Balancing The Telescope; Understanding The Equatorial Mount - Bushnell 78-9675 User Manual

Balancing the Telescope

1. Arrange the telescope so that the telescope body is horizontal to the floor (latitude of 0 ). Loosen the
Right Ascension Lock (21)
about the polar axis so that the
2. Loosen the
Counterweight Lock Screw
the shaft until the telescope remains stationary without drifting rotationally about the polar axis. Tighten
the
Counterweight Lock Screw,
3. Now balance the telescope about the Declination Axis. Loosen the
Cradle Lock Knobs
(fig. 3)
up or down inside the rings until the telescope remains stationary without drifting rotationally about the
Declination Axis Tighten
.
UNDERSTANDING THE
The
Equatorial Mount (20)
manual controls to track the movements of celestial bodies across the sky. This is
referred to as diurnal movement; movement of celestial bodies in the direction
opposite to that of the earth's rotation and is around the earth's axis.
By aligning the telescope's polar axis at celestial North, you will place the
telescope in parallel with the earth's axis and thus be able to locate stars in the sky
based on star atlas information. To compensate for your position on earth, the
polar axis is set in one of three ways:
Set up the telescope at night. Loosen the
the telescope around the declination axis until the arrow on the declination
scale points to 90 degrees. Tighten the
now roughly in parallel with the polar axis.
Loosen the
Horizontal Axis Lock Knob (13)
objective end faces due north. This can be done by approximating the location of the pole star (Polaris or
North Star) or by the use of a compass. True North is then found by directing the telescope at Polaris, as
magnetic North is slightly away from true North.
Look up the latitude of your area in any geographical atlas. Loosen the
the latitude scale to the correct latitude for your area. Aim the
notice that Polaris is not dead center in the
telescope is not absolutely level with the ground. Loosen the
turn the telescope so that it is directly aimed at Polaris. Tighten both the
. Polaris is 1 degree from the North celestial pole. Therefore, the sighting of stars will
Latitude Lock Knob
have to be slightly adjusted as you locate them in the heavens.
Enjoying Your New Telescope
. The telescope should now turn freely about the polar axis. Rotate the telescope
Counterweight Shaft (7)
(located on the counterweight), and slide the
locking the
Counterweight
so that the telescope can slide freely inside the
. The telescope is now balanced.
Cradle Lock Knobs
Cradle Lock Knob
is designed to move in any direction. It can be set to allow
Declination Lock Knob (18)
Declination Lock Knob
Never Look Directly At The Sun With Your Telescope
Permanent Damage To Your Eyes May Occur
is parallel to the ground (horizontal).
into position.
Cradle (25)
Fig. 3
EQUATORIAL MOUNT
. The telescope is
and turn the telescope until the
Finderscope (1)
field of view. This is probably because your
Finderscope's
Horizontal Axis Lock Knob (13)
Counterweight (6)
Declination Lock Screw (18)
. Slide the telescope
Cradles (25)
and rotate
Latitude Lock Knob (22)
at Polaris. You will probably
Horizontal Axis Lock Knob
along
and the
and set
again and
and