Orion starBlast 4.5 EQ - Manual (Page 6)

6
Do You Wear Eyeglasses?
If you wear eyeglasses, you may be able to keep them on while
you observe. In order to do this, your eyepiece must have enough
“eye relief” to allow you to see the entire field of view with glasses
on. You can try this by looking through the eyepiece first with your
glasses on and then with them off, and see if the glasses restrict
the view to only a portion of the full field. If the glasses do restrict
the field of view, you may be able to observe with your glasses off
by just refocusing the telescope.
If your eyes are astigmatic, however, images will probably appear
better with glasses on. This is because a telescope’s focuser can
accommodate for nearsightedness or farsightedness, but not
astigmatism. If you have to wear your glasses while observing
and cannot see the entire field of view, you may want to consider
purchasing special eyepieces that have extra-long eye relief.
operating the EZ Finder ii reflex sight
The EZ Finder II reflex sight (Figure 5) makes pointing your tele-
scope almost as easy as pointing your finger! It’s a non-magnify-
ing aiming device that superimposes a tiny red dot on the sky,
showing exactly where the telescope is pointed.
The EZ Finder II works by projecting a tiny red dot (it’s not a
laser beam) onto a lens mounted in the front of the unit. When
you look through the EZ Finder II, the red dot will appear to
float in space, helping you locate even the faintest of deep-
sky objects. The red dot is produced by a light-emitting diode
(LED) near the rear of the sight. A 3-volt lithium battery pro-
vides the power for the diode.
Turn the power knob clockwise until you hear the “click” indicating
power has been turned on. Look through the rear of the reflex
sight with both eyes open to see the red dot. Position your eye
at a comfortable distance from the rear of the sight. The intensity
of the dot is adjusted by turning the power knob. For best results
when stargazing, use the dimmest possible setting that allows
you to see the dot without difficulty. Typically a dimmer setting is
used under dark skies and a brighter setting is used under light-
polluted skies or daylight.
At the end of your observing session, be sure to turn the power
knob counterclockwise until it clicks off. When the white dots
on the reflex sight’s body and power knob are lined up, the EZ
Finder II is turned off.
aligning the EZ Finder ii reflex sight
When the EZ Finder II is properly aligned with the telescope, an
object that is centered on the reflex sight’s red dot should also
appear in the center of the field of view of the telescope’s eye-
piece. Alignment of the EZ Finder II is easiest during daylight,
before observing at night. Aim the telescope at a distant object
such as a telephone pole or roof chimney and center it in the tele-
scope’s eyepiece. The object should be at least 1/4 mile away.
Now, with the EZ Finder turned on, look though the EZ Finder II.
The object will appear in the field of view near the red dot.
Note: The image in the telescope will appear upside-down (rotat-
ed 180°). This is normal for reflector telescopes (Figure 6).
Without moving the telescope, use the reflex sight’s azimuth (left/
right) and altitude (up/down) adjustment knobs to position the red
dot on the object in the eyepiece.
When the red dot is centered on the distant object, check to make
sure the object is still centered in the telescope’s field of view. If not,
re-center it and adjust the reflex sight’s alignment again. When the
object is centered in the eyepiece and on the reflex sight’s red dot,
the EZ Finder II is properly aligned with the telescope.
The reflex sight’s alignment should be checked before every
observing session. Choose any bright star or planet, center the
object in the telescope’s eyepiece, then adjust the knobs until the
object is centered on the red dot of the EZ Finder II.
5. setting up and using the
Equatorial Mount
When you look at the night sky, you no doubt have noticed the
stars appear to move slowly from east to west over time. That
apparent motion is caused by the Earth’s rotation (from west to
east). An equatorial mount (Figure 1b) is designed to compen-
sate for that motion, allowing you to easily “track” the movement
Figure 5. The EZ Finder II reflex sight.
Power Knob
Azimuth
adjustment
Knob
Battery
casing
Mounting bracket
Altitude
adjustment
Knob
Naked-eye view
Figure 6. The view through a reflector telescope is rotated 180°
View through telescope