima tion screws if necessary It will take a little trial and error to get a feel for how to adjust the mirror to center the dot of the collimation cap in the ring of
6. to 90 scale that is on the eastern half of the Dec setting circle Retighten the Dec lock knob 2 Loosen the R A lock knob and rotate the telescope until the R A value from the star atlas matches the reading on the R A setting circle Retighten the lock knob 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 object in the finder scope and it should appear in the tele scope s field of view The R A setting circle must be re calibrated every time you wish to locate a new object Do so by calibrating the setting circle for the centered object before moving on to the next one Confused About Pointing the Telescope Beginners occasionally experience some confusion about how to point the telescope overhead or in other directions In Figure 1 the telescope is pointed north as it would be during polar alignment The counterweight shaft is oriented down ward But it will not look like that when the telescope is point ed in other directions Let s say you want to view an object that is directly overhead at the zenith How do you do it One thing you DO NOT do is make any adjustment to the latitude adjustment T bolt That will nullify the mount s polar alignment Remember once th
7. west to east An equatorial mount Figure 2 is designed to compensate for that motion allowing you to easily track the movement of astronomical objects thereby keeping them from drifting out of the telescope s field of view while you re observing This is accomplished by slowly rotating the telescope on its right ascension R A axis using only the R A slow motion cable But first the R A axis of the mount must be aligned with the Earth s rotational polar axis a process called polar alignment Polar Alignment For Northern Hemisphere observers approximate polar alignment is achieved by pointing the mount s R A axis at the North Star or Polaris It lies within 1 of the north celes tial pole NCP which is an extension of the Earth s rota tional axis out into space Stars in the Northern Hemisphere appear to revolve around the NCP Little Dipper in Ursa Minor Polaris Cassiopeia To find Polaris in the sky look north and locate the pattern of the Big Dipper Figure 6 The two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper point right to Polaris Observers in the Southern Hemisphere aren t so fortunate to have a bright star so near the south celestial pole SCP The star Sigma Octantis lies about 1 from the SCP but it is barely visible with the naked eye magnitude 5 5 For general visual observation an approximate polar align ment is sufficient 1 Level the equatorial
8. with Alignment thumbscrews Focus lock ring Tensioner Objective lense Finder Scope Bracket Figure 3a The 6x30 finder scope Figure 3b Inserting the finder scope into the finder scope bracket your fingers Figure 3b Push the finder scope through the bracket until the O ring seats just inside the front opening of the bracket s cylinder Now release the ten sioner and tighten the two black nylon screws a couple of turns each to secure the finder scope in place 13 Insert the base of the finder scope bracket into the dove tail slot near the focuser Lock the bracket into position by tightening the knurled thumb screw on the dovetail slot 14 Remove the cap from the focuser and insert the chrome barrel of one of the eyepieces into the drawtube Secure the eyepiece with the thumb screws on the drawtube Remember to always loosen the thumb screws before rotating or removing the eyepiece The telescope system is now fully assembled Keep the dust cap over the front end of the telescope when it is not in use 4 Getting Started Balancing the Telescope To insure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of the equatorial mount it is imperative that the optical tube be properly balanced We will first balance the telescope with respect to the R A axis then the Dec axis 1 Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube loosen the R A lock knob Make sure the Dec lock knob is locked for now The telesc
9. INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion SpaceProbe 130ST EQ 9007 Equatorial Newtonian Reflector Telescope Customer Support 800 676 1343 _ ORIONI E mail support telescope com TELESCOPES amp BINOCULARS Corporate Offices 831 763 7000 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 IN 153 Rev C 02 09 Alignment thumb screws 2 Finder scope Dovetail slot Spring loaded tensioner lt lt NS Finder scope bracket Piggyback adapter Tube mounting rings Eyepiece Focuser Tube ring clamps Dec slow moton gt control cable A _ Dec setting circle a g Pa Primary mirror cell R A lock knob Counterweight gt lock knob R A setting circle Latitude adjustment T bolt Azimuth lock knob Counterweight Counterweight shaft R A slow motion control cable Accessory tray bracket attachment point lt Leg lock knob Accessory tray bracket B i it 4 Accessory tray Figure 1 SpaceProbe 130ST parts diagram Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope Your new SpaceProbe 130ST EQ is designed for high resolution viewing of astronomical objects With its precision optics and equatorial mount you ll be able to locate and enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens including the planets Moon and a variety of deep sky galaxies nebulas and star clust
10. OK Small components like eyepieces and other accessories should be kept in a protective box or storage case Keep the caps on the front of the telescope and on the focuser draw tube when it is not in use Your SpaceProbe 130ST EQ telescope requires very little mechanical maintenance The optical tube is steel and has a smooth painted finish that is fairly scratch resistant If a scratch does appear on the tube it will not harm the tele scope If you wish you may apply some auto touch up paint to the scratch Smudges on the tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and a household cleaner Cleaning Lenses Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens cleaning fluid specifically designed for multi coated optics can be used to clean the exposed lenses of your eyepieces or finder scope Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning fluid designed for eyeglasses Before cleaning with fluid and tissue however blow any loose particles off the lens with a blower bulb or compressed air Then apply some cleaning fluid to a tissue never directly on the optics Wipe the lens gently in a circular motion then remove any excess fluid with a fresh lens tissue Oily fingerprints and smudges may be removed using this method Use caution rubbing too hard may scratch the lens On larger lenses clean only a small area at a time using a fresh lens tissue on each area Never reuse tissues Cleaning Mirrors You should not have to clean your te
11. aque cal surfaces have delicate coatings on them that can easily material to prevent physical damage to the internal be damaged if touched inappropriately NEVER remove any components of the scope itself as well as to your lens assembly from its housing for any reason or the prod eye Young children should use this telescope only uct warranty and return policy will be voided with adult supervision Lay the equatorial mount on its side Attach the tripod legs one at a time to the mount by sliding the screws installed in the tops of the tripod legs into the slots at the base of the mount and tightening the wing nuts finger tight Note that the accessory tray bracket attachment point on each leg should face inward Tighten the leg lock knobs on the bottom braces of the tripod legs For now keep the legs at their shortest fully retracted length you can extend them to a more desir able length later after the telescope is completely assem bled With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial mount stand the tripod upright be careful and spread the legs apart enough to connect each end of the acces sory tray bracket to the attachment point on each leg Use the screw that comes installed in each attachment point to do this First remove the screw using the supplied screwdriver then line up one of the ends of the bracket with the attachment point and reinstall the screw Make sure that the ribs in the plastic molding of the ac
12. cessory tray bracket face downward Now with the accessory tray bracket attached spread the tripod legs apart as far as they will go until the brack et is taut Attach the accessory tray to the accessory tray bracket with the three wing screws already installed in the tray This is done by pushing the wing screws up through the holes in the accessory tray bracket and threading them into the holes in the accessory tray Next tighten the screws at the tops of the tripod legs so the legs are securely fastened to the equatorial mount Use the larger wrench and your fingers to do this Orient the equatorial mount as it appears in Figure 2 at a latitude of about 40 i e so the pointer next to the latitude scale located directly above the latitude lock T bolt is pointing to the mark at 40 To do this loosen the latitude lock T bolt and turn the latitude adjustment T bolt until the pointer and the 40 line up Then retighten the latitude lock T bolt The declination Dec and right ascension R A axes may need re positioning rotation as well Be sure to loosen the RA and Dec lock knobs before doing this Retighten the R A and Dec lock knobs once the equatorial mount is properly oriented Slide the counterweight onto the counterweight shaft Make sure the counterweight lock knob is adequately loosened to allow the counterweight shaft to pass through the hole in the counterweight Now with the counterweigh
13. cope optical tube in the tube rings at about the midpoint of the tube s length Rotate the tube in the rings so the focuser is angled somewhere between hori zontal and straight up Close the rings over the tube and tighten the knurled ring clamps finger tight to secure the telescope in position 11 Now attach the two slow motion cables to the R A and Dec worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by posi tioning the thumbscrew on the end of the cable over the indented slot on the worm gear shaft and then tightening the thumbscrew We recommend that the shorter cable be used on the R A worm gear shaft and the longer cable on the Dec worm gear shaft The Dec worm gear shaft and cable should extend toward the front open end of the telescope optical tube If it does not you will need to remove the tube from the mounting rings rotate the mount 180 about the Dec axis first loosen the Dec lock knob and then replace the tube 12 To place the finder scope in the finder scope bracket first unthread the two black nylon screws until the screw ends are flush with the inside diameter of the bracket Place the O ring that comes on the base of the bracket over the body of the finder scope until it seats into the groove on the middle of the finder scope Slide the eyepiece end narrow end of the finder scope into the end of the brack et s cylinder opposite the alignment screws while pulling the chrome spring loaded tensioner on the bracket
14. d removing the finder scope and bracket from the tube This is done by simply loosening the thumbscrew on the dovetail slot Store the finder scope and bracket in an appropriate eye piece accessory case 6 Figure 6 To find Polaris in the night sky look north and find the Big Dipper Extend an imaginary line from the two Pointer Stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper Go about five times the distance between those stars and you ll reach Polaris which lies within 1 of the north celestial pole NCP Big Dipper in Ursa Major Focusing the Finder Scope If when looking through the finder scope the images appear somewhat out of focus you will need to refocus the finder scope for your eyes Loosen the lock ring located behind the objective lens cell on the body of the finder scope see Figure 3a Back the lock ring off by a few turns for now Refocus the finder scope on a distant object by threading the objective lens cell in or out on the finder scope body Precise focusing will be achieved by focusing the finder scope on a bright star Once the image appears sharp retighten the lock ring behind the objective lens cell The finder scope s focus should not need to be adjusted again 5 Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount When you look at the night sky you no doubt have noticed that the stars appear to move slowly from east to west over time That apparent motion is caused by the Earth s rota tion from
15. e it in R A and Dec not in azimuth or latitude altitude and b the counterweight and shaft will not always appear as it does in Figure 1 In fact it almost never will p oc g Figure 7 This illustration shows the telescope pointed in the four cardinal directions a north b south c east d west Note that the tripod and mount have not been moved only the telescope tube has been moved on the R A and Dec axes 6 Collimating the Optics Aligning the Mirrors Collimating is the process of adjusting the mirrors so they are aligned with one another Your telescope s optics were aligned at the factory and should not need much adjustment unless the telescope is handled roughly Accurate mirror alignment is important to ensure the peak performance of your telescope so it should be checked regularly Collimating is relatively easy to do and can be done in daylight To check collimation remove the eyepiece and look down the focuser drawtube You should see the secondary mirror centered in the drawtube as well as the reflection of the pri mary mirror centered in the secondary mirror and the reflec Bottom end of focuser drawtube va Reflection of Reflection of a secondary mirror holder spider vanes Reflection of your eye Mirror center mark not shown for clarity Edge of secondary mirror Reflection of primary mirror clip Secon mirror primary mirror Figure 8 Collimating the optic
16. e mount is polar aligned the telescope should be moved only on the R A and Dec axes To point the scope overhead first loosen the R A lock knob and rotate the telescope on the R A axis until the coun terweight shaft is horizontal parallel to the ground Then loosen the Dec lock knob and rotate the telescope until it is pointing straight overhead The counterweight shaft is still horizontal Then retighten both lock knobs Similarly to point the telescope directly south the counter weight shaft should again be horizontal Then you simply rotate the scope on the Dec axis until it points in the south direction 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 Again you have to rotate the scope in R A so the counter weight shaft is positioned horizontally Then rotate the scope in Dec so it points to where you want it near the horizon To point the telescope to the east or west or in other direc tions you rotate the telescope on its R A and Dec axes Depending on the altitude of the object you want to observe the counterweight shaft will be oriented somewhere between vertical and horizontal Figure 7 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 mov
17. ers If you have never owned a telescope before we would like to welcome you to amateur astronomy Take some time to familiar ize yourself with the night sky Learn to recognize the patterns of stars in the major constellations With a little practice a little patience and a reasonably dark sky away from city lights you ll find your telescope to be a never ending source of wonder exploration and relaxation These instructions will help you set up properly use and care for your telescope Please read them over thoroughly before get ting started Table of Contents 2 Parts List Counterweight 1 Unpacking The entire telescope system will arrive in one box Be careful unpacking the box We recommend keeping the original ship Accessory tray wing screws ping container In the event that the telescope needs to be may be attached to accessory tray shipped to another location or returned to Orion for warranty repair having the proper shipping container will help ensure that your telescope will survive the journey intact 1 Collimation cap Tripod accessory tray Accessory tray bracket 1 Unpacking lt s c04seeeeeuesGardawe se 3 Qty Description 2 Parts USt o eens ee tae due deh banee dans 3 1 Optical tube assembly 3 Assembly 0 000000 cee eee 3 pica be UUS TAP 4 Getting Started 5 2 a A Me 1 25mm 26x Srius Pl ssl eyepiece 1 25 Equatorial Mount se cceeeeeee z 1 10mm 65x Sirus Pls eye
18. ght star close by which is Saturn s brightest moon Titan VENUS At its brightest Venus is the most luminous object in the sky excluding the Sun and the Moon It is so bright that sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight lronically Venus appears as a thin crescent not a full disk when at its peak brightness Because it is so close to the Sun it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon No surface markings can be seen on Venus which is always shrouded in dense clouds MARS The Red Planet makes its closest approach to Earth every two years During close approaches you ll see a red disk and may be able to see the polar ice cap To see sur face detail on Mars you will need a high power eyepiece and very steady air 13 D The Stars Stars will appear like twinkling points of light Even power ful telescopes cannot magnify stars to appear as more than a point of light You can however enjoy the different colors of the stars and locate many pretty double and mul tiple stars The famous Double Double in the constellation Lyra and the gorgeous two color double star Albireo in Cygnus are favorites Defocusing a star slightly can help bring out its color E Deep Sky Objects Under dark skies you can observe a wealth of fascinating deep sky objects including gaseous nebulas open and globular star clusters and a variety of different types of gal axies Most deep sky objects
19. h they 11 D Out of collimation Collimated Figure 12 A star test will determine if a telescope s optics are properly collimated An unfocused view of a bright star through the eyepiece should appear as illustrated on right if optics are perfectly collimated If circle is unsymmetrical as in illustration on left scope needs collimation may be perfectly aligned It is critical to keep the star cen tered so over time you will need to make slight corrections to the telescope s position in order to account for the sky s apparent motion 7 Using Your Telescope Astronomical Observing Choosing an Observing Site When selecting a location for observing get as far away as possible from direct artificial light such as street lights porch lights and automobile headlights The glare from these lights will greatly impair your dark adapted night vision Set up on a grass or dirt surface not asphalt because asphalt radiates more heat Heat disturbs the surrounding air and degrades the images seen through the telescope Avoid viewing over rooftops and chimneys as they often have warm air currents rising from them Similarly avoid observing from indoors through an open or closed window because the tempera 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
20. he point at which focus is reached Do You Wear Eyeglasses If you wear eyeglasses you may be able to keep them on while you observe if your eyepieces have enough eye relief to allow you to see the whole field of view You can try this by looking through the eyepiece first with your glasses on and then with them off and see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of the full field If they do you can eas ily observe with your glasses off by just refocusing the tele scope the needed amount Aligning the Finder Scope The finder scope Figure 3a must be aligned accurately with the telescope for proper use To align it aim the main tele scope in the general direction of an object at least 1 4 mile away such as the top of a telephone pole a chimney etc Do this by first loosening the R A and Dec lock knobs Position the telescope so the object appears in the eyepiece s field of view and then retighten the R A and Dec lock knobs Use the slow motion control cables to center the object in the eyepiece CALIFORNIA A123456 Naked eye view 9SrEZLV VINUOSI TV View through finder scope and telescope Figure 5 The view through a standard finder scope and reflector telescope is upside down This is true for the SpaceProbe 130ST and its finder scope as well Now look in the finder scope Is the object visible Ideally it will be somewhere in the finder s field of view If it is not some coarse
21. hole in the collimation cap is centered inside the ring NOTE The center ring sticker need not ever be removed from the primary mirror Because it lies directly in the shadow of the secondary mirror its presence in no way adversely affects the optical performance of the tele scope or the image quality That might seem counterin tuitive but it s true 10 Aligning the Secondary Mirror With the collimation cap in place look through the hole in the cap at the secondary diagonal mirror Ignore the reflec tions for the time being The secondary mirror itself should be centered in the focuser drawtube in the direction parallel to the length of the telescope If it isn t as in Figure 8b it must be adjusted Typically this adjustment will rarely if ever need to be done It helps to adjust the secondary mirror in a brightly lit room with the telescope pointed toward a bright surface such as white paper or wall Placing a piece of white paper in the telescope tube opposite the focuser i e on the other side of the secondary mirror will also be helpful in col limating the secondary mirror Using a 2mm Allen wrench loosen the three small alignment setscrews in the center hub of the 3 vaned spider several turns Now hold the mirror holder stationary be careful not to touch the surface of the mirrors while turning the center screw with a Phillips head screwdriver Figure 9 Turning the screw clockwise will move the secondary mi
22. inside the rings this can be aided by using a slight twisting motion on the optical tube while you push or pull on it Figure 4c 6 Position the telescope so it remains horizontal when you carefully let go with both hands This is the balance point Figure 4d Before clamping the rings tight again rotate the telescope so the eyepiece is at a convenient angle for viewing When you are actually observing with the tele scope you can adjust the eyepiece position by loosening the tube rings and rotating the optical tube 7 Retighten the tube ring clamps The telescope is now balanced on both axes Now when you loosen the lock knob on one or both axes and manually point the telescope it should move without resistance and should not drift from where you point it Focusing the Telescope With the 25mm Sirius Plossl eyepiece in the focuser move the telescope so the front open end is pointing in the gen eral direction of an object at least 1 4 mile away Now with your fingers slowly rotate one of the focusing knobs until the object comes into sharp focus Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image just starts to blur again then reverse the rotation of the knob just to make sure you ve hit the exact focus point If you have trouble focusing rotate the focus knob so the drawtube is in as far as it will go Now look through the eye piece while slowly rotating the focus knob in the opposite direction You should soon see t
23. it s like trying to find a needle in a haystack Once you ve centered the object in the eyepiece you can switch to higher magnification shorter focal length eye piece if you wish This is especially recommended for small and bright objects like planets and double stars The Moon also takes higher magnifications well Deep sky objects however typically look better at medium or low magnifications This is because many of them are quite faint yet have some extent apparent width Deep sky objects will often disappear at higher magnifications since greater magnification inherently yields dimmer images This is not the case for all deep sky objects however Many galax ies are quite small yet are somewhat bright so higher power may show more detail The best rule of thumb with eyepiece selection is to start with a low power wide field and then work your way up in magni fication If the object looks better try an even higher magnifi cation If the object looks worse then back off the magnifica tion a little by using a lower power eyepiece Objects to Observe Now that you are all set up and ready to go one critical deci sion must be made what to look at A The Moon With its rocky surface the Moon is one of the easiest and most interesting targets to view with your telescope Lunar craters marias and even mountain ranges can all be clearly seen from a distance of 238 000 miles away With its ever changing phase
24. lescope s mirrors very often normally once every year or so Covering your tele scope when it is not in use will prevent dust from accumu lating on the mirrors Improper cleaning can scratch mirror coatings so the fewer times you have to clean the mirrors the better Small specks of dust or flecks of paint have virtu ally no effect on the visual performance of the telescope The large primary mirror and the elliptical secondary mirror of your telescope are front surface aluminized and over coat ed with hard silicon dioxide which prevents the aluminum from oxidizing These coatings normally last through many many years of use before requiring re coating which is eas ily done To clean the secondary mirror remove the mirror in its holder from the 4 vaned spider in the tube Do this by grasping the secondary mirror holder with your fingertips while turning the central bolt on the spider s central hub counterclockwise Handle the mirror holder only do not touch the mirror sur face Then follow the same procedure described below for cleaning the primary mirror The secondary mirror is glued into its holder and should not be removed from the holder for cleaning To clean the primary mirror carefully remove the mirror cell from the telescope Do this by first removing the four screws that connect the mirror cell to the tube These screws are located on the outside of the tube just above the mirror cell casting Next remove the p
25. limited range of mechanical travel The R A slow motion mechanism has no limit to its amount of travel If you can no longer rotate the Dec control cable in a desired direction you have reached the end of travel and the slow motion mechanism should be reset This is done by first rotating the control cable several turns in the opposite direction from which it was originally being turned Then manually slew the telescope closer to the object you wish to observe remember to first loosen the Dec lock knob You should now be able to use the Dec slow motion control cable again to fine adjust the telescope s position Tracking Celestial Objects When you observe a celestial object through the telescope you ll see it drift slowly across the field of view To keep it in the field if your equatorial mount is polar aligned just turn the R A slow motion control cable The Dec slow motion control cable is not needed for tracking Objects will appear to move faster at higher magnifications because the field of view is narrower Optional Motor Drives for Automatic Tracking An optional DC motor drive can be mounted on the R A axis of the equatorial mount to provide hands free tracking Objects will then remain stationary in the field of view with out any manual adjustment of the R A slow motion control cable Understanding the Setting Circles The setting circles on an equatorial mount enable you to locate celestial objects by their
26. mount by adjusting the length of the three tripod legs 2 Loosen the latitude lock T bolt Turn the latitude adjust ment T bolt and tilt the mount until the pointer on the lati tude scale is set at the latitude of your observing site If you don t know your latitude consult a geographical atlas to find it For example if your latitude is 35 North set the pointer to 35 Then retighten the latitude lock T bolt The latitude setting should not have to be adjusted again unless you move to a different viewing location some dis tance away 3 Loosen the Dec lock knob and rotate the telescope opti cal tube until it is parallel with the R A axis as it is in Figure 1 The pointer on the Dec setting circle should read 90 Retighten the Dec lock lever 4 Loosen the azimuth lock knob at the base of the equato rial mount and rotate the mount so the telescope tube and R A axis points roughly at Polaris If you cannot see Polaris directly from your observing site consult a compass and rotate the mount so the telescope points North Retighten the azimuth lock knob The equatorial mount is now polar aligned for casual observ ing More precise polar alignment is recommended for astro photography From this point on in your observing session you should not make any further adjustments in the azimuth or the latitude of the mount nor should you move the tripod Doing so will undo the polar alignment The telescope should be moved
27. nutes in 1 degree of declination Before you can use the setting circles to locate objects the mount must be well polar aligned and the R A setting circle must be calibrated The Dec setting circle has been perma nently calibrated at the factory and should read 90 when ever the telescope optical tube is parallel with the R A axis Calibrating the Right Ascension Setting Circle 1 Identify a bright star near the celestial equator Dec 0 and look up its coordinates in a star atlas 2 Loosen the R A and Dec lock knobs on the equatorial mount so the telescope optical tube can move freely 3 Point the telescope at the bright star near the celestial equator whose coordinates you know Lock the R A and Dec lock knobs Center the star in the telescope s field of view with the slow motion control cables 4 Loosen the R A setting circle lock thumb screw located just above the R A setting circle pointer this will allow the setting circle to rotate freely Rotate the setting circle until the pointer indicates the R A coordinate listed in the star atlas for the object Retighten the thumb screw 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 1 Loosen the Dec lock knob and rotate the telescope until the Dec value from the star atlas matches the reading on the Dec setting circle Remember to use the 90
28. only about its R A and Dec axes Use of the R A and Dec Slow Motion Control Cables The R A and Dec slow motion control cables allow fine adjustment of the telescope s position to center objects within the field of view Before you can use the cables you must manually slew the mount to point the telescope in the vicinity of the desired target Do this by loosening the R A and Dec lock knobs and moving the telescope about the mount s R A and Dec axes Once the telescope is pointed somewhere close to the object to be viewed retighten the mount s R A and Dec lock knobs The object should now be visible somewhere in the tele scope s finder scope If it isn t use the slow motion controls to scan the surrounding area of sky When the object is visible in the finder scope use the slow motion controls to center it Now look in the telescope with a long focal length low magnification eyepiece If the finder scope is properly aligned the object should be visible somewhere in the field of view Once the object is visible in the telescope s eyepiece use the slow motion controls to center it in the field of view You can now switch to a higher magnification eyepiece if you wish After switching eyepieces you can use the slow motion control cables to re center the image if necessary The Dec slow motion control cable can move the telescope a maximum of 25 This is because the Dec slow motion mechanism has a
29. ope should now be able to rotate freely about the R A axis Rotate it until the coun terweight shaft is parallel to the ground i e horizontal 2 Now loosen the counterweight lock knob and slide the weight along the shaft until it exactly counterbalances the telescope Figure 4a That s the point at which the shaft remains horizontal even when you let go of the telescope with both hands Figure 4b 3 Retighten the counterweight lock knob The telescope is now balanced on the R A axis 4 To balance the telescope on the Dec axis first tighten the R A lock knob with the counterweight shaft still in the Figure 4 Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on both the R A and Dec axes a With the R A lock knob released slide the counterweight along the counterweight shaft until it just counterbalances the tube b When you let go with both hands the tube should not drift up or down c With the Dec lock knob released loosen the tube ring lock clamps a few turns and slide the telescope forward or back in the tube rings d When the tube is balanced about the Dec axis it will not move when you let go horizontal position 5 With one hand on the telescope optical tube loosen the Dec lock knob The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the Dec axis Loosen the tube ring clamps a few turns until you can slide the telescope tube forward and back
30. piece 1 26 1 6x30 crosshair finder scope 6 Collimating the Optics 9 posearre cone Becket wins 7 Using Your Telescope i Pauaterel moun Astronomical Observing 12 r E witetiac ment eerane 8 Care and Maintenance 14 3 Leg lock knots mayaiready beoh tibodiega 9 Specifications 154 Counterweight shaft i i 3 NO Slow motion control cables Make sure all the parts in the Parts List are present Be sure to check boxes carefully as some parts are small If anything 3 Assembly appears to be missing or broken immediately call Orion Customer Support 800 676 1343 for assistance Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about 30 minutes No tools are needed other than the ones pro vided All screws should be tightened securely to eliminate WARNING Never look directly at the Sun flexing and wobbling but be careful not to over tighten or through your telescope or its finder scope even the threads may strip Refer to Figure 1 during the assembly for an instant without a professionally made process solar filter that completely covers the front of During assembly and anytime for that matter DO NOT the instrument or permanent eye damage could touch the surfaces of the telescope mirrors or the lenses of result Be sure to also cover the front of the finder the finder scopes or eyepieces with your fingers The opti scope with aluminum foil or another op
31. r caps on the finder scope or better yet remove the find er scope from the telescope when solar viewing C The Planets The planets don t stay put like the stars so to find them you should refer to Sky Calendar at our website www tele scope com or to charts published monthly in Astronomy Sky amp Telescope or other astronomy magazines Venus Mars Jupiter and Saturn are the brightest objects in the sky after the Sun and the Moon Your SpaceProbe 130ST EQ is capable of showing you these planets in some detail Other planets may be visible but will likely appear star like Because planets are quite small in apparent size optional higher power eyepieces are recommended and often need ed for detailed observations Not all the planets are generally visible at any one time JUPITER The largest planet Jupiter is a great subject for observation You can see the disk of the giant planet and watch the ever changing positions of its four largest moons lo Callisto Europa and Ganymede Higher power eyepieces should bring out the cloud bands on the planet s disk SATURN The ringed planet is a breathtaking sight when it is well positioned The tilt angle of the rings varies over a period of many years sometimes they are seen edge on while at other times they are broadside and look like giant ears on each side of Saturn s disk A steady atmosphere good see ing is necessary for a good view You will probably see a bri
32. rimary mirror from the mirror cell you will need to remove the three mirror clips to do this Completely unthread the two Phillips head screws on each clip and carefully lift the mirror from its cell Be careful not to touch the front surface of the mirror with your fingers Set the mirror with the aluminized face up on a clean soft towel Fill a clean sink free of abrasive cleanser with room tempera ture water a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent and if possible a cap full of rubbing alcohol Submerge the mirror aluminized face up in the water and let it soak for several minutes or hours if it s a very dirty mirror Wipe the mirror under water with clean cotton balls using extremely light pressure and stroking in straight lines across the surface Use one ball for each wipe across the mirror Then rinse the mirror under a stream of lukewarm water Any particles on the surface can be swabbed gently with a series of clean cot ton balls each used just one time Dry the mirror in a stream of air a blower bulb works great or remove any stray drops of water with the corner of a paper towel Water will run off a clean surface Cover the mirror surface with tissue and leave the entire assembly in a warm area until it is com pletely dry before reassembling the telescope 9 Specifications Optical tube Steel Primary mirror diameter 130mm Primary mirror coating Aluminum with silicon dioxide SiO overcoat Primar
33. rion Telescopes amp Binoculars 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 800 676 1343 Orion Telescopes amp Binoculars 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 Customer Support Help Line 800 676 1343 Day or Evening
34. rror toward the front opening of the optical tube while turning the screw counter clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the primary mirror When the secondary mirror is centered in the focuser draw tube rotate the secondary mirror holder until the reflection of the primary mirror is as centered in the secondary mirror as possible It may not be perfectly centered but that is OK Now tighten the three small alignment set screws equally to secure the secondary mirror in that position g sal 4 Figure 9 To center the secondary mirror under the focuser hold the secondary mirror holder in place with one hand while adjusting the center screw with a Phillips screwdriver Do not touch the mirror s surface If the entire primary mirror reflection is not visible in the sec ondary mirror as in Figure 8c you will need to adjust the tilt of the secondary mirror This is done by alternately loosening one of the three alignment setscrews while tightening the other two as depicted in Figure 10 The goal is to center the primary mirror reflection in the secondary mirror as in Figure 8d Don t worry that the reflection of the secondary mirror the smallest circle with the collimation cap dot in the cen ter is off center You will fix that in the next step Aligning the Primary Mirror The final adjustment is made to the primary mirror It will need adjustment if as in Figure 8d the secondary mirror is centered under the
35. s a When the mirrors are properly aligned the view down the focuser drawtube should look like this b With the collimation cap in place if the optics are out of alignment the view might look something like this c Here the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser but it needs to be adjusted tilted so that the entire primary mirror is visible d The secondary mirror is correctly aligned but the primary mirror still needs adjustment When the primary mirror is correctly aligned the dot will be centered as in e tion of the secondary mirror and your eye centered in the reflection of the primary mirror as in Figure 8a If anything is off center proceed with the following collimating procedure The Collimation Cap and Mirror Center Mark Your SpaceProbe 130ST EQ comes with a collimation cap This is a simple cap that fits on the focuser drawtube like a dust cap but has a hole in the center and a silver bottom This helps center your eye so that collimating is easy to per form Figures 8b through 8e assume you have the collimation cap in place In addition to providing the collimation cap you ll notice a tiny ring sticker in the exact center of the primary mirror This center mark allows you to achieve a very precise col limation of the primary mirror you don t have to guess where the center of the mirror is You simply adjust the mirror posi tion described below until the reflection of the
36. s you ll get a new view of the Moon every night The best time to observe our one and only natural sat ellite is during a partial phase that is when the Moon is NOT full During partial phases shadows are cast on the surface which reveal more detail especially right along the border between the dark and light portions of the disk called the terminator A full Moon is too bright and devoid of surface shadows to yield a pleasing view Make sure to observe the Moon when it is well above the horizon to get the sharpest images Use an optional Moon filter to dim the Moon when it is very bright It simply threads onto the bottom of the eyepieces you must first remove the eyepiece from the focuser to attach a filter You ll find that the Moon filter improves view ing comfort and also helps to bring out subtle features on the lunar surface B The Sun You can change your nighttime telescope into a daytime Sun viewer by installing an optional full aperture solar filter over the front opening of the SpaceProbe 130ST EQ The primary attraction is sunspots which change shape appearance and location daily Sunspots are directly related to magnetic activ ity in the Sun Many observers like to make drawings of sun spots to monitor how the Sun is changing from day to day Important Note Do not look at the Sun with any optical instrument without a professionally made solar filter or permanent eye damage could result Leave the cove
37. scope point the telescope at this star and center it on the crosshairs Next look again at the star chart and find another suitably bright star near the bright star cur rently centered in the finder Keep in mind that the field of view of the finder scope is about 7 so you should choose another star that is no more that 7 from the first star if pos sible Move the telescope slightly until the telescope is cen tered on the new star Continue using stars as guideposts in this way until you are at the approximate position of the object you are trying to find Figure 13 Look in the telescope s eyepiece and the object should be somewhere within the field of view If it s not sweep the telescope carefully around the immediate vicinity until the object is found If you have trouble finding the object start the star hop again from the brightest star near the object you wish to view This time be sure the stars indicated on the star chart are in fact the stars you are centering in the eyepiece Remember the finder scope and main telescope eyepiece for that matter gives an inverted image so you must keep this in mind when star hopping from star to star 8 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 14 telescope outdoors although storage in a garage or shed is
38. 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 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 Planetary observing may also be poor In conditions of good seeing star twinkling is minimal and images appear steady in the eyepiece Seeing is best over head worst at the horizon Also seeing generally gets better 12 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 All tend to scatter light which reduces an object s brightness Transparency is judged by the magnitude of the faintest stars you can see with the unaided eye 6th magnitude or fainter is desirable Cooling the Telescope All optical instruments need time to reach thermal equilib rium The bigger the instrument and the larger the tempera ture change the more time is needed Allow at least 30 min utes for your telescope to cool to the
39. t lock knob still loose grip the counterweight with one hand and thread the shaft into the equatorial mount at the base of the declination axis with the other hand When it is threaded as far in as it will go position the counterweight about halfway up the shaft and tighten the counterweight lock knob The retaining screw and washer on the bottom of the shaft prevent the counterweight from falling off and onto your foot if the counterweight lock knob becomes loose Dec slow motion R A setting A control cable circle Latitude Dec lock knob scale TNN i i i a Dec setting circle Latitude lock T bolt R A setting circle lock thumbscrew R A slow motion control cable Latitude adjustment T bolt Azimuth lock knob Figure 2 The SpaceProbe 130 ST s equatorial mount 9 Attach the two tube rings to the equatorial head using the hex head screws that come installed in the bottom of the rings First remove the screws then push the screws with the washers still attached up through the holes in the tube ring mounting plate on the top of the equato rial mount and rethread them into the bottom of the tube rings Tighten the screws securely with the smaller wrench Open the tube rings by first loosening the knurled ring clamps One of the tube rings has a piggyback cam era adapter on top the knurled black ring it can be used to mount a camera for piggyback astrophotography 10 Lay the teles
40. temperature outdoors In very cold climates below freezing it is essential to store the telescope as cold as possible If it has to adjust to more than a 40 temperature change allow at least one hour Let Your Eyes Dark Adapt Don t expect to go from a lighted house into the darkness of the outdoors at night and immediately see faint nebulas galaxies and star clusters or even very many stars for that matter Your eyes take about 30 minutes to reach per haps 80 of their full dark adapted sensitivity As your eyes become dark adapted more stars will glimmer into view and you ll be able to see fainter details in objects you view in your telescope To see what you re doing in the darkness use a red filtered flashlight rather than a white light Red light does not spoil your eyes dark adaptation like white light does A flashlight with a red LED light is ideal or you can cover the front of a regular incandescent flashlight with red cellophane or paper Beware too that nearby porch and streetlights and car headlights will ruin your night vision Eyepiece Selection By using eyepieces of varying focal lengths it is possible to attain many magnifications with the SpaceProbe 130ST EQ The telescope comes with two high quality Sirius Plossl eye pieces a 25mm which gives a magnification of 26x anda 10mm which gives a magnification of 65x Other eyepieces can be used to achieve higher or lower powers It is quite common for
41. the mirror mark a ON Figure 10 Adjust the tilt of the secondary mirror by loosening or tightening the three alignment set screws with a 2mm Allen wrench Set screw Phillips head screw Figure 11 The back end of the optical tube bottom of the primary mirror cell The three pairs of set screws and Phillips head screws adjust the tilt of the primary mirror When you have the dot centered as much as possible in the ring your primary mirror is collimated The view through the collimation cap should resemble Figure 8e Make sure all the collimation screws are tight but do not overtighten to secure the mirror tilt A simple star test will tell you whether the optics are accu rately collimated Star Testing the Telescope When it is dark point the telescope at a bright star and accu rately center it in the eyepiece s field of view Slowly de focus the image with the focusing knob If the telescope is correctly collimated the expanding disk should be a perfect circle Figure 12 If the image is unsymmetrical the scope is out of collimation The dark shadow cast by the secondary mirror should appear in the very center of the out of focus circle like the hole in a donut If the hole appears off center the telescope is out of collimation If you try the star test and the bright star you have select ed is not accurately centered in the eyepiece the optics will always appear out of collimation even thoug
42. u do not know the positions of the con stellations in the night sky you will need a planisphere to identify them Start by choosing bright objects to view The brightness of an object is measured by its visual magnitude the brighter an object the lower its magnitude Choose an object with a visual magnitude of 9 or lower Many beginners start with the Messier objects which represent some of the best and brightest deep sky objects first catalogued about 200 years ago by the French astronomer Charles Messier Determine in which constellation the object lies Now find the constellation in the sky If you do not recognize the constella tions on sight consult a planisphere The planisphere gives an all sky view and shows which constellations are visible on a given night at a given time Now look at your star chart and find the brightest star in the constellation that is near the object you are trying to find iG ere ANDROMEDA Great Andromeda Galaxy M31 M110 Pinwheel Galaxy M33 Figure 13 Star hopping is a good way to locate hard to find objects Refer to a star chart to map a route to the object that uses bright stars as guideposts Center the first star you ve chosen in the finder scope and telescope eyepiece 1 Now move the scope carefully in the direction of the next bright star 2 until it is centered Repeat 3 and 4 The last hop 5 should place the desired object in the eyepiece Using the finder
43. y mirror figure Parabolic Secondary mirror minor axis 37mm Focal length 650mm Focal ratio f 5 Focuser Rack and pinion accepts 1 25 eyepieces Eyepieces 25mm and 10mm Sirius Pl ssl fully coated with multi coatings 1 25 Magnification 26x with 25mm 65x with 10mm Finder scope 6x magnification 30mm aperture achromatic crosshairs Mount German type equatorial Tripod Aluminum Motor drives Optional Weight 28 4lbs tube 6 9lbs mount 21 5lbs 15 One Year Limited Warranty This Orion SpaceProbe 130ST Equatorial Reflector is warranted against defects in materials or work manship for a period of one year from the date of purchase This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only During this warranty period Orion Telescopes amp Binoculars will repair or replace at Orion s option any warranted instrument that proves to be defective provided it is returned postage paid to Orion Warranty Repair 89 Hangar Way Watsonville CA 95076 If the product is not registered proof of purchase such as a copy of the original invoice is required This warranty does not apply if in Orion s judgment the instrument has been abused mishandled or modified nor does it apply to normal wear and tear This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state For further warranty service information contact Customer Service Department O
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