User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS 09068

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion Argonaut 6" Maksutov-Newtonian ® TM #9068 Optical Tube Assembly #21481 With GP-DX Equatorial Mount Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope. com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 P. O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 IN 104 Rev. B 0199 Congratulations on purchasing an Orion telescope!The Argonaut 6" Maksutov-Newtonian is a precision instrument designed for high-performance astronomical observation. With its Maksutov-Newtonian optical system expertly crafted in Russia, you'll enjoy exquisite views of countless celestial objects. [. . . ] (It helps to have two people for primary mirror collimation, one to look in the focuser while the other adjusts the collimation screws. ) The view through the Collimating Eyepiece should now resemble Figure 1D. The secondary mirror is centered in the focuser; the reflection of the primary mirror is centered in the 3. The Optics The Maksutov-Newtonian optical design yields exquisite, refractor-like images yet has a much more compact optical tube than an equivalent 6" refractor. A spherical mirror of this aperture would, by itself, yield an unacceptable degree of spherical aberration, so the design incorporates a deeply concave "corrector" lens, often called a "meniscus, " at the front of the scope. This lens, at the center of which the secondary mirror holder is mounted, provides sufficient correction to render a sharp, undistorted image. The diameter of the central obstruction has also been minimized to further increase image contrast. The purplish tint of the meniscus is caused by multi-layer coatings that have been applied to the surfaces of the glass to enhance light transmission and image contrast. Collimation Collimation is the process of adjusting the optical components of a telescope so they are perfectly aligned with each other. Your telescope's optics were aligned at the factory, and should not need much adjustment unless the telescope was roughly handled during shipment. You will never need to adjust the positioning of the front corrector lens; only the primary and secondary mirrors. Accurate alignment is important to insure the peak performance of your telescope, so it should be checked occasionally. Collimation of the mirrors is easy to do and should be done in daylight. To check the collimation, remove the eyepiece and look straight down the focuser drawtube. Turn the focus knob until the drawtube is in its most recessed position, and hold your eye just above the end of the drawtube. Make sure you are looking straight down the focuser, or your adjustments will not be correct. You should see the secondary mirror centered in the drawtube, the reflection of the primary mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflection of the secondary mirror centered in the reflection of the primary mirror (behind the reflection of the primary mirror's central black circle), as in Figure 1D, page 7. If anything is off-center, follow the collimation procedure below. 3 secondary mirror, and the reflection of the secondary mirror is centered in the reflection of the primary mirror (behind the central black circle). A simple star test will tell you whether the optics are accurately collimated. Star-Testing Your Telescope When it is dark, point the telescope at a bright star and center it in the eyepiece's field-of-view (with the right ascension and declination slow-motion controls on your equatorial mount). Slowly rack the image out of focus with the focusing knob. If the telescope is correctly collimated, the expanding disk should be a perfect circle. If it is unsymmetrical, the scope is out of collimation. [. . . ] If any tissue fibers remain after wiping, use a blower bulb to blow them off. Don't take any lenses apart for cleaning!Since the mirrors are housed within the sealed optical tube, they will not get dirty and should not need to be cleaned. Make sure to cover the focuser opening when the telescope is idle. [. . . ]