User manual CELESTRON STAR-GAZER 300X

[. . . ] 8 THE OPTICAL TUBE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 INSTALLING THE VARIABLE TENSION HANDLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 THE FINDERSCOPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ATTACHING THE FINDERSCOPE BRACKET TO THE TELESCOPE TUBE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] Improvement should be seen if the proper adjustments are made. Since three screws are present, it may be necessary to move at least two of them to achieve the necessary mirror movement. 15 TELESCOPE BASICS Focusing the Telescope The Star Hopper® telescope is equipped with a rack and pinion focuser. Focusing is accomplished by rotating the focuser knobs until a sharp focus is reached. To focus your telescope, begin by putting the eyepiece in the eyepiece holder of the focuser. When doing astronomical viewing, you'll find that out of focus star images are very diffuse and difficult to see. Therefore, choose a bright object, like the moon or a planet for your first astronomical target. This way, the image will be visible even when out of focus. If you're focusing on a star, its image should, as closely as possible, resemble a pinpoint. If you're focusing on the moon or a planet, rotate the focuser barrel until the image is sharp. Calculating Magnification You can change the viewing power of your Celestron Star Hopper telescope just by changing the eyepiece. There are various optional eyepieces shown in the Optional Accessories section of this manual. To determine the magnification of your telescope, simply divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece being used. You'll have to manually adjust the telescope to keep the moon centered. This effect is more noticeable at higher power. Consult a current astronomy magazine or your local newspaper to find out the current phase of the moon. Lunar Observing Hint To increase contrast and bring out visible detail on the lunar surface, try using different filters (available through your local Celestron dealer). A yellow filter works well for improving contrast. Observing the Planets Other easy targets include the five "naked eye" planets of our solar system, so called because they can be spotted in the night sky by the unaided eye. You can see Venus go through its lunar-like phases. Mars can reveal a host of surface detail and one, if not both, of its polar caps. You'll be able to see the cloud belts of Jupiter, perhaps even the great Red Spot. In addition, you'll be able to see the moons of Jupiter as they orbit the giant planet. Saturn, with its beautiful rings, is easily visible at moderate power, as is Mercury. Most astronomy publications indicate where the planets are in the sky each month. 17 Observing Deep-Sky Objects Deep-sky objects are simply those objects outside the boundaries of our solar system. They include star clusters, planetary nebulae, diffuse nebulae, double stars and other galaxies outside our own Milky Way. [. . . ] This CD-ROM is easy to load, requiring only a 4MB system to run. A full description of all Celestron accessories can be found in the Celestron Accessory Catalog (#93685) 25 CELESTRON TWO YEAR WARRANTY A. Celestron warrants this telescope to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years. Celestron will repair or replace such product or part thereof which, upon inspection by Celestron, is found to be defective in materials or workmanship. [. . . ]