User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS STARMAX 127 EQ

[. . . ] INSTRUCTION MANUAL Orion StarMaxTM 127mm EQ ® #9826 Equatorial Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope 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 163 Rev. D 05/02 Finder scope Finder scope bracket Optical tube attachment knobs Declination lock lever Counterweights Counterweight lock knobs Counterweight shaft "Toe saver" Eyepiece Focus knob (behind diagonal) Star diagonal Right ascension slow motion control Declination slow motion control Right ascension lock lever Polar axis finder scope Latitude adjustment T-bolts Tripod leg Accessory tray attachment point Accessory tray bracket Accessory tray Leg lock knob Figure 1. StarMax 127mm EQ Parts Diagram 2 Welcome to a new world of adventure. [. . . ] slowmotion 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 without any manual adjustment of the R. A. Understanding the Setting Circles The setting circles on an equatorial mount enable you to locate celestial objects by their "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 9 on Earth can be described by its longitude and latitude. is similar to longitude on Earth, and Dec. values for celestial objects can be found in any star atlas or star catalog. setting circle is scaled in hours, from 1 through 24, with small marks in between representing 10 minute increments (there are 60 minutes in 1 hour of R. A. ). The upper set of numbers apply to viewing in the Northern Hemisphere, while the numbers below them apply to viewing in the Southern Hemisphere. coordinate indicator arrow is shown in Figure 4. setting circle is scaled in degrees, with each mark representing 2° increments. coordinates range from +90° to -90°. The 0° mark indicates the celestial equator. When the telescope is pointed north of the celestial equator, values of the Dec. setting circle are positive; when the telescope is pointed south of the celestial equator, values of the Dec. 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 arcminutes 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. [. . . ] We recommend purchasing an optional 45° correct-image diagonal for terrestrial observing; it provides a more comfortable viewing angle for land viewing and an image that is oriented the same as the naked eye. For terrestrial viewing, it's best to stick with low power eyepieces that yield a magnification under 100x. At higher powers, images rapidly lose sharpness and clarity due to "heat waves" caused by Sun-heated air. Remember to aim well clear of the Sun, unless the front of the telescope is fitted with a professionally made solar filter and the finder scope is covered with foil or some other completely opaque material. 8. [. . . ]