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1155 - EN - Meade InfinityAZ 60mm/70mm
MEADE INSTRUCTION MANUAL
60mm | 2.4” Alt-azimuth Refracting Telescope
70mm | 2.8” Alt-azimuth Refracting Telescope
INFINITY SERIES
60 & 70mm Telescopes
(c) nimax GmbH
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WARNING!
Never use a Meade
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 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.
®
telescope to look at the Sun! Looking
(c) nimax GmbH
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INTRODUCTION
Your telescope is an excellent beginner’s
instrument, and is designed to observe
objects in the sky and also on land. It can
be your personal window on the universe or
allows you to intimately study the behavior of
nesting birds on a distant hillside.
The telescope is shipped with the following
parts:
• Optical tube
• Aluminum tripod with accessory tray
• Two 1.25” eyepieces: MA25mm, MA9mm
• 90 degree erect image diagonal mirror
• 2X Barlow
• Red-dot viewfinder with bracket
• Yoke-style mount
The Infinity 60 optical tube has a focal length
of 800mm, and its objective lens has a diameter of 60mm.
The Infinity 70 optical tube has a focal length
of 700mm and diameter of 70mm.
The lens diameter is one of the most important pieces of information about the
telescope. The size of the objective lens
determines how much detail you will be
able to see in your telescope. The focal
length information will help later on to
calculate magnification.
Setting up your telescope involves these
simple steps:
• Setting up your tripod
• Attach the accessory tray
• Attach the optical tube to the mount
• Attach the viewfinder
• Attach the diagonal mirror and eyepiece
• Align the viewfinder
Study the picture on the next page and
become acquainted with the parts of
your telescope. Then proceed to “Setting up your Tripod.”
1
(c) nimax GmbH
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FIGURE 1
2
1. Eyepiece
2. Viewfinder (see Inset C)
3. Viewfinder alignment screws (2) (see Inset C)
4. Optical tube assembly
5. Vertical lock knobs
6. Horizontal lock knob
7. Tripod legs
8. Leg brace supports
9. Leg brace
10. Red dot viewfinder power switch
11. Altitude rod lock knob
12. Accessory tray mounting bolt hole (see Inset A)
13. Diagonal mirror
14. Objective lens cell
15. Focuser drawtube and thumbscrews
16. Altitude rod slow motion fine adjustment control
17. Altitude rod
18. Alt-azimuth mount
19. Adjustable sliding center leg extension
(see Inset B)
20. Tripod leg lock thumbscrew (see Inset B)
21. Dew shield/lens shade
22. Front lens cap (not shown)
23. Focusing knob
24. Viewfinder bracket (see Inset C)
25. Viewfinder bracket mounting bolts and thumbscrews (not shown, see Fig. 4)
26. Accessory tray
Inset A: Accessory Tray Assembly
Inset B: Tripod Leg
Inset C: Viewfinder Assembly
Figure 1: Meade 60 & 70mm Alt-azimuth Refracting Telescope
Inset A
Inset B
Inset C
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SETTING UP YOUR TRIPOD
The tripod is the basic support for your telescope and comes pre-assembled from the
factory; except for the accessory tray. The
tripod height may be adjusted so that you
can view comfortably.
Note: Number in brackets, e.g., (3), refer
to the item numbers in Fig. 1.
1. To setup the tripod, spread the legs out
evenly and place it on a solid surface.
2. Set the height of your tripod:
a. Rotate and loosen the leg lock thumb-
screw (20) to unlock the leg lock.
b. Slide the inner portion of the leg (19) in
or out to the desired length. Repeat for
the other two legs.
c. Rotate and tighten the leg lock thumb-
screw to re-lock the leg lock.
d. Repeat for the other two legs.
ATTACH THE ACCESSORY TRAY
The tray helps stabilize the tripod and is also
a convenient holder of eyepieces and other
Meade accessories, such as the Barlow lens.
1. Place the triangular accessory tray(26)
onto the leg braces(9). Line up the three
holes at each corner of the accessory tray
with the slotted holes on each leg brace.
2. Thread the provided wing-nuts from the
bottom side of each leg brace and into
the accessory tray bottom (see Fig. 2).
Tighten to a firm feel.
3. Repeat with the two other leg braces.
ATTACH THE OPTICAL TUBE TO THE
MOUNT
The optical tube gathers distant light which is
focused in the eyepiece.
1. Remove the two lock knobs (5) from the
optical tube mount.
2. Slide the altitude rod (17) into the altitude
lock knob hole(11).
3. Place the optical tube (4) between the
forks of the mount, oriented as shown in
Fig. 3.
4. Thread a lock knobs (5) through each of
the holes in the forks of the mount and
tighten to a firm feel.
ATTACH THE VIEWFINDER
An eyepiece (1) has a narrow field of view.
A viewfinder (2) has a wider field of view,
which makes it easier to locate objects. The
viewfinder has a red dot to make it easier to
line up more precisely with a target.
1. Note the two thumbscrews (25)
threaded onto two bolts (see Fig.
4) on the optical tube. Remove the
thumbscrews from the tube.
2. Line up the two holes on the viewfinder bracket over the two bolts. Slide the
bracket over the bolts. See Fig. 1, inset C.
3. Replace the thumbscrews onto the bolts
and tighten to a firm feel.
ATTACH THE DIAGONAL MIRROR AND
EYEPIECE
The diagonal mirror reflects the light from the
optical tube to a more comfortable viewing
position.
3
Fig. 2
(c) nimax GmbH
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1. Slide the diagonal mirror (13) into
the focuser drawtube (15).
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2. Tighten the drawtube thumbscrew to
hold the diagonal mirror securely.
3. Slide the MA 26mm eyepiece (1) into diagonal mirror.
4. Tighten the diagonal mirror thumbscrew to
hold the eyepiece securely.
ALIGN THE VIEWFINDER
Perform the first part of this procedure during
the daytime and the last step at night.
1. Point the telescope at an easy-
place tube between forks
lock
knob
slide rod
through
hole
Fig. 3
lock
knob
to-find land object such as the top of a
telephone pole or a distant mountain or
tower. Look through the eyepiece in the
diagonal mirror and turn the focuser knob
(23) 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 rotating
the large knob under the viewfinder lens
clockwise(10). Turn the knob to adjust the
intensity of the red dot as desired.
3. Look through the viewfinder. Turn one or
both of the viewfinder’s alignment screws
(3) 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 viewfinder’s
alignment screws to make any necessary
refinements.
5. When finished, turn off the viewfinder by
turning the large knob under the viewfinder lens counter-clockwise until it clicks.
TO MOVE THE TELESCOPE
Your telescope is alt-azimuth mounted.
Alt-azimuth is just a complicated way of
saying that your telescope moves up
and down and from side to side. Other telescopes may be mounted in different ways.
1. Slightly loosen both of the star-shaped
altitude control knobs (5) and altitude rod
lock knob(11). Loosening these knobs
allow you to move the telescope up and
down.
2. Slightly loosen the horizontal lock
knob (6). Loosening this lock allows
the telescope to be moved from side
to side.
3. Once an object is found, re-tighten the
control knobs. You can then use the slow
Fig. 4
viewfinder
mounting
bolts
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motion control (16) to make smooth and
precise movements as you can follow
(or “track”) an object vertically as it moves
in the eyepiece.
4. To use the slow motion control feature(16)
aim the telescope at an object and tighten
the control knobs(5). Then lock the
altitude lock knob(11) and rotate the slow
motion control(16) to follow the target in
the vertical direction.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
We have one very important rule that
you should always follow 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
and observe at first.
You will enjoy your telescope even more as
you learn more about it. But don’t be scared
off by difficult terms or complicated proce-
SUN WARNING
NEVER 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 TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEW-
FINDER 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 OBSERVING.
dures. Don’t panic! Just relax and enjoy your
scope.
You will begin to grow and learn more about
astronomy the more you observe. Browse the
internet or go to the library and read some
books about the stars and planets. Read
about astronomers of old. Many of them had
telescopes 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!).
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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.
Unlock the lock knobs: To move the telescope, you will need to unlock the horizontal
(6) and vertical (5 & 11) lock knobs (just
rotate to unlock or lock; when locking, only
tighten to a “firm feel,” do not over tighten).
THE MEADE 4M COMMUNITY
You haven’t just bought a telescope, you have embarked 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.
(c) nimax GmbH
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Use the viewfinder: If you have not
done so, align the viewfinder (2)
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with the telescope’s eyepiece (1) as
described earlier. Look through the
viewfinder until you can see the object. It will
be easier to locate an object using the viewfinder rather than locating with the eyepiece.
Line up the object using the viewfinders
crosshair.
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 see
the object in your eyepiece.
Focus: Look through the eyepiece and practice focusing on the object you have chosen.
Try out the coarse and fine adjustment
controls: Practice using the fine adjustment
control (16) to 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 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
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.
(c) nimax GmbH
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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 atmosphere 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 Jupiter’s giant disk. Drawing the positions of the moons each night is an excellent
exercise for novice astronomers.
Any small telescope can see the four
Galilean moons of Jupiter (Fig. 5), 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
you may not see many features on the
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surface of Saturn, its ring structure will
steal your breath away. You will prob-
ably be able to see a black opening in
8
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
also have faint rings.
Optional color filters help bring out detail and
contrast of the planets. Meade offers a line
of inexpensive color filters.
What’s 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?
Fig. 5
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 close to—or even
through—a larger galaxy.
You may be able to see the Andromeda
galaxy and several others in your telescope.
They will appear as small, fuzzy clouds.
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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.
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 the 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 26mm low-power eyepiece. The
26mm 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
9
image become fuzzy, switch back down to a
lower power. Changing eyepieces changes
the power or magnification of your telescope.
You can also change magnification by using
a Barlow lens. The Barlow lens included with
your telescope doubles the power of your
telescope. Place the Barlow into the eyepiece holder before you insert the eyepiece.
Meade offers a complete line of eyepieces
and Barlows for your telescope. Most astron-
SURF THE WEB
• The Meade 4M Community:
http://www.meade4m.com
• Sky & 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
(c) nimax GmbH
Page 12
omers have four or five low-power and
high power eyepieces to view different
objects and to cope with different view-
10
ing 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 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
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 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 a red-filtered flashlight to protect your night vision
when reading star maps, or inspecting the
telescope. 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 taping 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 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
sharpness—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 high a power eyepiece is one of
the most common mistakes made by new
astronomers.
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
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.
TM
software. Contact your
(c) nimax GmbH
Page 13
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? 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 Astronomy
and Sky and Telescope magazines.
HAVE A GOOD TIME,
ASTRONOMY IS FUN!
SPECIFICATIONS
Infinity 60 model:
Objective lens diameter 60mm(2.4”)
Optical tube focal length 800mm
Focal ratio f/13.3
Mounting type Alt-azimuth
Viewfinder Red-dot
Infinity 70 model:
Objective lens diameter 70mm(2.8”)
Optical tube focal length 700mm
Focal ratio f/10
Mounting type Alt-azimuth
Viewfinder Red-dot
What do the specifications mean?
Optical tube focal length is the distance light
travels in the telescope before being brought
to focus in you eyepiece. Depending on the
telescope model, the focal length is either
800mm or 700mm long. Look at the specification table to find out your telescopes focal
length.
Objective lens diameter is how big the
front lens is on your scope. Telescopes are
always described by how large their objective lens is. Depending on your telescope
model, the lens diameter is either
60mm or 70mm.
Other telescopes are 90mm, 8 inches,
11
16 inches, or even 3 feet in diameter.
The Hubble Telescope’s objective lens has
a diameter of 2.4 meters (that’s 7.8 feet
across!).
The focal ratio helps determine 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 faster
the ratio, the faster exposure time is needed
when a camera is hooked up to the telescope. Your telescope has slower focal ratio
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
(c) nimax GmbH
Page 14
at f/8.5. Sometimes, astronomers use
focal reducers to make slow exposure
telescopes have faster focal ratios.
12
Alt-azimuth mounting simply means
your telescope moves up and down (altitude
or “alt”), and side to side, (azimuth or “az”).
Other mounting configurations are available
for other telescopes, such as equatorial
mounting.
USE THE SPECIFICATIONS TO CALCULATE THE MAGNIFICATION OF YOUR
EYEPIECE
The power of a telescope is how much it
magnifies objects. For a Infinity 70, the
26mm eyepiece magnifies an object 27
times. The 9mm eyepiece magnifies objects
78 times.
If you obtain other eyepieces, you can calculate how much magnification they have with
your telescope. Just divide the focal length
of the telescope by the focal length of the
eyepiece.
Focal Length of the Telescope
÷
Focal Length of the Eyepiece
=
Magnification
Look at the specifications. For the Infinity
70, you will see that the focal length of your
scope is 700mm. Let’s say that you have
obtained a 13mm eyepiece. You can tell that
what the focal length of your eyepiece is as
it is always printed on the side of an eyepiece. Divide: 700 ÷ 13, which equals 54.85.
Round this off to the nearest whole number
and your new eyepiece magnifies objects 55
times.
A great accessory for your telescope is
a Barlow lens If you use a Barlow lens
with one of your eyepieces, it doubles the
magnification of your eyepiece. Other types
of Barlows can triple or further increase the
power of an eyepiece. To find out how much
the magnification is when you use a Barlow,
multiply your eyepiece’s magnification
by two.
Eyepiece’s magnification x 2
=
Magnification with a 2X Barlow lens
For the Infinity 70 the 26mm low-power eyepiece magnifies an object 27 times. Multiply
27 by 2 and you get 54 times magnification
with a Barlow.
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!
(c) nimax GmbH
Page 15
TAKING CARE OF YOUR TELESCOPE
Your telescope is a precision optical instrument designed for a lifetime of rewarding
viewing. It will rarely, if ever, require factory
servicing or maintenance. Follow these
guidelines to keep your telescope in the best
condition:
• Avoid cleaning the telescope’s lenses. A
little dust on the front surface of the telescope’s correcting lens will not cause loss
of image quality.
• When absolutely necessary, dust on the
front lens should be removed with very
gentle strokes of a camel hair brush or
blown off with an ear syringe (available at
most pharmacies).
• Fingerprints and organic materials on the
front lens 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
tissues or damage could result to the optics.
DO NOT use a commercial photographic
lens cleaner.
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 clockwise. If the red dot does not illuminate, the
battery may need replacing.
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.
6). 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.
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES
Additional Eyepieces (1.25” barrel
diameter): For higher or lower
magnifications with the telescopes that
accommodate 1.25” eyepieces, Meade
Series 4000 Super Plössl eyepieces,
Push here to open battery compartment
Battery
compartment
JOIN AN ASTRONOMY CLUB, ATTEND A STAR
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 for many
popular Star Parties around the United States and
Canada.
PARTY
(c) nimax GmbH
13
Fig. 6
CR2032
battery
Page 16
available in a wide variety of sizes,
provide a high level of image resolution
14
and color correction at an economical
price.
Visit us on the web at www.astroshop.eu.
(c) nimax GmbH
Page 17
OBSERVATION LOG
OBSERVER:
OBJECT NAME:
DATE & TIME OBSERVED:
CONSTELLATION:
EYEPIECE SIZE:
SEEING CONDITIONS: EXCELLENT GOOD POOR
NOTES:
photocopy this page
DRAWING OF IMAGE
(c) nimax GmbH
Page 18
Meade Instruments Corp.
www.meade.com
(c) nimax GmbH
27 Hubble, Irvine,
California
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