Manual
INDEX
Terrestrial Observing 
The LS is an excellent high-resolution, terrestrial (land) 
telescopes. Viewing terrestrial objects requires looking 
along the Earth’s surface through heat waves. These 
heat waves often cause degradation of image quality. 
Lower power eyepieces, like the Super Plössl 26mm 
eyepiece, magnify these heat waves less than higher 
power eyepieces. Therefore, lower power eyepieces 
provide a steadier, higher quality image. If the image is 
fuzzy or ill-defi ned, reduce to a lower power eyepiece, 
where the heat waves do not have such an effect on 
image quality. Observing in early morning hours, before 
the ground has built up internal heat, produces better 
viewing conditions than during late afternoon hours. 
If you wish to observe a distant land object, such as a 
mountain top or a bird, you want to use your telescope 
in its Terrestrial Observing mode. To start up the 
telescope in Terrestrial mode:
1.  Turn on the telescope.
2.  When you hear the introductory audio, press the 
“MODE” key. The telescope will move to the 
home position, and when it has stopped “Select 
Item” will show on the Handbox screen. Use 
the SCROLL keys to move through the menu 
to “Align”. Press the “ENTER” key again to set-
up the “Align” menu. Use the SCROLL keys to 
move to “Terrestrial” and hit “ENTER”.
3.  Move your telescope using the direction arrows 
on the handbox while looking through the Red-
Dot Finder to put your target in the eyepiece. 
4.  Focus on the target with the focus knob (pg. 12, 
Fig. 2, 9).
ADVANCED LS FEATURES
Too Much Power?
Can you ever have too much power? If the 
type of power you’re referring to is eyepiece 
magnifi cation, yes, you can! The most 
common mistake of the beginning observer 
is to “overpower” a telescope by using high 
magnifi cations which the telescope’s aperture 
and atmospheric conditions cannot reasonably 
support. Keep in mind that a smaller, but bright 
and well-resolved image is far superior to one 
that is larger, but dim and poorly resolved (see 
Figs. 7a and 7b to the left). Powers above 400X 
should be employed only under the steadiest 
atmospheric conditions. 
Most observers should have three or four 
additional eyepieces to achieve the full range of 
reasonable magnifi cations possible with the LS 
telescopes. See OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, 
page 16.
LS TIPS
Figs. 7a & 7b: Jupiter; examples of the right amount of 
magnifi cation and too much magnifi cation.
32
Capitol Reef, Utah










