INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Orion®
SkyView™ Pro 8 EQ
#9738 Equatorial Reflecting Telescope
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975
Customer Support (800)-676-1343
E-mail: support@telescope.com
Corporate Offices (831)-763-7000
89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076
OrionTelescopes.com
IN 175 Rev. C 04/09
Finder scope
Finder scope bracket
Eyepiece
Declination lock lever
(not shown)
Right ascension lock
lever (not shown)
Declination slow-motion control
knob
Safety thumbscrew
Mounting plate securing knob
Counterweight shaft
Counterweights
Counterweight lock knobs
Tube rings
Optical tube
Mirror cell
Right ascension
slow-motion
control knob
Latitude scale
Latitude adjustment L-bolts
Center support shaft
Tripod leg
Leg lock knobs
2
Tripod support tray
Figure 1. The SkyView Pro 8 EQ.
Welcome to the exciting world of amateur astronomy! Your new SkyView Pro 8 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 clusters.
These instructions will help you set up, properly use, and care for your telescope. Please read them thoroughly before getting started.
Table of Contents
1. Unpacking........................ 3
2. Parts list .........................3
3. Assembly ........................ 3
4. Balancing the Telescope............. 5
5. Using Your Telescope ...............6
6. Setting Up and Using the
Equatorial Mount................... 7
7. Collimation (Aligning the Mirrors) ..... 11
8. Astronomical Observing ............ 14
9. Astrophotography .................17
10. Care and maintenance .............18
11. Specifications .................... 19
1. Unpacking
The entire mount will arrive in two boxes, one containing the
mount and tripod, the other containing the optical tube Be
careful unpacking the boxes. We recommend keeping the
boxes and all original packaging. In the event that the telescope needs to be shipped to another location, or returned to
Orion for warranty repair, having the proper boxes and packaging will help ensure that your mount will survive the journey
intact.
Make sure all the parts in the Parts List are present. Be
sure to check each box carefully, as some parts are small.
If anything appears to be missing or broken, immediately call Orion Customer Support (800-676-1343) or email
support@telescope.com for assistance.
WARNING: Never look directly at the
Sun through your telescope or its finder
scope—even for an instant—without
a professionally made solar filter that
completely covers the front of the
instrument, or permanent eye damage
could result. Young children should use this
telescope only with adult supervision.
2. Parts List
The box containing the mount will have the following parts:
1 Tripod
1 Equatorial mount
1 Tripod support tray
1 Tube ring mounting plate
1 Counterweight shaft
1 Latitude adjustment L-bolt
2 Counterweights
2 Slow-motion control knobs
1 R.A. axis rear cover
The box containing the optical tube will have the following
parts:
1 Optical tube assembly
2 Tube rings with mounting screws
1 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece
1 10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece
1 Finder scope
1 Finder scope bracket with O-ring
1 Collimation cap
1 Camera adapter
1 Dust cover
3. Assembly
1. Stand the tripod legs upright and spread the legs out as far
as they will go. Keep the tripod legs at their shortest (fully
retracted) length, for now; you can extend them to a more
desirable length later, after the scope is fully assembled.
2. Place the base of the equatorial mount into the tripod
head. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the
tripod head lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on
the equatorial mount (Figure 2). You may need to loosen
the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount in
order to fit the mount into the tripod head.
3. Thread the central support shaft into the equatorial mount
until tight. This will secure the equatorial mount to the tripod head.
4. Remove the knob and washer from the bottom of the center
support shaft. Slide the tripod support tray up the bottom
3
of the central support shaft until the three tray arms are
touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of the accessory tray should be facing up. Make sure the “V” of each
tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the washer back on
the center support shaft against the tray, and thread the
securing knob all the way up the center support shaft until
it is tight against the tray. The tripod support tray provides
additional stability for the tripod, and holds five 1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces.
Azimuth
adjustment
knobs
Figure 2. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the
tripod head lines up with the azimuth adjustment knobs on the
equatorial mount.
5. Thread the Latitude adjustment L-bolt into the rear of the of
the equatorial mount casing as shown in place in Figure 1.
6. Thread the counterweight shaft into the equatorial mount
at the base of the declination axis until tight. Make sure the
casting at the top is threaded clockwise as far as it will go
before attaching the shaft. Once the shaft is installed, turn
the casting counter-clockwise until the top of the casting is
flush with the mount.
7. Remove the knurled “toe saver” retaining screw on the
bottom of the counterweight shaft and slide both counterweights onto the shaft. Make sure the counterweight lock
knobs are adequately loosened to allow the counterweight
shaft to pass through the hole. Position the counterweights
about halfway up the shaft and tighten the lock knobs.
Replace the toe saver at the end of the bar. The toe saver
prevents the counterweights from falling on your foot if the
lock knobs happen to come loose.
8. Attach the slow-motion control knobs to the right ascension and declination gear shafts of the equatorial mount
by sliding them onto the shaft. Line up the flat on the end
of the gear shaft with thecorresponding feature in the interior of the knob to attach them properly. The knobs can be
attached to either end of the shafts; use whichever end is
most convenient.
9. Attach the tube mounting rings to the tube mounting plate
using the attachment screws that are on the tube rings.
The screws should go through the holes on the outer ends
Post
of the mounting plate and rethread into the tube rings. Note
that the side of the mounting plate with the central “groove”
will be facing up. Use the small wrench to secure the tube
rings to the mounting plate.
10. Loosen the black mounting plate securing knob as well as
the metal safety thumbscrew. Place the mounting plate in
the dovetail slot on top of the equatorial mount. Position
the mounting plate so that it is centered on the dovetail
slot. Re-tighten the mounting plate securing knob until
the mounting plate is secure. Then, tighten the safety
thumbscrew. The safety thumbscrew will ensure that the
mounting plate (and telescope tube) will not fall off the EQ
mount if the mounting plate securing knob should come
loose.
11. Open the tube rings and lay the telescope optical tube in
the rings at about the midpoint of the tube’s length. Rotate
the tube so that the focuser is at a convenient height for
viewing. Close the tube rings and tighten them.
Installing the Finder Scope
To place the finder scope (Figure 3a) in the finder scope bracket, unthread the two black nylon thumbscrews 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 slot on the middle of
the finder scope. Slide the eyepiece end (narrow end) of the
finder scope into the end of the bracket’s cylinder opposite the
alignment thumbscrews while pulling the chrome, spring-loaded tensioner on the bracket with your fingers (Figure 3b). Push
the finder scope through the bracket until the O-ring seats just
inside the front opening of the bracket cylinder. Release the tensioner and tighten the two alignment thumbscrews a couple of
turns each to secure the finder scope in place. Insert the base
of the finder scope bracket into the dovetail holder on the top
of the focuser. Lock the bracket into position by tightening the
knurled thumbscrew on the dovetail holder.
Finder scope bracket Nylon
alignment
thumbscrews
Finder scope
Tensioner
Focus lock ring
Figure 3a. The 8x40 finder scope.
4
Figure 3b. Pull-back on the tensioner and slide the finder scope
into its bracket until the O-ring is seated in the bracket ring.
Inserting the Eyepiece
Loosen the thumbscrew on the 1.25" adapter (Figure 4) and
remove the small dust cap. Insert the 25mm eyepiece into the
focuser and secure it with the thumbscrew.
Your telescope is now completely assembled and should
appear as shown in Figure 1.
1.25"
eyepiece
adapter
Focus
knobs
2" eyepiece
adapter
Focus lock
thumbscrew
Collimation
screw pair (3)
4. Balancing the Telescope
To ensure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes
of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube
is properly balanced. We will first balance the telescope with
respect to the right ascension (R.A.) axis, then the declination
(Dec.) axis.
1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen
the R.A. lock lever. Make sure the Dec. lock lever is locked,
for now. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely
about the right ascension axis. Rotate it until the counterweight shaft is parallel to the ground (i.e., horizontal).
2. Now loosen both counterweight lock knobs and slide the
weights along the shaft until they exactly counterbalance
the telescope (Figure 5a). That’s the point at which the
shaft remains horizontal even when you let go with both
hands (Figure 5b).
3. Retighten the counterweight lock knobs. The telescope is
now balanced on the right ascension axis.
4. To balance the telescope on the declination axis, first tighten the R.A. lock lever, with the counterweight shaft still in
the horizontal position.
5. With one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the
Dec. lock lever. 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 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 5c).
6. Position the telescope in the mounting rings so it remains
horizontal when you carefully let go with both hands. This
is the balance point for the optical tube with respect to the
Dec. axis. (Figure 5d)
7. Retighten the tube ring clamps.
The telescope is now balanced on both axes. When you loosen the lock lever on one or both axes and manually point the
telescope, it should move without resistance and should not
drift from where you point it.
Figure 4. The 2" focuser of the SkyView Pro 8 EQ.
a. b. c. d.
5
5. Using Your Telescope
Focusing the Telescope
With the 25mm eyepiece inserted in the focuser, move the
telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general
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.
NOTE: The image in the telescope will appear rotated 180°
(upside down and reversed left-to-right). This is normal
for astronomical scopes .The finder scope view will also
be rotated 180°. (see Figure 6)
Naked-eye view
View through finder scope and telescope
Figure 6. The view through a standard finder scope and reflector
telescope is rotated 180°. This is true for the SkyView Pro 8 EQ and
its finder scope as well.
If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focusing knob so the
drawtube is in as far as it will go. Now look through the eyepiece while slowly rotating the focusing knob in the opposite
direction. You should soon see the point at which focus is
reached.
The black nylon thumb screw on the top of the body of the
focuser (see Figure 4) will lock the focuser drawtube in place
once the telescope is properly focused. Before focusing,
remember to first loosen this thumb screw.
Viewing with Eyeglasses
If you wear eyeglasses, you may able to keep them on while
you observe, if the eyepiece has 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 easily observe with
your glasses off by just re-focusing the telescope the needed
amount. If you suffer from severe astigmatism, however, you
may find images noticeably sharper with your glasses on.
Aligning the Finder Scope
The SkyView Pro 8 EQ Deluxe comes with a 8x40 achromatic
finder scope (Figure 3a). The number 8 means eight-times mag-
nification and the 40 indicates a 40mm diameter front lens. The
finder scope makes it easier to locate the subject you want to
observe in the telescope, because the finder scope has a much
wider field-of-view.
The SkyView Pro 8 EQ’s finder scope uses a spring-loaded
bracket that makes alignment of the finderscope very easy. As
you turn either of the thumbscrews, the spring in the bracket’s
tensioner moves in and out to keep the finder scope secure in
the bracket.
The finder scope must be aligned accurately with the telescope
for proper use. To align it, first aim the main telescope in the
general direction of an object at least a 1/4 mile away - the top of
a telephone pole, a chimney, etc. To aim the telescope, loosen
the R.A. and Dec. lock levers and move it until it is pointing at the
desired object. Then sight along the tube to aim the telescope.
Turn the focus knob until the object is properly focused. Make
sure to position the object in the center of the telescope’s eyepiece by turning the R.A. and Dec. slow-motion control knobs.
Now look in the finder scope. Is the object visible? Ideally it will
be somewhere in the field of view. If not, some coarse adjustment to the finder scope bracket’s alignment thumbscrews will
be needed until the object comes into the finder scope’s field
of view.
With the image in the finder scope’s field of view, you now need
to fine-adjust the alignment thumbscrews to center the object
on the intersection of the crosshairs. Adjust the aim of the finder
scope by turning the thumbscrews, one at a time, until the object
is centered.
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 telescope eyepiece, and then adjust the
finder scope bracket’s alignment thumbscrews until the star or
planet is centered on the finder’s crosshairs.
Focusing the finder scope
If, when you look 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 of the finderscope body. Precise focusing will be
achieved by focusing the finder scope on a bright star. Once
the image appears sharp, retighten the locking ring behind the
objective lens cell. The finder scope’s focus should not need
to be adjusted again.
Magnification & Eyepieces
Magnification, or power, is determined by the focal length of
the telescope and the focal length of the eyepiece. Therefore,
by using eyepieces of different focal lengths, the resultant
magnification can be varied.
Magnification is calculated as follows:
Telescope Focal Length (mm)
Eyepiece Focal Length (mm)
= Magnification
6
The SkyView Pro 8 EQ has a focal length of 1000mm, which
when used with the supplied 25mm eyepiece yields:
1000mm
25mm
The magnification provided by the 10mm eyepiece is:
1000mm
10mm
The maximum attainable magnification for a telescope is
directly related to how much light it can gather. The larger the
aperture, the more magnification is possible. In general a figure of 50x per inch of aperture is the maximum attainable for
most telescopes. Your SkyView Pro 8 EQ has an aperture of 8
inches, so the maximum magnification would be about 400x.
This level of magnification assumes you have ideal conditions
for viewing.
Keep in mind that as you increase magnification, the brightness of the object viewed will decrease; this is an inherent
principle of the laws of physics and cannot be avoided. If magnification is doubled, an image appears four times dimmer. If
magnification is tripled, image brightness is reduced by a factor of nine!
Start by centering the object being viewed in the 25mm eyepiece. Then you may want to increase the magnification to
get a closer view. If the object is off-center (i.e., it is near the
edge of the field of view) you will lose it when you increase
magnification since the field of view will be narrower with the
higher-powered eyepiece. To change eyepieces, first loosen
the securing thumbscrew on the focuser. Then carefully lift the
eyepiece out of the holder. Do not tug or pull the eyepiece
to the sides, as this will knock the telescope off its target.
Replace the eyepiece with the new one by sliding it gently into
the holder. Re-tighten the thumbscrew, and refocus for your
new magnification.
= 40x
= 100x
Using 2" eyepieces
The SkyView Pro 8 EQ’s focuser is capable of accepting
optional 2" eyepieces. To use 2" eyepieces you must remove
the 1.25" adapter from the focuser by loosneing the two thumbscrews that hold it in place. Once this adapter is removed,
insert a 2" eyepiece into the focuser and use the same thumbscrews to secure the larger eyepiece.
6. 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 rotation (from
west to east). An equatorial mount (Figure 7) is designed to
compensate for that motion, allowing you to easily “track” the
movement of astronomical objects, thereby keeping them
from drifting out of your 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
control knob. 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 right ascension axis
at the North Star, or Polaris. It lies within 1° of the north celestial pole (NCP), which is an extension of the Earth’s rotational
axis out into space. Stars in the Northern Hemisphere appear
to revolve around the NCP.
To find Polaris in the sky, look nor th and locate the pattern
of the Big Dipper (Figure 8). 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
Dec. slow-motion
control knob
Dec. setting circle
Front opening
R.A. slow-motion
control knob
a.
R.A. setting
circle
Polar axis finder
Latitude scale
Figure 7. The SkyView Pro Equatorial Mount, shown from both sides.
scope
(optional)
Latitude
adjustment
L-bolts
b.
Dec. lock lever
R.A. lock lever
7
Little Dipper
(in Ursa Minor)
Big Dipper
(in Ursa Major)
Pointer
Stars
N.C.P.
Polaris
Cassiopeia
Figure 8. 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).
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 alignment is sufficient.
1. Level the equatorial mount by adjusting the length of the
three tripod legs.
2. There are two latitude adjusting L-bolts (see Figure 7);
loosen one while tightening the other. By doing this you
will adjust the latitude of the mount. Continue adjusting the
mount until the pointer on the latitude 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. The latitude
setting should not have to be adjusted again unless you
move to a different viewing location some distance away.
3. Loosen the Dec. lock lever and rotate the telescope’s optical tube until it is parallel with the right ascension axis, as
it is in Figure 7.
4. Move the tripod so the telescope tube and right ascension axis point roughly at Polaris. If you cannot see Polaris
directly from your observing site, consult a compass and
rotate the tripod so the telescope points north. There is
a label bearing a large “N” at the base of the equatorial
mount (Figure 9). It should be facing north.
The equatorial mount is now polar aligned for casual observing. More precise polar alignment is recommended for
astrophotography. For this we suggest using the optional polar
axis finder scope.
From this point on in your observing session, you should not
make any further adjustments to the latitude of the mount, nor
should you move the tripod. Doing so will undo the polar alignment. The telescope should be moved only about its R.A. and
Dec. axes.
Polar Alignment Using the Optional Polar Axis
Finder Scope
The SkyView Pro EQ mount can be equipped with an optional
polar axis finder scope (Figure 10a) which goes inside the
right ascension axis of the mount. It makes accurate polar
alignment quick and easy to do.
To install the polar axis finder scope, remove the cover at the
Eyepiece
focus ring
Focus lock
ring
Objective
lens
Figure 10a. The optional polar axis finder scope.
rear of the mount’s right ascension axis and thread the polar
axis finder scope into the equatorial mount until tight (Figure
10b).
Azimuth
adjustment
knobs
Figure 9. For polar alignment, position the tripod so that the "N"
label at the base of the mount faces north. The azimuth fine adjustment
knobs above it are used to make small adjustments to the mount’s
azimuth position. Be certain to loosen the tripod attachment knob on
the central support shaft before adjusting these knobs.
8
Figure 10b. Installing the optional polar axis finder scope.
The reticle of the polar axis finder scope has a tiny star map
printed on it that makes precise polar alignment quick and
easy. If you do not have a clear view of Polaris from your
Figure 11. The optical tube must be at a 90° angle to the
right ascension axis in order to view through the polar axis
finder
observing site, you will not be able to use the polar-axis finder
to precisely polar align the telescope.To align the mount using
the polar axis finder scope, follow these instructions:
1. Approximately polar-align the mount as outlined in the procedure earlier.
2. Loosen the Dec. lock lever and rotate the optical tube on
the declination axis so that the tube is at a 90° to the right
ascension axis (Figure 11). Tighten the Dec. lock lever.
Remove the cap on the front opening of the equatorial mount
(Figure 7). Focus the polar finder by rotating the eyepiece.
Now, sight Polaris in the polar axis finder scope. If you have
followed the approximate polar alignment procedure accurately, Polaris will probably be within the field of view. If not, move
the tripod left-to-right, and adjust the latitude up-and down
until Polaris is somewhere within the field of view of the polar
axis finder scope.
Shine a red flashlight down the front end of the polar finder
to illuminate the reticle within the field of view. Make sure the
flashlight shines in at an angle, so as not to block the polar
finder’s field of view. It may be helpful to have a friend hold the
flashlight while you look through the polar finder. Note the constellation Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper in the reticle. They
do not appear to scale, but they indicate the general positions of Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper relative to the north
celestial pole (which is indicated by the cross at the center
of the reticle). Rotate the reticle so the constellations depicted match their current orientation in they sky when viewed
with the naked eye. To do this, release the R.A. lock lever and
rotate the main telescope around the R.A. axis until the reticle
is oriented with sky. For larger optical tubes, you may need to
remove the tube from the mount to prevent it from bumping
into the mount. Once the reticle is correctly oriented, use the
right ascension lock lever to secure the mount’s position.
Now use the azimuth adjustment knobs (Figure 9) and the
latitude adjustment L-bolts (Figure 7) on the mount to position
the star Polaris inside the tiny circle marked “Polaris” on the
finder’s reticle. You must first loosen the knob underneath the
equatorial mount on the center support shaft to use the azimuth adjustment knobs. Once Polaris is properly positioned
within the reticle, you are precisely polar aligned.
Note: 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 only about its right ascension
and declination axes.
Additional Note Regarding Focusing the Polar
Axis Finder Scope
The polar axis finder scope is normally focused by simply
rotating the eyepiece focus ring. However, if after adjusting the
focus ring you find that the image of the reticle is sharp, but
the stars are out of focus, then you must adjust the focus of
the polar axis finder’s objective lens. To do this, first remove
the polar axis finder from the mount. Look through the polar
axis finder at a star (at night) or distant object at least 1/4 mile
away (during daylight). Use the eyepiece focus ring to bring
the reticle into sharp focus. Now, loosen the focus lock ring
(Figure 10a) and thread the entire objective end of the finder
inwards or outwards until images appear sharp. Re-tighten the
focus lock ring. Once the polar axis finder’s objective lens is
focused, it should not need to be adjusted again.
Use of the Right Ascension and Declination SlowMotion Control Knobs
The right ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.) slow-motion
control knobs allow fine adjustment of the telescope’s position
to center objects within the field of view. Before you can use
the knobs, 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 levers and moving the telescope
about the mount’s right ascension and declination axes. Once
the telescope is pointed close to the object to be viewed,
retighten both lock levers.
The object should now be visible somewhere in the telescope’s
finder scope. If it isn’t, use the slow-motion knobs to scan the
surrounding area of sky. When the object is visible in the finder
scope, use the slow-motion knobs to center it. Now, look in the
telescope’s 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 eyepiece, use the slow-motion
knobs to center it in the field of view.
9
Note: If you have an optional motor drive attached, you
will need to loosen the clutch on the R.A. (and Dec. for
dual-axis drives) gear shaft before using the slow-motion
control knob.
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 knob clockwise. The Dec. slowmotion control knob 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 right ascension slow-motion
control knob.
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 on Earth can be described by its longitude and latitude.
Right ascension is similar to longitude on Earth, and declination 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 increments (there are 60 minutes in 1 hour of right ascension).
The lower set of numbers 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 mark
representing 2° increments. Values of declination 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 declination setting circle are positive;
when the telescope is pointed south of the celestial equator,
values of the declination setting circle 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 arcminutes in 1 degree of declination).
Before you can use the setting circles to locate objects, the
mount must be accurately polar aligned, and the setting circles must be calibrated.
Calibrating the Declination Setting Circle
1. Loosen the Dec. lock lever and position the telescope as
accurately as possible in declination so it is parallel to the
R.A. axis as shown in Figure 1. Re-tighten the lock lever.
2. Loosen one of the thumbscrews on the Dec. setting circle
(see Figure 12), this will allow the setting circle to rotate
freely. Rotate the Dec. setting circle until the pointer reads
exactly 90º. Re-tighten the setting circle thumbscrew.
Calibrating the Right Ascension Setting Circle
1. Identify a bright star in the sky near the celestial equator
(declination = 0°) and look up its coordinates in a star atlas.
2. Loosen the R.A. and Dec. lock levers on the equatorial
mount, so the telescope optical tube can move freely.
3. Point the telescope at the bright star whose coordinates you
know. Lock the R.A. and Dec. lock levers. Center the star
in the telescope’s field of view with the slow-motion control
knobs.
4. Loosen one of the R.A. setting circle thumbscrews (see
Figure 12); this will allow the setting circle to rotate freely.
Rotate the setting circle until the R.A. pointer arrow indicates the R.A. coordinate listed in the star atlas for the
object. Re-tighten the setting circle thumbscrew.
Dec. setting
circle
Dec. setting circle
thumbscrew
(2)
Dec.
indicator
arrow
R.A.
indicator
arrow
R.A. setting circle
thumbscrew (2)
Figure 12. The R.A. and Dec. setting circles.
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.
Loosen the Dec. lock lever and rotate the telescope until the
declination value from the star atlas matches the reading on
the Dec. setting circle. Remember that values of the Dec. setting circle are positive when the telescope is pointing north
of the celestial equator (Dec. = 0°), and negative when the
telescope is pointing south of the celestial equator. Retighten
the lock lever.
Loosen the R.A. lock lever and rotate the telescope until the
right ascension value from the star atlas matches the reading
on the R.A. setting circle. Remember to use the lower set of
numbers on the R.A. setting circle. Retighten the lock lever.
R.A. setting
circle
10
a. b. c. d.
drawtube
Reflection
of primary
mirror clip
Figure 13. This illustration show the telescope pointed in the the four cardinal directions (a) north, (b) south, (c) east, (d) west. Note that the
tripod and moutn have ot been moved; only the telescope tube has been moved on the R.A. and Dec. axes.
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 telescope’s field
of view.
The setting circles must be re-calibrated every time you wish
to locate a new object. Do so by calibrating the setting circles
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 downward. But it will not look like that when the telescope is pointed
in other directions. Let’s say you want to view an object that is
directly overhead, at the zenith. How do you do it?
DO NOT make any adjustment to the latitude adjustment Lbolts. That will spoil the mount’s polar alignment. Remember,
once the 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 lever and rotate the telescope on the right ascension axis until the counterweight
shaft is horizontal (parallel to the ground). Then loosen the
Dec. lock lever and rotate the telescope until it is pointing
straight overhead. The counterweight shaft is still horizontal.
Then retighten both lock levers.
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 counterweights down as pictured in Figure 1.
Again, you have to rotate the scope in right ascension so that
the counterweight shaft is positioned horizontally. Then rotate
the scope in declination so it points to where you want it near
the horizon.
To point the telescope directly south, the counterweight shaft
should again be horizontal. Then you simply rotate the scope
on the declination axis until it points in the south direction.
To point the telescope to the east or west, or in other directions,
you rotate the telescope on its right ascension and declination axes. Depending on the altitude of the object you want to
observe, the counterweight shaft will be oriented somewhere
between vertical and horizontal.
Figure 13 illustrates how the telescope will look when pointed
at the four cardinal directions: north, south, east and west.
7. Collimation
(Aligning The Mirrors)
Collimation is the process of adjusting the mirrors so they are
perfectly 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. Collimation
is relatively easy to do and can be done in daylight.
a.
b. c. d. e.
Figure 14. Collimating the optics. (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).
11
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 primary
mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflection of
the secondary mirror (and your eye) centered in the reflection
of the primary mirror, as in Figure 14a. If anything is off-center, as in Figure 14b, proceed with the following collimation
procedure.
Note About the Collimatable 2" Focuser
The SkyView Pro 8’s 2" focuser can be collimated by 3 pairs of
push-pull screws located on the ring at the base of the focuser (Figure 4). The focuser was collimated at the factory and
should never need to be adjusted. Focuser collimation is only
required under very rare circumstances but has been made
available for this telescope should such a need arise.
The Collimation Cap and Mirror Center Mark
Your SkyView Pro 8 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 collimation is easy to perform.
Figures 14b through 14e assume you have the collimation cap
in place.
In addition to the collimation cap, the primary mirror is marked
with a circle at its exact center. This “center mark” allows you to
achieve a precise collimation of the primary mirror; you don’t
have to guess where the center of the mirror is. You simply
adjust the mirror position (described below) until the reflection of the hole in the collimation cap is centered in the ring.
The center mark is also required for best results when using
other collimating devices, such as Orion’s LaserMate Laser
Collimator, obviating the need to remove the primary mirror
and mark it yourself.
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 telescope
or the image quality. That might seem counterintuitive,
but its true!
Aligning the Secondary Mirror
With the collimation cap in place, look through the hole in the
cap at the secondary (diagonal) mirror. Ignore the reflections
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 14b, it must be
adjusted. 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 towards a bright surface, such as
white paper or wall. Also placing a piece of white paper in the
telescope tube opposite the focuser (in other words, on the
other side of the secondary mirror) will also be helpful in collimating the secondary mirror. Using a 2mm hex key, loosen
the three small alignment set screws in the center hub of the
4-vaned spider several turns. Now keep the mirror’s holder
stationary (be careful not to touch the surface of the mirrors),
while turning the center screw with a Phillips head screwdriver
(See Figure 15). Turning the screw clockwise will move the
secondary mirror toward the front opening of the optical tube,
while turning the screw counter-clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the primary mirror.
Note: When making these adjustments, be careful not to
stress the spider vanes or they may bend.
Figure 15. To center the secondary mirror under the focuser, hold
the secondary mirror holder in place with one hand while adjusting
the center bolt with a Phillips screwdriver. Do not touch the mirror’s
surface!
When the secondary mirror is centered in the focuser drawtube, 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 screws equally to secure the
secondary mirror in that position.
If the entire primary mirror reflection is not visible in the secondary mirror, as in Figure 14c, you will need to adjust the tilt
of the secondary mirror. This is done by alternately loosening one of the three alignment set screws while tightening the
other two, as depicted in Figure 16. The goal is to center the
primary mirror reflection in the secondary mirror, as in Figure
14d. Don’t worry that the reflection of the secondary mirror
(the smallest circle, with the collimation cap “dot” in the center)
is off-center. You will fix that in the next step.
Figure 16. Adjust the tilt of the secondary mirror by loosening or
tightening the three alignment set screws with a 2mm hex key.
12
Adjusting the Primary Mirror
Out of collimation Collimated
The final adjustment is made to the primary mirror. It will need
adjustment if, as in Figure 14d, the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser and the reflection of the primary mirror
is centered in the secondary mirror, but the small reflection of
the secondary mirror (with the “dot” of the collimation cap) is
off-center.
The tilt of the primary mirror is adjusted with three springloaded collimation thumbscrews on the back end of the optical
tube (bottom of the primary mirror cell); these are the larger
thumbscrews. The other three smaller thumbscrews lock the
mirror’s position in place; these thumbscrews must be loosened before any collimation adjustments can be made to the
primary mirror.
To star t, turn the smaller thumbscrews that lock the primary
mirror in place a few turns each (Figure 17). Use a screwdriver in the slots, if necessary.
Now, try tightening or loosening one of the larger collimation thumbscrews with your fingers (Figure 18). 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 watching
to see if the “dot” of the collimation cap is moving closer or
further away from the “ring” on the center of the primary mirror
mark. When you have the dot centered as much as is possible
in the ring, your primary mirror is collimated. The view through
the collimation cap should resemble Figure 14e. Re-tighten
the locking thumbscrews.
A simple star test will tell you whether the optics are accurately collimated.
Star-Testing the Telescope
When it is dark, point the telescope at a bright star and accurately center it in the eyepiece’s field-of-view. Slowly defocus
the image with the focusing knob. If the telescope is correctly collimated, the expanding disk should be a perfect circle
(Figure 19). 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 doughnut. If the “hole” appears off-center, the
telescope is out of collimation.
If you try the star test and the bright star you have selected is
not accurately centered in the eyepiece, then the optics will
always appear out of collimation, even though they may be
perfectly aligned. It is critical to keep the star centered, 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.
Figure 17. The three small thumbscrews that lock the
primary mirror in place must first be loosened before any
adjustments can be made.
Figure 18. The tilt of the primary mirror is adjusted by
turning one or more of the three larger thumbscrews.
Figure 19. 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 the right if the optics are
perfectly collimated. If the circle is unsymmetrical, as in the illustration
on the left, the scope needs collimation.
13
8. Astronomical Observing
For many users, the SkyView Pro 8 EQ telescope will be a
major leap into the world of amateur astronomy. This section
is intended to get you ready for your voyages through the night
sky.
Site Selection
Pick a location away from street lights and bright yard lighting.
Avoid viewing over rooftops and chimneys, as they often have
warm air currents rising from them, which distor t the image
seen in the eyepiece. Similarly, you should not observe through
an open window from indoors. Better yet, choose a site out-oftown, away from any “light pollution”. You’ll be stunned at how
many more stars you’ll see! Most importantly, make sure that
any chosen site has a clear view of a large portion of the sky.
Seeing and Transparency
Atmospheric conditions play a huge part in quality of viewing.
In conditions of good “seeing”, star twinkling is minimal and
objects appear steady in the eyepiece. Seeing is best overhead, worst at the horizon. Also, seeing generally gets better
after midnight, when much of the heat absorbed by the Earth
during the day has radiated off into space. Typically, seeing
conditions will be better at sites that have an altitude over about
3000 feet. Altitude helps because it decreases the amount of
distortion causing atmosphere you are looking through.
A good way to judge if the seeing is good or not is to look at
bright stars about 40° above the horizon. If the stars appear to
“twinkle”, the atmosphere is significantly distorting the incoming light, and views at high magnifications will not appear
sharp. If the stars appear steady and do not twinkle, seeing
conditions are probably good and higher magnifications will
be possible. Also, seeing conditions are typically poor during
the day. This is because the heat from the Sun warms the air
and causes turbulence.
Good “transparency” is especially important for observing faint
objects. It simply means the air is free of moisture, smoke, and
dust. All tend to scatter light, which reduces an object’s brightness.
One good way to tell if conditions are good is by how many
stars you can see with your naked eye. If you cannot see
stars of magnitude 3.5 or dimmer then conditions are poor.
Magnitude is a measure of how bright a star is, the brighter a
star is, the lower its magnitude will be. A good star to remember for this is Megrez (mag. 3.4), which is the star in the “Big
Dipper” connecting the handle to the “dipper”. If you cannot
see Megrez, then you have fog, haze, clouds, smog, light pollution or other conditions that are hindering your viewing (See
Figure 20).
Figure 20. Megrez connects the Big Dipper’s handle to it's “pan”.
It is a good guide to how conditions are. If you can not see Megrez (a
3.4 mag star) then conditions are poor.
bigger the instrument and the larger the temperature change,
the more time will be needed.
Allow at least 30 minutes for your SkyView Pro 8 EQ to
equilibrate. If the scope has more than a 40° temperature
adjustment, allow an hour or more. In the winter, storing the
telescope outdoors in a shed or garage greatly reduces the
amount of time needed for the optics to stabilize. It also is a
good idea to keep the scope covered until the Sun sets so
the tube does not heat greatly above the temperature of the
outside air.
You can attach a small fan to the SkyView Pro 8 EQ to make
cooling the tube faster. On the bottom of the mirror cell there
are four holes (M4 x. 7 thread) where a fan can be mounted.
Let Your Eyes Dark-Adapt
Do not 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 perhaps 80%
of their full dark-adapted sensitivity. Many observers notice
improvements after several hours of total darkness. As your
eyes become dark-adapted, more stars will glimmer into view
and you will be able to see fainter details in objects you view
in your telescope. Exposing your eyes to very bright daylight
for extended periods of time can adversely affect your night
vision for days. So give yourself at least a little while to get
used to the dark before you begin observing.
To see what you are 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 automobile headlights will spoil your night vision.
Cooling the Telescope
All optical instruments need time to reach “thermal equilibrium” to achieve maximum stability of the lenses and mirrors,
which is essential for peak performance. When moved from a
warm indoor location outside to cooler air (or vice-versa), a
telescope needs time to cool to the outdoor temperature. The
14
Eyepiece Selection
By using eyepieces of varying focal lengths, it is possible to
attain many magnifications with the SkyView Pro 8 EQ. The
telescope comes with two high quality Sirius Plössl eyepieces:
a 25mm, which gives a magnification of 40x, and a 10mm,
which gives a magnification of 100x. Other eyepieces can be
used to achieve higher or lower powers. It is quite common for
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. At least to begin with, the two supplied eyepieces will
suffice nicely.
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), 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 eyepiece),
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 galaxies
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 magnification. If the object looks better, try an even higher magnification.
If the object looks worse, then back off the magnification a
little by using a lower power eyepiece.
What to Expect
So what will you see with your telescope? You should be able
to see bands on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, craters on the
moon, the waxing and waning of Venus, and possibly hundreds of deep sky objects. Do not expect to see as much color
as you in NASA photos, since those are taken with long-exposure cameras and have “false color” added. Our eyes are not
sensitive enough to see color in deep-sky objects except in a
few of the brightest ones.
Remember that you are seeing these objects using your own
telescope with your own eyes! The object you see in your
eyepiece is in real-time, and not some conveniently provided
image from an expensive space probe. Each session with
your telescope will be a learning experience. Each time you
work with your telescope it will get easier to use, and stellar
objects will become easier to find. Take it from us, there is
big difference between looking at a well-made full-color NASA
image of a deep-sky object in a lit room during the daytime,
and seeing that same object in your telescope at night. One
can merely be a pretty image someone gave to you. The other
is an experience you will never forget!
A. The Moon
With is rocky and cratered surface, the moon is one of the
most interesting and easy subjects for your scope. The best
time to view it is during its partial phases when shadows fall
on the craters and canyon walls to give its features definition.
While the full moon may look like a tempting target, it is actually the worst time for viewing! The light of a full moon is too
bright and lacks any decent surface definition.
Use an optional Moon filter to dim the Moon when it is very
bright. It simply threads onto the bottom of the eyepiece from
the focuser (you must first remove the eyepiece from the
focuser to attach the filter). You’ll find the Moon filter improves
viewing comfort, and helps bring out the subtle features if 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 a SkyView Pro 8 EQ. The primary attraction
is sunspots, which change shape, appearance, and location
daily. Sunspots are directly related to magnetic activity in the
Sun. Many observers like to make drawings of sunspots 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. Also, be sure to
cover the finder scope, or better yet, remove it altogether.
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 telescope.com, or
to charts published monthly in Astronomy, Sky & Telescope,
or other astronomy magazines. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn are the brightest objects in the sky after the Sun and
the Moon. Your SkyView Pro 8 EQ is capable of showing you
these planets in some detail. Other planets may be visible but
will likely appear starlike. Because planets are quite small in
apparent size, optional higher power eyepieces are recommended and often needed 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 - Io, 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 seeing) is necessary for a good view. You will probably see a bright “star” close
by, which is Saturn’s brightest moon, Titan.
VENUS At its br i ghtest, Ve nus is the most luminous
object in the sky, exc lud ing the Sun and the Moon . It is
so br i ght tha t someti mes it is visible to the na ked eye
during f ull daylight! Iro nica lly, Venu s appears a s a thin
crescent, not a full disk, when at its peak brightness.
15
Because i t is so cl ose to th e Sun, it never wa nders too
far fro m the morning or ev ening 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 surface
detail on Mars, you will need a high power eyepiece and very
steady air!
D. The Stars
Stars will appear like twinkling points of light. Even powerful
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 multiple 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 galaxies.
Most deep-sky objects 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. 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.
Determine in which constellation the object lies. Now, find the
constellation in the sky. If you do not recognize the constellations 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. Using
the finder 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 currently centered in
the finder. Keep in mind that the field of view of the finder scope
is approximately 5°, so you should choose another star that is
no more that 5° from the first star, if possible. Move the telescope slightly, until the telescope is centered 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 21). 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 starhop 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 starhopping from star to star.
How to Find Deep-sky Objects: Starhopping
Starhopping, as it is called by astronomers, is perhaps the
simplest way to hunt down objects to view in the night sky. It
entails first pointing the telescope at a star close to the object
you wish to observe, and then progressing 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 technique that has been employed for
hundreds of years by professional and amateur astronomers
alike. Keep in mind, as with any new task, that starhopping may
seem challenging at first, but will become easier over time and
with practice.
To starhop, 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 you do not know the positions of the constellations in the night sky, you will need to get 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 deepsky objects, first catalogued about 200 years ago by the French
astronomer Charles Messier.
Figure 21. Starhopping 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.
16
9. Astrophotography
When coupled to a 35mm single-lens reflex camera, the
SkyView Pro becomes a telephoto lens. To attach a camera,
you need only a T-ring for your specific camera model and the
included camera adapter. First you must attach the included
camera adapter to the SkyView Pro 8 EQ’s focuser. To do this,
remove the 1.25" and 2" eyepiece adapters from the focuser
drawtube (Figure 22a). Then screw the camera adapter into
the focuser drawtube (Figure 22b). Now attach the T-Ring to
your camera and thread it onto the camera adapter (Figure
22c).
Use the camera’s viewfinder to frame the picture. Use the telescope’s focuser to focus the image. You may want to consider
using a remote shutter release instead of the shutter release
on the camera; touching the camera can vibrate the system
and blur the resulting photographic image on the film. Use
the focus lock knob on the focuser to lock the focus when the
image is sharp.
Several different types of astrophotography can be successfully attempted with the SkyView Pro 8 EQ.
Moon Photography
This is perhaps the simplest form of astrophotography, as no
motor drive is required. Point the telescope toward the Moon,
and center it within the camera’s viewfinder. Focus the image
with the telescope’s focuser. Try several exposure times, all
less than 1 second, depending on the phase of the moon and
the ISO (film speed) of the film being used. A remote shutter release is recommended, as touching the camera’s shutter
release can vibrate the camera enough to ruin the exposure.
Planetary Photography
Once basic Moon photography has been mastered, it’s time to
get images of the planets. This type of astrophotography also
works to get highly magnified shots of the Moon. In addition
to the T-ring, you will need a Universal 1.25" Camera Adapter.
The EQ-3 Motor Drive System (single or dual axis) is also
required. This is because a longer exposure is necessary,
which would cause the image to blur if no motor drive was
used for tracking. The equatorial mount must be accurately
polar aligned, too.
As before, connect the T-ring to your camera. Before connecting the universal camera adapter to the T-ring, an eyepiece
must be inserted and locked into the body of the universal
camera adapter. Start by using a medium-low power eyepiece (about 25mm); you can increase the magnification later
with a high-power eyepiece. Then connect the entire camera
adapter, with eyepiece inside, to the T-Ring. Insert the whole
system into the focuser’s 1.25" adapter and secure firmly with
the thumbscrew.
Aim the telescope at the planet (or Moon) you wish to shoot.
The image will be highly magnified, so you may need to use
the finder scope to center it within the camera’s viewfinder.
Turn the motor drive on. Adjust the telescope’s focuser so
that the image appears sharp in the camera’s viewfinder. The
camera’s shutter is now ready to be opened. A remote shutter release must be used or the image will be blurred beyond
recognition. Try exposure times between 1 and 10 seconds,
depending upon the brightness of the planet to be photographed and the ISO of the film being used.
“Piggyback Photography”
The Moon and planets are interesting targets for the budding astrophotographer, but what next? Literally thousands of
deep-sky objects can be captured on film with a type of astrophotography called “piggybacking”. The basic idea is that the
camera with its own camera lens attached rides on top of the
main telescope. The telescope and camera both move with
the rotation of the Earth when the mount is polar aligned and
the motor drive is engaged. This allows for a long exposure
through the camera without having the object or background
stars blurred. In addition to the motor drive (dual-axis), an
illuminated reticle eyepiece is also needed. The T-ring and
camera adapter are not needed, since the camera is exposing through its own lens. Any camera lens with a focal length
between 35mm and 400mm is appropriate.
On the top of one of the tube rings is a piggyback camera
adapter. This is the black knob with the threaded shaft protruding through it. The tube ring with the piggyback adapter should
be closest to the open end of the telescope tube. Remove the
tube rings from the equatorial mount and swap their position if
necessary. Now, connect the camera to the piggyback adapter.
There should be a 1/4"-20 mounting hole in the bottom of the
camera’s body. Thread the protruding shaft of the piggyback
adapter into the 1/4"-20 mounting hole in the camera a few
turns. Position the camera so it is parallel with the telescope
tube and turn the knurled black knob of the piggyback adapter
counter-clockwise until the camera is locked into position.
Figure 22a. First remove both the
1.25" and 2" adapters as shown
Figure 22b. Thread the camera
adapter into the focuser drawtube
Figure 22c. The SkyView Pro 8 EQ
with 35mm SLR camera attached
17
Aim the telescope at a deep-sky object. It should be a fairly
large deep-sky object, as the camera lens will likely have a
wide field of view. Check to make sure that the object is also
centered in the camera’s viewfinder. Turn the motor drive on.
Now, look into the telescope’s eyepiece and center the brightest star within the field of view. Remove the eyepiece and insert
the illuminated reticle eyepiece into the focuser drawtube. Turn
the eyepiece’s illuminator on (dimly!). Recenter the bright star
(guide star) on the crosshairs of the reticle eyepiece. Check
again to make sure that the object to be photographed is still
centered within the camera’s field of view. If it is not, recenter
it by repositioning the camera on the piggyback adapter, or by
moving the main telescope. If you move the main telescope,
then you will need to recenter another guide star on the illuminated eyepiece’s crosshairs. Once the object is centered in
the camera and a guide star is centered in the reticle eyepiece, you’re ready to shoot.
Deep-sky objects are quite faint, and typically require exposures on the order of 10 minutes. To hold the camera’s shutter
open this long, you will need a lock shutter release cable. Set
the camera’s shutter to the “B” (bulb) setting. Depress the
locking shutter release cable and lock it. You are now exposing
your first deep-sky object.
While exposing through the camera lens, you will need to monitor the accuracy of the mount’s tracking by looking through
the illuminated reticle eyepiece in the main telescope. If the
guide star drifts from its initial position, then use the hand controller of the motor drive to “move” the guide star back to the
center of the crosshairs. Any drifting along the Dec. axis is a
result of improper polar alignment, so if the guide star drifts
greatly in Dec., the mount may need to be polar aligned more
accurately.
When the exposure is complete, unlock the shutter release
cable and close the camera’s shutter.
Astrophotography can be enjoyable and rewarding, as well
as frustrating and time-consuming. Start slowly and consult
outside resources, such as books and magazines, for more
details about astrophotography. Remember….have fun!
10. 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 telescope
outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK. Small
components like eyepieces and other accessories should be
kept in a protective box or storage case. Keep the dust cover
on the front of the telescope when not in use.
Your SkyView Pro 8 EQ 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 telescope. Smudges on the
tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and a household cleaner such as Windex or Formula 409.
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 the telescope’s mirrors ver y
often; normally once every year or so. Covering the telescope
with the dust cover when it is not in use will prevent dust from
accumulating 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
virtually 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-coated
with hard silicon dioxide, which prevents the aluminum from
oxidizing. These coatings normally last through many years of
use before requiring re-coating (which is easily done).
To clean the secondary mirror, first remove it from the
telescope. Do this by holding the secondary mirror holder stationary while turning the center Phillips head screw. Be careful,
there is a spring between the secondary mirror holder and
the Philips head screw. Be sure that the spring or the secondary holder will not fall into the optical tube and hit the primary
mirror. Handle the mirror by its holder; do not touch the mirror
surface. Then follow the same procedure described below for
cleaning the primary mirror. You do not need to remove the
secondary mirror from its holder when cleaning.
To clean the primary mirror, carefully remove the mirror cell
from the telescope. For the SkyView Pro 8 EQ, this means
you must loosen the six screws on the side of the tube near
the primary mirror. You do not need to remove the collimation
screws on the bottom of the mirror cell. Remove the mirror cell
from the tube. You will notice the primary mirror is held down
with three clips held by two screws each. Loosen the screws
and remove the clips.
You may now remove the mirror from the mirror cell. Do not
touch the surface of the mirror with your fingers. Lift the mirror
carefully by the edges. Set the mirror on a clean soft towel.
Fill a clean sink free of abrasive cleanser, with room-temperature water, a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent, and if
possible, a capfull of 100% isopropyl alcohol. Submerge the
mirror (aluminized face up) in the water and let it soak for a
few 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 line across the mirror. Use
one ball for each wipe across the mirror. Then rinse the mirror
18
under a stream of lukewarm water. Any particles on the surface can be swabbed gently with a series of cotton 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 Kleenex, and leave the mirror in
a warm area until it is completely dry before reassembling the
telescope.
11. Specifications
Primary mirror diameter: 203mm (8")
Primary mirror coating: Aluminized, SiO
Focal Length: 1000mm
Focal Ratio: f/4.9
Secondary mirror: 58mm minor axis
Secondary mirror holder: Four-vaned spider, .4mm thick vanes
Eyepieces: 25mm and 10mm Sirius Plössls, fully coated, 1.25"
Magnification: 40x (with 25mm) and 100x (with 10mm)
Finder Scope: 8x40 achromatic, 5.33° field of view
Focuser: Rack and pinion, accepts 2" or 1.25" eyepieces
Camera adapter: Couples 35mm SLR camera T-ring to focuser
Mount: SkyView Pro, German equatorial
Tripod: Steel
Tripod support tray: Aluminum, provides additional stability,
holds five 1.25" eyepiece and two 2" eyepieces
Weight: 62 lbs. (Mount 30 lbs., optical tube 32 lbs.)
Counterweights: 10.9 lbs. each
Polar axis latitude adjustment: 8° to 70°
Polar axis finder: Optional
Motor Drives: Optional
overcoat
2
19
One-Year Limited Warranty
This Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship 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 & 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, Orion Telescopes & Binoculars, 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA
95076; (800)-676-1343.
Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076
Customer Support Help Line (800)‑676‑1343 • Day or Evening
OrionTelescopes.com
20
Loading...