Hobbies And Interests
Instructions
Remove the dust cover from the telescope's focuser. Insert a magnifying eyepiece into the focuser. Tighten the set screw on the focuser to secure it in place.
Point the telescope at a bright celestial object, such as the moon, a planet or a star. Look through the finder scope attached to the side of the reflector telescope. Adjust the direction and tilt of the telescope to center the object in the center of the finder scope's field of view.
Look through the magnifying eyepiece. You should see the celestial object in the field of view. Most likely, the object will appear featureless and distorted because you have not focused the telescope yet.
Turn the focus knob slowly toward you. If the object becomes blurrier, turn the focus knob in the opposite direction. Because eyepieces come in a range of focal lengths and in varying designs, the relative distance from the telescope's secondary mirror needed to reach focus differs from model to model. Experiment by focusing in both directions until the image sharpens.
Continue adjusting the focus knob until the object appears its sharpest in the eyepiece. A properly focused eyepiece should show pinpoint stars and distinct features on objects such as Jupiter, Mars and the moon.
Adjust the fine focus knob if the focuser includes a primary and a fine-focus knob. The fine focus knob moves the eyepiece toward or away from the secondary mirror in smaller increments. Use the primary focus knob first to get the telescope near focus, and then turn the fine focus knob slowly to achieve perfect focus.