Taking Care Of Your Telescope - Meade 114EQ-AR Instruction Manual

printed on the side of an eyepiece. Divide:
900 ÷ 13, which equals 69.2. Round this off
to the nearest whole number and your new
eyepiece magnifies objects 69 times.
If you use a Barlow lens with one of your
eyepieces, it doubles the magnification of
your eyepiece. Other types of Barlows can
triple or further increase the power of an
eyepiece. To find out how much your
magnification is when you use a Barlow,
multiply your eyepiece's magnification
by two.
Your 25mm low-power eyepiece magnifies
an object 28 times. Multiply 28 by 2 and you
get 56 times magnification with a Barlow.
Eyepiece's magnification x 2
=
Magnification with a 2X Barlow lens
It's worth repeating: Keep in mind that a
bright, clear, but smaller image is more
interesting than a larger, dimmer, fuzzy one.
Meade114EQ_AR 4/13/06 4:08 PM
Using too high a power eyepiece is one of
the most common mistakes made by new
astronomers. So don't think that higher
magnification is necessarily better—quite
often the best view is with lower
magnification value!

TAKING CARE OF YOUR TELESCOPE

Your telescope is a precision optical
instrument designed for a lifetime of
rewarding viewing. It will rarely, if ever,
require factory servicing or maintenance.
Follow these guidelines to keep your
telescope in the best condition:
• As with any quality instrument, lens or
mirror surfaces should be cleaned as
infrequently as possible. Front surface
aluminized mirrors, in particular, should
be cleaned only when absolutely
necessary. In all cases avoid touching
any mirror surface. A little dust on the
surface of a mirror or lens causes
negligible loss of performance and
should not be considered reason to clean
the surface. When lens or mirror cleaning
does become necessary, use a camel's
hair brush or compressed air gently to
remove dust. If the telescope's dust
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cover is replaced after each observing
session, cleaning of the optics will rarely
be required.
• Fingerprints and organic materials
on the lens or mirror may be
removed with a solution of 3 parts
distilled water to 1 part isopropyl
alcohol. You may also add 1 drop of
biodegradable dishwashing soap per pint
of solution. Use soft, white facial tissues
and make short, gentle strokes. Change
tissues often.
CAUTION: Do not use scented or lotioned
tissues or damage could result to the
optics. DO NOT use a commercial
photographic lens cleaner.
ASTRONOMY RESOURCES
• The Meade 4M Community
6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, CA 92618
• Astronomical League
Executive Secretary
5675 Real del Norte, Las Cruces, NM 88012
• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
390 Ashton Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112
• The Planetary Society
65 North Catalina Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106
• International Dark-Sky Association, Inc.
3225 N. First Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719-2103
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