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Setting Up The Telescope

At least an hour before sunset, choose your location.  Make sure the telescope will not be in a line of sight path to steetlights, car headlights, and that the lawn sprinklers are off.  Each of these can be an annoyance later in the evening.  Choose a spot out of the wind if possible, but a location where you will not be looking directly over a roof (that will cause blurry images from the heat rising off of the roof).

With a telescope like a Dobsonian, you need to find a flat, dry spot to put the base of the telescope down.  If you have an old blanket or tarp to put down first, it’s suggested to do so.  The tube assembly will lower right down onto the base.  You can tip the telescope tube up and down to see if you need to flip the tube assembly over.  The eyepiece, focuser and Telrad should be easily accessible on the side and top of the tube if you’ve placed the telescope on the base correctly.

Place a low power eyepiece in the focuser and gently tighten the set screw to hold the eyepiece in place.  Take the Telrad unit and place it on its mounting base.  Adjust the Telrad so that it is aligned and centered on a bright object that you can see through your eyepiece.

Uncover the telescope to let the optics cool down, then do a preliminary collimation if necessary.

Wait for the stars to come out!

 

Introduction to the Night Sky - Part I
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