Model # 31032 FIRSTSCOPE 76 3" NEWTONIAN EQUATORIAL TELESCOPE Model # 31044 FIRSTSCOPE 114 EQ 4.5" NEWTONIAN TELESCOPE Model # 31041 FIRSTSCOPE 114 SHORT 4.5" NEWTONIAN EQUATORIAL TELESCOPE INSTRUCTION MANUAL Equatorial Model 6 Figure 1 2 IDENTIFYING PARTS OF FIGURE 1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Front Cell (open part of tube) Secondary Mirror (inside) Star Pointer Finderscope Star Pointer Adjustment Knob (Altitude) Star Pointer Bracket Star Pointer Adjustment Knob (Azimuth) Eyepiece Eyepiece Adapter Focusing Knob 22. Declination Knob 23. Declination Setting Circle 24. Right Ascension Knob 25. Right Ascension Setting Circle 26. Front Lens Cover 27. Right Ascension Cable Holder 28. Horizontal Adjustment Knob 29. Counterweight Shaft 30. Counterweight 31. Right Ascension Cable 32. Tripod Accessory Tray 33. Equatorial Mount 34. Tripod Mounting Hardware 35. Tripod Leg Tips 36. Counterweight Lock 37. Finderscope Bracket Mounting Screws 38. Tripod Head 39. Safety Washer for Counterweight 40. Bolts for Tube Mount Bracket 41. Saddle Bracket 10. Focusing Tube 11. Telescope Optical Tube 12. Telescope Tube Mounting Hardware 13. Declination Cable Holder 14. Primary Mirror Cell (inside) 15. Collimation Adjustment Screws 16. Polar Axis Knob 17. Latitude Scale 18. Declination Cable 19. Collapsible Center Leg Brace 20. Tripod Legs 21. Telescope Tube Mount Bracket 3 1. INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing this Celestron Newtonian Telescope. This telescope is a precision scientific instrument. With it you will enjoy numerous objects in the sky--planets, nebulae, star clusters, galaxies and other astronomical objects. This manual covers both the 76mm equatorial mount model and the 114mm models. The equatorial mount contains setting circles and slow motion cables to make it easier to locate and track astronomical objects. But, before your journey begins take time to read this manual to familiarize yourself with the operation and parts of your telescope. WARNING--NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN WITH YOUR TELESCOPE OR ITS FINDERSCOPE. PERMANENT AND IRREVERSIBLE EYE DAMAGE MAY RESULT AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO YOUR TELESCOPE. HOWEVER, YOU MAY ENJOY LOOKING AT THE SUN IF YOU HAVE A SAFE METHOD OF DOING SO, SUCH AS A CELESTRON SOLAR FILTER. 2. TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY Please refer to Figure 1 (and the identifying parts list) as you assemble the telescope. A. The telescope and all items are packed in one box. Included with all models are: · · · · · · · · · · · Telescope Optical Tube German Equatorial Mount Adjustable Tripod Star Pointer Finderscope and Bracket Counterweight Shaft and Counterweight Tripod Accessory Tray Declination Cable Right Ascension Cable 20mm Eyepiece - 1¼" 10mm Eyepiece - 1¼" The Sky® CD-ROM To set up the tripod, locate the German equatorial mount, the tripod legs, the tripod mounting hardware and the tripod accessory tray. 1. 2. Extend the center portion (#35) of each of the three tripod legs down 6-8". Use the three tightening screws (#34) to secure each of the extended legs by threading these screws through the holes in the brackets at the bottom of each leg. It is important that you extend the legs before the equatorial mount is attached, otherwise the inner legs may become difficult to slide down. Fine tuning of the tripod height can be done later, and the tightening screws can be adjusted to secure the telescope at the desired height 4 3. 4. 5. 6. Slide the two top portions of each tripod leg around the sides of each flange on the tripod head (#38) of the equatorial mount, so the flange is secured between them. Slide the screw through the tripod leg and flange, until the screw extends out the other side. Slide the washer and the nut over the screw and tighten. This can be left slightly loose, to allow for positioning the legs later, when attaching the accessory tray. Repeat this process for the remaining two legs. Now the tripod will stand by itself. You are now ready to attach the tripod accessory tray. 7. The tripod tray fits over the holes in the tripod leg brace. Insert the winged bolts through the holes in the bottom of the tripod leg brace and thread them into the holes in the accessory tray. Tighten all bolts to ensure proper stability to the mount. B. Before proceeding further, locate Right Ascension (#24) and Declination knobs (#22) and tighten them finger tight. 1. Locate the declination cable holder (#13). Locate the declination cable (the shorter of the two cables) and attach the cable (#18) to the cable holder by tightening the thumb screw on the cable end. The thumb screw should be tightened down hard on the flat surface of the cable holder after backing off the cable about 1/4" from being fully engaged. This method helps ensure there is no slippage when using the cable. You may reverse the position orientation of the Declination cable to suit your preference if desired. Locate the right ascension cable holder (#27). Locate the right ascension cable (#31) and attach it the same way as the declination cable was attached in the last section. 2. 3. Before mounting the optical tube, the counterweight must be attached to the mount: 1. Slide the counterweight shaft (#29) through the counterweight (#30). Use the counterweight lock to lock the counterweight in place. By holding the counterweight in one hand, thread the counterweight shaft clockwise into the equatorial mount as shown in figure 1. C. Now you are going to put the telescope optical tube (#11) onto the equatorial mount. For models #31041 and #31044: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Slightly loosen the screws that hold the mounting rings on the telescope in place. Slide the rings apart so that each is at the same distance as the holes in the mounting platform. Place the telescope tube on the mount so that the flat portion of the tube rings rest on the mounting platform. Align the holes on the square extrusions with the holes at the ends of the mounting platform. Starting with the ring closest to the focuser end of the tube, insert the bolt through the hole in the mounting platform and thread it into the mounting ring. Repeat this process for the remaining mounting ring. 5 6. Tighten the screws that hold the mounting rings in place. This will keep the telescope from sliding back and forth in the mounting rings. For Model #31032: 1. Remove the nuts from the tube mounting screws located on the bottom of the optical tube. Put the bolts from the tube into the holes in the bracket at the top of the mount and tighten the nuts. D. To attach the Star Pointer Finderscope: 1. 2. Remove the nuts from the studs where the finderscope will mount (#37). Mount the Star Pointer bracket by placing the bracket over the studs protruding from the tube and tightening it down with the supplied nuts. Orient the Star Pointer so that the glass window is facing towards the front of the tube (see Figure 1). E. Put a low power eyepiece (#7) into the eyepiece adapter and tighten the thumb screw to hold it in place. The focuser comes with a protective dust cap that must be removed before installing an eyepiece. Remove the dust cap by first removing the focuser thumb screw and pulling the cap out from the eyepiece opening. F. The optical tube also comes with a protective dust cover (#26) that must be remove before using the telescope. To remove the cover, pull the cap straight out from inside opening of the tube. 3. TELESCOPE OPERATION GETTING SET UP In order to use the equatorial mount's setting circles, the mount must first be aligned with the earth's axis of rotation. A. Loosen the polar axis knob (#16) with one hand while holding the equatorial mount with the other hand. Turn the latitude adjustment knob located at the rear of the mount to adjust the angle of the mount. Look at the latitude scale (#17) and move the mount to the latitude of your location and then tighten the polar axis knob. This only has to be done once unless you take the telescope to a different location. For example, Los Angeles, California is located at about 34º. If you do not know your latitude, it can be found on most road atlases of your area. B. To change the direction your telescope is pointing: 1. To move the telescope in declination (north/south) there are two options. For large and quick movements, release the declination knob (#22) and then tighten the knob when you are near the position you want. For very small movements and fine adjustments, use the declination cable (#18). The declination cable has a range of about 30° and if you come to the stop at the end then overshoot your target by releasing the declination knob and move the telescope in declination. Then tighten the knob and reverse the direction of the declination cable. Do not try to force movement when the declination cable has reached the stop. To move the telescope in right ascension (east/west) there are two options. For large and quick movements, release the right ascension knob ( #24) and then tighten the knob when you are near the position you want. For very small movements and fine adjustments, use the right ascension cable (#31). 2. 6 C. The telescope should be properly balanced in order for it to move smoothly in both axes. Proper balance is essential if using an optional motor drive for accurate tracking. 1. To balance the right ascension axis, move the counterweight shaft so it is parallel (horizontal) to the ground. Slowly release the right ascension knob (#24) and see if the optical tube moves. If the optical tube moves, then slide the counterweight up or down the counterweight shaft until the optical tube remains stationary in the parallel position to the ground. When this happens, make sure the counterweight lock is tight. D. To quickly move the telescope around horizontally 1. Loosen the horizontal adjustment knob (#28), move the telescope to the position desired and then tighten the knob. F. To align the Star Pointer finderscope: The Star Pointer is the quickest and easiest way to point your telescope exactly at a desired object in the sky. It's like having a laser pointer that you can shine directly onto the night sky. The Star Pointer is a zero magnification pointing tool that uses a coated glass window to superimpose the image of a small red dot onto the night sky. While keeping both eyes open when looking through the Star Pointer, simply move your telescope until the red dot, seen through the Star Pointer, merges with the object as seen with your unaided eye. The red dot is produced by a light-emitting diode (LED); it is not a laser beam and will not damage the glass window or your eye. The star pointer is powered by a long life 3volt lithium battery (#CR2032) located underneath the front portion of the Star Pointer. Like all finderscopes, the Star Pointer must be properly aligned with the main telescope before it can be used. This is a simple process using the azimuth and altitude control knobs located on the side and bottom of the Star Pointer. The alignment procedure is best done at night since the LED dot will be difficult to see during the day. 1. To turn on the Star Pointer, rotate the variable brightness control clockwise until you here a "click". To increase the brightness level of the red dot, continue rotating the control knob about 180º until it stops. Locate a bright star or planet and center it in a low power eyepiece in the main telescope. With both eyes open, look through the glass window at the alignment star. If the Star Pointer is perfectly aligned, you will see the red LED dot overlap the alignment star. If the Star Pointer is not aligned, take notice of where the red dot is relative to the bright star. Without moving the main telescope, turn the Star Pointer's azimuth and altitude alignment controls (#4 & #6) until the red dot is directly over the alignment star. 2. 3. 4. 5. If the LED dot is brighter than the alignment star, it may make it difficult to see the star. Turn the variable brightness control counterclockwise, until the red dot is the same brightness as the alignment star. This will make it easier to get an accurate alignment. The Star Pointer is now ready to be used . Remember to always turn the power off after you have found an object. This will extend the life of both the battery and the LED. 7 4. UNDERSTANDING THE SKY A. The Celestial - Coordinate System. The celestial-coordinate system is an imaginary projection of the Earth's geographical coordinate system onto the celestial sphere which seems to turn overhead at night. This celestial grid is complete with equator, latitudes, longitudes and poles. The Earth is in constant motion as it rotates on its axis. Actually the celestial-coordinate system is being displaced very slowly with respect to the stars. This is called precession and is caused by gravitational influences from the Sun, Moon and other celestial bodies. The celestial equator is a full 360º circle bisecting the celestial sphere into the northern celestial hemisphere and the southern c ...