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a notebook and write down the observations
you make each night. Note the time and
the date.
Use a compass to make a circle, or trace
around the lid of a jar. Draw what you see in
your eyepiece inside the circle. The best
exercise for drawing is to observe the moons
of Jupiter every night or so. Try to make
Jupiter and the moons approximately the
same size as they look in your eyepiece. You
will see that the moons are in a different
position every night. As you get better at
drawing, try more challenging sights, like a
crater system on the moon or even a nebula.
STAR CHARTS
Star charts and planispheres are useful for a variety of
reasons. In particular, they are a great aid in planning a
night of celestial viewing.
Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines print star
charts each month for up-to-the-minute maps of the
heavens.
AutoStar Suite™ Astronomer Edition Software on DVD
will help you learn the night sky. It displays more than
10,000 celestial objects including planets, stars,
galaxies, and nebulae. You can print out star charts and
even plan your observing sessions. It operates on any
Windows
®
based PC.
Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
Go your library or check out the internet for
more information about astronomy. Learn
about the basics: light years, orbits, star
colors, how stars and planets are formed,
red shift, the big bang, what are the different
kinds of nebula, what are comets, asteroids
and meteors and what is a black hole. The
more you learn about astronomy, the more
fun, and the more rewarding your telescope
will become.
SOME OBSERVING TIPS
Eyepieces: Always begin your observations
using the 25mm low-power eyepiece. The
25mm eyepiece delivers a bright, wide field
of view and is the best to use for most
viewing conditions. Use the high-power 9mm
eyepiece to view details when observing the
Moon and planets. If the image become
fuzzy, switch back down to a lower power.
Changing eyepieces changes the power or
magnification of your telescope.
By the way, you might have noticed
something strange when you looked through
your eyepiece. Although the image is right-
side up, it is reversed. That means
reading words can be a problem. But it
has no affect on astronomical objects.
If you wish to have a fully corrected
image, check out Meade's optional Erecting
Prism in the Optional Accessory section.
Meade offers a complete line of eyepieces
for your telescope. Most astronomers have
four or five low-power and high power
eyepieces to view different objects and to
cope with different viewing conditions.
Objects move in the eyepiece: If you are
observing an astronomical object (the Moon,
a planet, star, etc.) you will notice that the
object will begin to move slowly through the
telescopic field of view. This movement is
caused by the rotation of the Earth and
makes an object move through the
telescope's field of view. To keep
astronomical objects centered in the field,
simply move the telescope on one or both of
its axes—vertically and/or horizontally as
needed—try using the telescopes coarse and
fine adjustment controls. At higher powers,
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