Adjusting a telescope properly is a very important point, because it is the only way to discover many things in the sky that you cannot see otherwise.
Adjusting a telescope correctly: What you need to do
To be able to see everything properly with the telescope, it must also be adjusted correctly. The telescope should be directed first roughly on the moon, which one must adjust first in the finder scope. If this is then exactly in the center there, it should be likewise in the eyepiece in the center. To get the image sharp, you have to look through the eyepiece and turn the wheels of the focuser. However, there are still a few things to consider when adjusting a telescope:
- A refracting telescope is slimmer than a reflecting telescope. It is also often called a “refractor” because it refracts light.
- A reflecting telescope can be identified by looking in sideways at the front end. This is also called a “reflector” because it reflects the light.
- Telescopes are much larger than binoculars, for example. Because they are so large, they thus need a fixture, which is called a “mount. “
- There are three mounts: The azimuthal, parallactic mount, and the Dobsonian system.
- The Dobson telescope is the simplest mount. Here, the telescope sits on wheels on a kind of base cabinet, which is attached to a plate. The “cabinet” can be rotated to the right, left, up and down. This system is also suitable for large and heavy telescopes.
- In the azimuthal mount, the telescope sits on a fork, and the height can be adjusted with a screw. The fork can be rotated horizontally. This mount is often found on smaller telescopes.
- In the parallactic mount, the telescope sits on two axes, one of which is aligned parallel to the Earth’s axis. This mount is preferred by stargazers because only one axis needs to be rotated to keep the star in the field of view.
- Focus is adjusted on a telescope using the knobs on the focuser. You focus by slowly turning the focus wheel.
To sight celestial bodies
At night we can already observe quite a variety of celestial bodies with the naked eye, but with a telescope we can do it much better.
- You should first familiarize yourself with a new telescope in daylight. This will allow you to become familiar with the movements around the various axes, alignment and focusing.
- The viewfinder of a telescope is very important, because the main telescope has a very small field of view. The higher the magnification of the main telescope, the smaller the field of view.
- To observe properly, you must constantly adjust the focus. Your hand should always be on the focus so that you can get the image a little sharper.
- You can use a telescope to observe solar system planets such as Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
- To observe celestial bodies with a telescope, you should start by locating the planet with the finder scope, which is the small spotting scope on the telescope body. If you use a low magnification eyepiece, you can center Saturn, for example, in the telescope’s field of view.
- To track the orbit of celestial bodies, it is important to know what they are. Namely, this indicates how much the orbital ellipse is inclined with respect to the ecliptic. To observe this with the telescope, there is no particular setting.
