Meade Polaris 130mm User Manual - Page 13
Observe the Solar System
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locate an object using the red dot viewfinder rather than locating with the eyepiece. Line up the object using the viewfinders red dot. Look through the eyepiece: Once you have the object lined up in the viewfinder, look through the optical tube's eyepiece. If you have aligned your viewfinder, you will you see the object in your eyepiece. Focus: Look through the eyepiece and practice focusing on the object you have chosen. Try out the slow-motion flexible cable control: Practice using the right ascension control cable (3) and declination control cable (4) to move the telescope. These can come in very handy, especially when you wish to move the telescope in very small (fine control) steps. Observe the Moon: When you feel comfortable with the viewfinder, the eyepieces, the locks and the adjustment controls, you will be ready to try out the telescope at night. The Moon is the best object to observe the first time you go out at night. Pick a night when the Moon is a crescent. No shadows are seen during a full Moon, making it appear flat and uninteresting. Look for different features on the Moon. The most obvious features are craters. In fact you can see craters within craters. Some craters have bright lines about them. These are called rays and are the result of material thrown out of the crater when it was struck by a colliding object. The dark areas on the Moon are called maria and are composed of lava from the period when the Moon still had volcanic activity. You can also see mountain ranges and fault lines on the Moon. Use a neutral density filter (often called a "moon filter") when observing the Moon. Neutral density filters are available from Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving. Fig. 9 11 Meade as an optional accessory and enhance contrast to improve your observation of lunar features. Spend several nights observing the Moon. Some nights, the Moon is so bright that it makes other objects in the sky difficult to see. These are nights that are excellent for lunar observation. Observe the Solar System: After observing the Moon, you are ready to step up to the next level of observation, the planets. There are four planets that you can easily observe in your telescope: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Nine planets (maybe more!) travel in a fairly