Edmund Scientific Astroscan User Manual

Table of Contents

Quick Links

ASTROSCAN USER'S GUIDE

Contents

Introduction. . ................................................................................................................................................................ 2

Assembly. . ................................................................................................................................................................... 3

What's.an.Astroscan?.. . ............................................................................................................................................... 4

. Optical.Specifications. . ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Basic.Operation.and.Viewing.Hints............................................................................................................................. 7

Discovering.the.Solar.System.....................................................................................................................................11

. Sun. . ........................................................................................................................................................................11

. Moon.......................................................................................................................................................................11

. Planets....................................................................................................................................................................14

. Comets. . ..................................................................................................................................................................17

Discovering.the.Deep-Sky. . .........................................................................................................................................18

. Single.Stars.and.Star.Colors. . .................................................................................................................................18

. Double.and.Multiple.Stars. . .....................................................................................................................................19

. Star.Clusters.and.Asterisms. . ..................................................................................................................................20

. Nebulae. . .................................................................................................................................................................21

. Galaxies..................................................................................................................................................................22

. Milky.Way. . ..............................................................................................................................................................23

Terrestrial.Use.............................................................................................................................................................24

Care.and.Maintenance................................................................................................................................................27

Accessories.................................................................................................................................................................28

Warranty......................................................................................................................................................................28

About the Author

James.Mullaney.is.an.astronomy.writer,.lecturer.and.consultant.who.has.published.more.than.700.

articles.and.eight.books.on.observing.the.wonders.of.the.heavens,.and.logged.over.25,000.hours.

of.stargazing.time.with.the.unaided.eye,.binoculars,.and.telescopes...Formerly.Curator.of.the.Buhl.

Planetarium.in.Pittsburgh.and.Director.of.the.DuPont.Planetarium,.he.served.as.staff.astronomer.at.

the.University.of.Pittsburgh's.Allegheny.Observatory,.and.as.an.editor.for.Sky & Telescope.magazine.. .

A.contributor.to.Carl.Sagan's.award-winning.Cosmos.PBS-Television.series,.Mr..Mullaney's..50-

year.mission.has.been.to."Celebrate.the.Universe!".-.to.get.others.to.look.up.at.the.majesty.of.the.

heavens.and.to.personally.experience.the.joys.of.stargazing..In.February.of.2005,.Mr..Mullaney.was.

elected.a.Fellow.of.the.prestigious.Royal.Astronomical.Society.of.London....

To request a catalog, shop for products, or get more information,

visit us online at: www.scientificsonline.com

OR call toll free: 800-728-6999

Table of Contents

Need help?

Do you have a question about the Astroscan and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Summary of Contents for Edmund Scientific Astroscan

Page 1: Table Of Contents
ASTROSCAN USER’S GUIDE Contents Introduction.................................. 2 Assembly..................................3 What’s.an.Astroscan?..............................4 . Optical.Specifications.............................. 5 Basic.Operation.and.Viewing.Hints..........................7 Discovering.the.Solar.System.............................11 . Sun..................................11 . Moon..................................11 . Planets..................................14 . Comets..................................17 Discovering.the.Deep-Sky............................18 . Single.Stars.and.Star.Colors...........................18 .
Page 2: Introduction
With. proper. wonders.of.the.night.sky..Only.the.telescope.has.enabled. care,. your. new. Astroscan. will. bring. you. many. years. us. to. see. what’s. actually. out. there:. the. mountains. and. of. exciting. celestial. exploration,. opening. a. whole. new. craters.and.valleys.of.the.Moon,.the.four.bright.orbiting. and.unsuspected.universe.to.you.and.your.family!.But.
Page 3: Assembly
Assembly Your. new.Astroscan. telescope. is. essentially. ready. for. use. right. out. of. the. box,. but. there. are. a. few. simple. steps.you.need.to.perform.before.you.can.actually.look. through.it.. 1.. First,.locate.and.identify.the.following.items:.. •. the.telescope.itself!.. •. mounting.base.(attached.to.telescope). •. dew/light.shield.(see.photo.on.page.10). •. shoulder.strap. •. rubber.base.mat. •. two.Plossl.eyepieces.(28.mm.-16X.and.15.mm.-.30X). •. eyepiece.cap. •. rubber.eyeguard.
Page 4: What's.an.astroscan
Even. at. their. All. things. considered,. the. Astroscan. is. one. of. the. lowest. m agnification,. t he. M oon. a nd. p lanets. s uch. a s. J upiter. best. buys. in. a. quality. beginner’s. telescope. on. the.
Page 5: Optical.specifications
5 ∕ millionths of an inch from the specified shape. Compare this with a sheet of paper, which has a thickness of about 200 waves! The Edmund Scientific Astroscan betters this tolerance with optics of ∕ wave. GREEN ONE WAVE = .00022"...
Page 6 Barlow. lens.. (See. the. “Accessories”. section. for. these. dividing.the.apparent.field.of.the.eyepiece.by.the.power. and.other.useful.items.). being.used,.or.Actual.Field.=.Apparent.Field/X..For.the. Astroscan.used.with.its.16X.28.mm.eyepiece.this.would. It. needs. to. be. stressed. here. that. your. Astroscan,. as. be.50/16.=.3.1.degrees..If.you.switch.to.the.30X.15.mm. a. low-power. wide-field. telescope,. was. designed. for. eyepiece,.it.would.be.50/15.=.1.7.degrees,.or.only.about. optimum.performance.in.the.magnification.range.of.15X. half.as.much.actual.sky.coverage. to.35X..While.it.can.certainly.be.used.at.higher.powers. (the.useful.upper.limit.to.magnification.for.any.telescope. is.actually.around.50X.per.inch.of.aperture),.there.will.be.
Page 7: Basic.operation.and.viewing.hints
(Should.you.forget.to.do.this,.before.capping.it,.simply. focusing.the.eyepiece,.using.the.finder.and.other.basic. let.the.telescope.be.exposed.to.the.inside.air.until.the. operations.. condensation.evaporates.as.the.scope.warms.up.) Getting Used to the Dark Looking Through the Astroscan When. you. first. begin. observing. at. night. you. probably. Looking.into.the.eyepiece.is.easy.and.doesn’t.tire.your. won’t. be. able. to. see. very. much. except. for. brighter. eyes.when.done.properly..Try.to.keep.both.eyes.open,. objects..That’s.because.your.eyes.aren’t.yet.used.to.the. look. straight. ahead,. and. position. your. observing. eye.
Page 8 –. especially. the. area. over. the. engine. –. it. will. produce. Focusing the Astroscan The. image. is. focused. by. turning. the. focusing. knobs. located. beside. the. eyepiece.. With. the. Astroscan,. the. image. will. seem. to. almost. “snap”. into. sharpness.. For. Astroscan on focusing.on.nearby.objects.you’ll.find.that.the.eyepiece.
Page 9 Astroscan on a tripod. of.the.finder.with.the.telescope.has.been.achieved,.it. or.in.your.lap. shouldn’t.have.to.be.done.again.unless.the.finder.has. been.bumped.out.of.position.). Aiming the Astroscan The. beautifully. wide. 3-degree. field. of. the.Astroscan. at. 16X.makes.the.use.of.a.traditional.optical.finder.scope. unnecessary..But.your.telescope.is.equipped.with.what. is.known.as.a.unit-power.(1X,.or.that.of.the.unaided.eye). “reflex-sight”.finder.(see.photo,.at.right)..It.superimposes. a.small.LED-powered.red.spot.of.light.focused.at.infinity. and.shows.about.10.degrees.of.sky.as.opposed.to.the. 3.degrees.of.the.Astroscan.itself..Once.aligned.with.the. telescope,.you.sight.through.the.finder.and.place.the.dot.
Page 10 300X. regardless. of. the. size. or. quality. of. your. optimum. distance. from. the. eyepiece. to. see. the. entire. telescope.. Fortunately,. atmospheric. disturbances. are. field.of.view..It.also.cushions.eyeglasses.(for.those.who. seldom.a.problem.at.the.low.magnifications.employed. must.wear.them).from.hitting.the.lens.of.the.eyepiece.. by. the.Astroscan.. Sky. targets. are. best. viewed. on. or. However,.stretching.the.narrow.part.of.the.rubber.to.fit. near.the.“celestial.meridian.”.This.is.an.imaginary.line. properly.and.at.the.right.position.over.the.eyepiece.is.a. passing. north-south. through. the. overhead. point. or. bit.tricky..Another.problem.is.that.eyeguards.often.cause.
Page 11: Discovering.the.solar.system
But. the. Sun. is. also. extremely. dangerous.. As. we’ve. The.one.big.drawback.to.eyepiece.projection.is.that.it. already. warned,. never point your Astroscan directly lets.the.lenses.in.the.eyepiece.(and.to.a.lesser.extent,. at the Sun; concentrated sunlight can cause serious the.secondary.mirror).continuously.heat.up,.the.longer. eye damage and even blindness in seconds! the.
Page 12 Peering. inside. of. the. larger. craters,. you’ll. notice. that. some.have.a.central.mountain.peak.within.their.raised. rims. and. others. don’t.. Many. of. the. bigger. craters. you. see. are. about. 50. to. 80. miles. in. diameter,. and. 2. or. 3. miles.deep..The.low-angle.lighting.along.the.terminator. exaggerates. relief. and. makes. them. look. even. deeper. than.they.really.are..Note.that.some.of.the.raised.rims.
Page 13 After.Full.Moon,.our.lovely.satellite.rises.later.and.later. The. Astroscan. at. 16X. easily. encompasses. both. the. each.night,.and.goes.through.its.phases.in.reverse.order. glittering. diamonds. of. this. stellar. jewelbox. and. the. back. to. Gibbous,. Last. Quarter,. Waning. Crescent,. and. Moon. in. the. same. field. of. view. as. they. approach. and.
Page 14: Planets
2,793,000,000 Mercury. appears. in. the. twilight. sky. as. a. fairly. bright. Pluto 247.76.years 3,666,000,000 star,. not. far. above. the. horizon.. The.Astroscan’s. wide. field. and. good. light-gathering. power. will. allow. you. to. search.the.horizon.sky.and.find.the.planet.even.if.thin. phase.depending.on.where.it.is.in.its.orbit..In.addition.to. clouds,. city.haze,.light.pollution,.or.twilight.itself.make. the. two. astronomy. magazines. referenced. on. page. 13.
Page 15 Mars What. you’ll. actually. see. depends. on. when. you. look.. The. famed. “Red. Planet”. (it’s. actually. ruddy-orange). Venus.goes.through.phases.similar.in.shape.to.those.of. Mars. comes. close. to. Earth. just. over. every. two. years.
Page 16 Jupiter.. It. won’t. look. very. it. looks. –. shining. in. the. eyepiece. like. some. exquisite. big. at. 16X. in. the. Astroscan,. but. you’ll. definitely. be. piece.of.cosmic.jewelry!.Higher.magnifications.may.bring. able.to.tell.that.it.has.a.disk..You’ll.also.notice.several. out. a. dark. narrow. gap. in. its. rings. known. as. Cassini’s.
Page 17: Comets
Herschel,. an. “amateur”. astronomer. who. made. all. of. his. own. telescopes),. the. five. bright. ones. having. been. known.since.antiquity..With.a.suitable.chart.for.the.year. you.are.observing,.you’ll.have.no.problem.picking.it.out.. In. your.Astroscan. at. 16X,. Uranus. is. a. star-like. object. with.a.slightly.greenish.cast..Unlike.the.stars,.however,. it. moves. very. slowly. from. night. to. night!. If. you. locate. the.field.where.it’s.“hiding”.one.night.and.make.a.sketch.
Page 18: Discovering.the.deep-Sky
–.including,.of.course,.our.own.magnificent.Milky.Way. field.of.view..If.you.live.in.the.city,.you.may.see.between.a. Galaxy..There.are.a.number.of.ways.of.locating.these. few.and.a.few.dozen.stars.at.any.one.time,.while.in.dark. wonders,.including.modern.telescope.technology.such.as. country.skies.you.may.literally.see.thousands.of.them!. computerized.target.acquisition.and.tracking.(known.as. The. first. thing. you’ll. notice. is. that,. unlike. the. planets,. “Go-To”.systems)..But.perhaps.the.most.fun.–.especially. stars.don’t.look.any.bigger.in.your.Astroscan.than.they. with.a.point-and-look.telescope.like.the.Astroscan.–.is. do.to.the.unaided.eye.–.they.are.simply.much.too.far. the.traditional.technique.of.“star-hopping.”.This.involves. away.to.show.any.noticeable.size.except.with.the.world’s. using.a.good.star.map.like.those.in.The Edmund Sky largest.telescopes..Now.look.at.the.way.the.stars.clump. Guide. that. came. with. your. telescope. (or. the. more. in.some.places.and.seem.spread.out.in.others..For.the. detailed. Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas). to. work. your. way.
Page 19: Double.and.multiple.stars
Double-Double.(Epsilon.Lyrae).in.the.constellation.Lyra. the.two.stars..And.the.concealed.beauty.of.many.similar. near.the.bright.blue-white.star.Vega,.and.the.Trapezium. stellar.jewels.lies.unsuspected.until.discovered.in.your. in.the.heart.of.the.beautiful.Orion.Nebula..Many.double. Astroscan,. which. is. capable. of. showing. you. literally. stars.exhibit.exquisite.contrasting.tints,.some.of.which. thousands. of. these. objects!. The Edmund Sky Guide. are. real. and. others. which. are. imply. contrast. effects.. contains.a.list.of.80.of.the.most.spectacular.double.and. Certainly. one. of. the. most. beautiful. pairs. in. the. entire.
Page 20: Star.clusters.and.asterisms
Double. Cluster. in. Perseus.. Look. for. it. about. midway. There. are. basically. two. types. of. them,. and. they. don’t. between. Cassiopeia. (the. “W”-shaped. constellation). look.a.bit.alike.in.the.telescope..Most.obvious.are.the. and.Perseus.by.simply.sweeping.across.that.area.with. “open.clusters,”.stellar.jewel.boxes.with.a.few.hundred. your.Astroscan. at. 16X.. The. Double. Cluster. turns. out. to.a.thousand.or.more.members.that.seem.to.be.loosely. to. be. two. magnificent. clusters. sprawling. side-by-side. gathered.together..In.your.Astroscan.an.average.open. in.one.low-power.eyepiece.field..The.Summer.and.Fall. cluster.will.look.somewhat.like.a.small.scattered.pile.of.
Page 21: Nebulae
Photos by J. Cocozza and. often. surprising. configurations. including. apparent. letters,.numbers.and.geometric.shapes..(There’s.even.a. coathanger.in.the.sky.–.the.Coathanger.in.the.Summer. constellation. Vulpecula!). As. you. sweep. the. heavens. with. your. Astroscan. using. your. low-power. eyepiece,. you’ll.encounter.many.of.these.delightful.objects.. Nebulae Some. of. the. clusters. you’ll. find. when. you. scan. the. Milky.Way.will.seem.to.have.a.fuzzy.haze.around.them,. somewhat.like.a.little.cloud..Early.sky.explorers.noticed.
Page 22: Galaxies
Using. the. 28. mm. (16X). eyepiece,. sweep. along. a. line. of.the.Lagoon,.still.in.the.constellation.Sagittarius,.is.a. between.the.beautiful.double.star.Albireo.(described.on. third. outstanding. diffuse. nebula. for. viewing. with. your. page.19).and.the.diamond-shaped.Delphinus..You’ll.find. Astroscan.. This. one. is. M. 17. and. has. multiple. names. the.Dumbbell.about.one-third.of.the.way.between.them,. based.on.its.appearance.in.different.size.telescopes.–. closer.to.Albireo,.looking.like.a.little.puffy.cloud..This.is.an. the.Horseshoe,.Omega,.Swan.and.Checkmark.Nebula!. excellent.opportunity.to.practice.using.a.star.chart,.and. It’s.easily.visible.at.16X,.and.using.averted.vision.at.30X. the. reward. of. finding. this. nebula. makes. the. effort. well.
Page 23: Milky.way
Fall. constellation.Andromeda. and. it’s. a. it.certainly.was.to.the.unlighted-street.generations.that. nice.sight.even.in.binoculars..Every.star.chart.and.star. preceded.them..Away.from.city.lights,.arching.across.the. atlas.ever.made.shows.it,.so.prominent.is.it..Aim.your. heavens.on.late.Summer.nights,.the.Milky.Way.totally. Astroscan. at. it. using. the. 28. mm. (16X). eyepiece. and. dominates. the. sky.. If. you’ve. never. had. an. opportunity. settle. down. for. some. careful. viewing.. It. appears. as. a. to.see.it.this.way,.you.owe.it.to.yourself.to.do.so!.But. large.bright.oval.glow.brightest.in.the.center.and.nearly. even.from.the.suburbs.on.a.dark.clear.moonless.night,.
Page 24: Terrestrial.use
Terrestrial Use Why is the View Upside-Down? When.you.look.through.your.Astroscan.at.objects.on.the. and.viewing.with.your.back.to.the.object.you’re.watching,. ground,. the. first. thing. you’ll. notice. is. that. they. appear. taking.care.not.to.stand.in.front.of.the.telescope.itself!. upside-down..Basically.all.optical.imaging.systems.form. A.much.better.alternative.is.the.Edmund.In-Optical-Path. a.picture.that’s.inverted..(This.includes.the.human.eye. Roof.Prism.Erector.available.for.the.Astroscan.which.is. –.everything.you.see.is.upside-down.on.the.retina,.but. really.a.“must”.if.you’re.doing.extensive.daytime.viewing. the. brain. switches. it. upright!).. Binoculars. and. spotting. (see.the.“Accessories”.section)..Simply.insert.this.device. scopes.have.built-in.“erecting.prisms”.so.that.the.image. into.the.bottom.of.the.focusing.tube.and.the.image.you’ll. seen.is.right-side.up..But.these.additional.optical.parts. see.will.appear.correct.and.upright..This.device.performs. reduce.the.amount.of.light.transmitted,.and.although.the.
Page 25 Astroscan. with. the. shoulder. strap. to. quickly. up. view. up. to. 250. feet. away..At. the. greater. distances. made.possible.by.the.telescope.you.can.watch.feeding,. follow. the. action.. Here,. however,. the. image. erector. is. nesting,. and. territorial. behavior. much. less. intrusively.
Page 26 When. used. in. this. manner,. the. lens. of. the. to.the.rotation.of.the.Earth,.causing.the.images.to.trail.. SLR. camera. is. removed. (the. Astroscan. becoming. its. But. that’s. still. long. enough. to. get. pictures. not. only. of. lens!).and.replaced.with.a.“T.Compatible.Adapter”.which. stars,.but.also.of.the.brighter.deep-sky.objects.like.the. is. specifically. made. for. your. particular. camera. model..
Page 27: Care.and.maintenance
(which. (they.are.self-adhesive). fits.the.tube.both.with.and.without.the.dew/light.shield.in. Finally,. should. you. drop. your.Astroscan,. knocking. the. place).and.the.eyepiece.covered.with.the.cap.provided.. optical. system. out. of. alignment,. or. otherwise. damage. It.is.also.recommended.that.the.finder.be.covered.with.a.
Page 28: Accessories
*Caution: Do not look directly at the sun. Adult supervision The Plossl Eyepieces is recommended. Add more power to your Astroscan®. These 5 professional quality, yet affordable Plossl eyepieces provide maximum versatility to your Astroscan®. Each Plossl admits more light. Variable Slide Tube...