Thames & Kosmos TK1 User Manual

& astronomy kit

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E X PE R I M E NT M A N UA L

TK 1 TELESCOPE

Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | +49 (0) 711 2191-0 | www.kosmos.de

Thames & Kosmos, 301 Friendship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com

Thames & Kosmos UK Ltd, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 2QZ , United Kingdom | 01580 212000 | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk

& ASTRONOMY

REFRACTOR 60/700

KIT

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Summary of Contents for Thames & Kosmos TK1

Page 1 E X PE R I M E NT M A N UA L TK 1 TELESCOPE TK 1 TELESCOPE & ASTRONOMY & ASTRONOMY REFRACTOR 60/700 Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | +49 (0) 711 2191-0 | www.kosmos.de Thames &...
Page 2 IMPORTANT INFORMATION A Word to Parents! Dear Parents, With this telescope, your child will be able to explore the stars in the night sky, or study natural objects all around us right here on Earth with the help of the image reversal lens. To be sure that this optical instrument is handled correctly, it is essential to pay careful attention to the instructions and tips provided...
Page 3: What's Inside Your Experiment Kit
TK1 Telescope › › › KIT CONTENTS What’s inside your experiment kit: Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off Description Count Aluminum stand with telescope cradle Shelf for accessories Telescope tube with dew shield and pitch arm for height adjustment...
Page 4: Table Of Contents
› › › CONTENTS A Word to Parents ........Inside front cover Safety Information ......... Inside front cover What’s Inside Your Experiment Kit ........1 Assembling Your Telescope..........3 Check It Out: How Your Telescope Works ......9 How to Use Your Telescope ..........11 Check It Out: Preparing for Nighttime Viewing ..........
Page 5: Assembling Your Telescope
Assembling Your Telescope In this chapter, you will learn about all the parts that make up your telescope and how to assemble them. The stand holds the telescope for you and helps you keep it pointed at the exact part of the sky you want to look at.
Page 6 BEFORE YOU START Assembling the telescope YOU WILL NEED › Stand › Three attachment screws › Shelf with three wingnuts › Telescope › Two star-knob tighteners › Eyepiece HERE’S HOW: 1. Extend the three legs of the stand to their full length.
Page 7 Assembling Your Telescope 4. Attach the telescope securely to its cradle by screwing in the two star-knob tighteners equally on both sides. The telescope should then swivel without much force, but it also shouldn’t be so loose that it moves on its own.
Page 8 BEFORE YOU START Mounting and adjusting the viewfinder YOU WILL NEED › Assembled telescope › Viewfinder HERE’S HOW: 1. The viewfinder must have its larger opening (the objective) pointing away from the viewer. 2. Loosen the two knurled screws at the end of the telescope, insert them into the two holes in the viewfinder bracket, and tighten them again.
Page 9 Assembling Your Telescope 4. Focus the telescope by turning the eyepiece extension and move the observation target right into the middle of the field of view. 5. Look through the viewfinder and focus it by turning its eyepiece.
Page 10 6. When you look through the viewfinder, you will notice that the observation target is not in the center of its field of view, but shifted off to the side instead. Use the three knurled screws to adjust the viewfinder until the center of its field of view matches that of the telescope.
Page 11: Check It Out: How Your Telescope Works
Assembling Your Telescope CHECK IT OUT How Your Telescope Works When we are in the dark, our pupils grow larger in order to take in (or gather) as much light as possible. That’s exactly what a telescope does — it gathers light — with the main differences being that its “pupil” (the objective) is a lot larger than our pupils and the objective’s diameter always remains the same.
Page 12 CHECK IT OUT EVERYTHING’S UPSIDE DOWN If you look through the telescope, everything will look upside down and left- right reversed. The reason for that is because it has optical advantages in astronomical telescopes. But that means that if you look through your telescope in, say, a southerly direction, south will be at the top of the visual field, north will be at the bottom, east to the right and west to the...
Page 13: How To Use Your Telescope
How to Use Your Telescope Your telescope is now ready for viewing. Find a location where you won’t be too bothered by the light from houses or street lights. If your backyard or the balcony of your own home doesn’t work, take a parent or older brother or sister with you to find someplace darker.
Page 14 SETUP Viewing through the telescope YOU WILL NEED › Telescope › Optional: red-light flashlight (see p. 16) › Possibly: a warm jacket SETTING IT UP: 1. Make sure that you aren’t blinded by light (from nearby buildings, street lights, and cars) at the location that you have selected.
Page 15 How to Use Your Telescope SETUP VIEWING: Height adjust- 1. Loosen the cradle’s height and tilt adjustment ment knob knobs and swing the telescope toward your observation target. Tilt adjustment 2. Use the viewfinder to check whether the knob telescope is pointed at the right part of the sky.
Page 16 SETUP 6. If the fine height adjustment ring can’t be turned anymore in a given direction, you will have to turn it back to the middle and readjust to your target by loosening the height knob. Then you can use the fine adjustment ring again.
Page 17 How to Use Your Telescope Star diagonal Barlow lens...
Page 18: Nighttime Viewing
CHECK IT OUT Preparing for Nighttime Viewing For good stargazing, you need a clear, cloudless night sky. If you want to view from a terrace or balcony, turn off the inside lights and stay as far away from streetlights as possible, because the light will interfere with your viewing.
Page 19: Get You Started
How to Use Your Telescope CHECK IT OUT Ten Observations to Get You Started Stars will always be points of light, no matter what kind of telescope or magnification you use. They are just too far away. You can see craters, mountains, and lava-filled plains.
Page 20 CHECK IT OUT On the clearly oval disk of this planet, you will see two parallel bands of clouds and four moons. The moons change their positions from Callisto Europa Ganymede one night to the next. Use high magnification. This planet displays patterns of light similar to those of our Moon.
Page 21 How to Use Your Telescope Even with your naked eye, you can distinguish these two stars in the bend of the Big Dipper’s handle. With the help of the telescope, you Alcor Mizar should be able to see how Mizar, the brighter of the two, is actually two stars.
Page 22 CHECK IT OUT This star, which forms the head of the swan in the constellation Cygnus, is actually a double star. With the help of your telescope, you will be able to make out the two stars and their different colors — one reddish and the other blue.
Page 23: Not Just Stars And Planets
Not Just Stars and Planets Not Just Stars and Planets By now, you have gotten to know a few of the things you can see in the night sky with your telescope. But there’s a lot more that the telescope can do.
Page 24 VIEWING Viewing in daytime YOU WILL NEED › Fully assembled telescope › Image reversal lens HERE’S HOW: 1. Start by inserting the image reversal lens into the eyepiece extension until it hits the stop, and secure it tight with the two knurled screws.
Page 25: Identifying Constellations In The Sky
Identifying Constellations in the Sky You are now pretty comfortable with your telescope. If you take it outside tonight under clear skies, you will certainly be able to see a lot of stars. With a little practice, you will also be able to recognize constellations and it will become easier to focus your telescope on interesting observation targets.
Page 26 VIEWING How a rotating star wheel will help you with your viewing With a rotating star wheel — also known as a planisphere — you will easily be able to adjust your view of the starry sky to any time of night and any time of year.
Page 27 Identifying Constellations in the Sky VIEWING 4. From the bottom edge up to the zenith Zenith marker, the oval section shows you the stars that are in the southern sky. At 9 PM on February 10, the constellation Lepus is at the bottom of the southern horizon, Orion is halfway up the sky, and the constellation Auriga is up near the zenith.
Page 28: Check It Out: Stars And Constellations
CHECK IT OUT STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS People used to believe that the stars were points of light attached to the heavens. Today we know that stars are actually glowing balls of gas in space, just like our Sun. In order to orient themselves in the confusion of all those stars, our ancestors created the constellations over 2,000 years ago.
Page 29: Star Charts For Different Seasons
Identifying Constellations in the Sky VIEWING The night sky in springtime YOU WILL NEED Mizar/ Alcor › Star chart Big Dipper › Red-light flashlight Zenith Boötes › Warm jacket HERE’S HOW: Canes Venatici Leo Minor 1. Look for the Big Dipper, which will be high in Coma Arcturus the sky.
Page 30 VIEWING The night sky in summertime YOU WILL NEED Draco › Star chart › Red-light flashlight Deneb Zenith › Warm jacket Cygnus Hercules Vega HERE’S HOW: Lyra Corona Borealis 1. In the summertime it won’t get dark until Albireo Vulpecula late, so you will have to stay up later to Sagi a watch the stars.
Page 31 Identifying Constellations in the Sky VIEWING The night sky in autumn YOU WILL NEED Andromeda Galaxy › Star chart Triangulum › Red-light flashlight Lacerta › Warm jacket Zenith Cassiopeia HERE’S HOW: Perseus 1. At this time of year, you will find the Big Cepheus Cygnus Dipper low above the northern horizon.
Page 32 VIEWING The night sky in winter YOU WILL NEED › Star chart › Red-light flashlight › Warm jacket, socks, cap, scarf, gloves Zenith › Something warm to drink, a few cookies Capella Lynx Perseus Auriga HERE’S HOW: 1. A little above the horizon, you will see the Gemini Pleiades constellation of Orion.
Page 33: Check It Out: Moon, Planets, Satellites, And More
Identifying Constellations in the Sky CHECK IT OUT Moon and planets The Moon orbits around Earth once every month. You can clearly see its movement over the course of one or two days if you look at the sky at the same time each night. particularly nice sight just a few days after a The full moon in particular is almost new moon, when it shows itself as a delicate...
Page 34 CHECK IT OUT Satellites, shooting stars, and comets You will often be able to see at least a couple points of light in the sky that seem to be moving fairly quickly. Usually, they are airplanes. If they are blinking, that’s what they are.
Page 35 Kosmos Quality and Safety More than one hundred years of expertise in publishing science experiment kits stand behind every product that bears the Kosmos name. Kosmos experiment kits are designed by an experienced team of specialists and tested with the utmost care during development and production.
Page 36: The 20 Prettiest Constellations
The 20 Prettiest Constellations English Name Latin Name Visibility The Great Bear Ursa Major Always The Queen Cassiopeia Always The Lion January-June The Herdsman Boötes March-September The Virgin Virgo March-July The Northern Corona Borealis March-October Crown The Harp Lyra April-December The Swan Cygnus May-December...