4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 1 www.meade.com Meade80EQ-AR MEADE INSTRUCTION MANUAL 80mm | 3.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 3 INTRODUCTION Your telescope is an excellent beginner’s instrument, and is designed to observe objects in the sky. It can be your personal window on the universe. The telescope is shipped with the following parts: • Optical tube • Aluminum tripod with an accessory tray • Two 1.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 FIGURE 1 2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM FIGURE 2 1. Adjustable sliding inner leg extension (see Inset C) 2. Sliding leg extension lock (see Inset C) 3. Right ascension lock 4. Right ascension setting circle 5. Counterweight 6. Counterweight shaft 7. Counterweight safety washer 8. Counterweight lock 9. Tripod legs 10. Leg brace 11. Leg brace support 12. Eyepiece holder slots 13. Accessory tray 14. Right ascension control cable 15. Azimuth adjustment lock 16. Latitude adjustment knob 17. Latitude circle 18.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 6 Inset B 5. Attach the remaining brace supports using the two legs to the mount in supplied one-half inch bolts the same manner. and screwdriver tool 6. Spread the legs out (See Fig. 4). evenly apart. 3. Thread the supplied nut over 7. Set the height of the end of the bolt. your tripod: 4. Finger tighten the bolt and a. Rotate and loosen the nut using the screwdriver tool. Fig. 3 leg lock thumbscrew 5. Repeat with the other two (2, Inset B) to unlock leg braces.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 7 3. Replace the thumbscrews onto the bolts and tighten to a firm feel. BALANCING THE TELESCOPE Fig. 5 Fig. 2 INSERT THE EYEPIECE 1. Slide the MA25mm eyepiece (19) into eyepiece holder on the focuser (17). 2. Tighten the focuser thumbscrew to hold the eyepiece securely. In order for the telescope to move smoothly on its mechanical axes, it must first be balanced as follows: Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 2 Fig. 2 Fig. 2 Fig. 1 ATTACH THE COUNTERWEIGHT(see Fig. 5) 1.
Meade80EQ-AR 6 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 8 Loosen the latitude adjustment lock (9, Fig. 6) so you can move the mount to the desired position. 3. Re-tighten the latitude adjustment lock to secure the mount in place. ATTACH THE OPTICAL TUBE TO THE MOUNT 1. Lay the optical tube (12) with cradle rings (14) onto the saddle plate (13) (See Fig. 6). 2. Tighten the cradle ring attachment lock knob (36) to a firm feel.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 9 The celestial map also contains two poles and an equator just like a map of the Earth (see Fig. 6). The celestial poles are defined as those two points where the Earth's North and South poles, if extended to infinity, would cross the celestial sphere. Thus, the North Celestial Pole is that point in the sky where the North Pole crosses the celestial sphere. The North Star, Polaris, is located very near the North Celestial Pole.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 10 complete revolution about the pole, with the pole at the center. 8 circling By lining up the telescope's polar axis with the North Celestial Pole (or for observers located in Earth's Southern Hemisphere with the South Celestial Pole), astronomical objects may be followed, or "tracked," by moving the telescope about one axis, the polar axis.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 11 THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE We have one very important rule that you should always follow when using your telescope: Have Fun! Have a good time when you’re observing. You may not know everything that there is to know about a telescope or what all the sights in the universe are, but that’s OK. Just point and observe at first. You will enjoy your telescope even more as you learn more about it. But don’t be scared off by difficult terms or complicated procedures.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 12 wish to move the telescope in very small (fine control) steps. 10 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.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 13 Fig. 8 observe Venus going through crescent phases. But you cannot see any surface detail on Venus because it has a very thick atmosphere of gas. When Mars is close to the Earth, you can see some details on Mars, and sometimes even Mars’ polar caps. But quite often, Mars is further away and just appears as a red dot with some dark lines crisscrossing it. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto comprise the outer planets.
Meade80EQ-AR 12 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 14 Optional color filters help bring out detail and contrast of the planets. Meade offers a line of inexpensive color filters. What’s Next? Beyond the Solar System: Once you have observed our own system of planets, it’s time to really travel far from home and look at stars and other objects. You can observe thousands of stars with your telescope. At first, you may think stars are just pinpoints of light and aren’t very interesting. But look again.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 15 same size as they look in your eyepiece. You will see that the moons are in a different position every night. As you get better at drawing, try more challenging sights, like a crater system on the moon or even a nebula. Go your library or check out the internet for more information about astronomy.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 16 through the field of view of the eyepiece more rapidly. 14 Place the object to be viewed at the edge of the field and, without touching the telescope, watch it drift through the field to the other side before repositioning the telescope so that the object to be viewed is again placed at the edge of the field, ready to be further observed. Vibrations: Avoid touching the eyepiece while observing through the telescope.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 17 HAVE A GOOD TIME, ASTRONOMY IS FUN! SPECIFICATIONS Optical tube focal length . . 900mm Primary mirror diameter . 114mm (4.5") Focal ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . f/11 Mounting type. . . . . . . . . . . Equatorial What do the specifications mean? Optical tube focal length is simply a measurement of the length of the optical tube. In other words, this is the distance light travels in the telescope before being brought to focus in you eyepiece.
Meade80EQ-AR 16 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 18 Your 25mm low-power eyepiece magnifies an object 28 times. Multiply 28 by 2 and you get 56 times magnification with a Barlow. Eyepiece’s magnification x 2 = Magnification with a 2X Barlow lens It’s worth repeating: Keep in mind that a bright, clear, but smaller image is more interesting than a larger, dimmer, fuzzy one. Using too high a power eyepiece is one of the most common mistakes made by new astronomers.
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 19 MEADE CONSUMER SOLUTIONS If you have a question concerning your telescope, call Meade Instruments Consumer Solutions Department at (800) 626-3233. Consumer Solutions Department hours are 8:00AM to 5:00PM, Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Write or call the Meade Consumer Solutions Department first, before returning the telescope to the factory, giving full particulars as to the nature of the problem, as well as your name, address, and daytime telephone number.
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Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 21 OBSERVATION LOG OBSERVER: OBJECT NAME: DATE & TIME OBSERVED: CONSTELLATION: EYEPIECE SIZE: SEEING CONDITIONS: EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES: DRAWING OF IMAGE
Meade80EQ-AR 4/28/06 9:55 AM Page 22 OBSERVATION LOG OBSERVER: OBJECT NAME: DATE & TIME OBSERVED: CONSTELLATION: EYEPIECE SIZE: SEEING CONDITIONS: EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES: DRAWING OF IMAGE
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