instruction Manual Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ ® ™ #9738 Equatorial Reflecting Telescope Customer Support (800)‑676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope.com Corporate Offices (831)‑763-7000 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076 Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 OrionTelescopes.com IN 175 Rev.
Finder scope Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Declination lock lever (not shown) Tube rings Right ascension lock lever (not shown) Optical tube Mirror cell Declination slow-motion control knob Safety thumbscrew Mounting plate securing knob Right ascension slow-motion control knob Counterweight shaft Latitude scale Counterweights Counterweight lock knobs Latitude adjustment L-bolts Center support shaft Tripod support tray Tripod leg Leg lock knobs 2 Figure 1. The SkyView Pro 8 EQ.
Welcome to the exciting world of amateur astronomy! Your new SkyView Pro 8 EQ is designed for high- resolution viewing of astronomical objects. With its precision optics and equatorial mount, you’ll be able to locate and enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including the planets, Moon, and a variety of deep-sky galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters. These instructions will help you set up, properly use, and care for your telescope. Please read them thoroughly before getting started.
of the central support shaft until the three tray arms are touching the legs of the tripod. The flat side of the accessory tray should be facing up. Make sure the “V” of each tray arm is against a tripod leg. Place the washer back on the center support shaft against the tray, and thread the securing knob all the way up the center support shaft until it is tight against the tray. The tripod support tray provides additional stability for the tripod, and holds five 1.25" eyepieces and two 2" eyepieces.
4. Balancing the Telescope To ensure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube is properly balanced. We will first balance the telescope with respect to the right ascension (R.A.) axis, then the declination (Dec.) axis. 1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the R.A. lock lever. Make sure the Dec. lock lever is locked, for now. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the right ascension axis.
5. Using Your Telescope Focusing the Telescope With the 25mm eyepiece inserted in the focuser, move the telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general direction of an object at least 1/4-mile away. Now, with your fingers, slowly rotate one of the focusing knobs until the object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image just starts to blur again, then reverse the rotation of the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact focus point.
The SkyView Pro 8 EQ has a focal length of 1000mm, which when used with the supplied 25mm eyepiece yields: 1000mm = 40x 25mm The magnification provided by the 10mm eyepiece is: 1000mm 10mm = 100x The maximum attainable magnification for a telescope is directly related to how much light it can gather. The larger the aperture, the more magnification is possible. In general a figure of 50x per inch of aperture is the maximum attainable for most telescopes.
Little Dipper (in Ursa Minor) Big Dipper (in Ursa Major) ter Poin Stars directly from your observing site, consult a compass and rotate the tripod so the telescope points north. There is a label bearing a large “N” at the base of the equatorial mount (Figure 9). It should be facing north. The equatorial mount is now polar aligned for casual observing. More precise polar alignment is recommended for astrophotography. For this we suggest using the optional polar axis finder scope. N.C.P.
The reticle of the polar axis finder scope has a tiny star map printed on it that makes precise polar alignment quick and easy. If you do not have a clear view of Polaris from your of the reticle). Rotate the reticle so the constellations depicted match their current orientation in they sky when viewed with the naked eye. To do this, release the R.A. lock lever and rotate the main telescope around the R.A. axis until the reticle is oriented with sky.
Note: If you have an optional motor drive attached, you will need to loosen the clutch on the R.A. (and Dec. for dual-axis drives) gear shaft before using the slow-motion control knob. Calibrating the Declination Setting Circle 1. Loosen the Dec. lock lever and position the telescope as accurately as possible in declination so it is parallel to the R.A. axis as shown in Figure 1. Re-tighten the lock lever.
a. b. c. d. Figure 13. This illustration show the telescope pointed in the the four cardinal directions (a) north, (b) south, (c) east, (d) west. Note that the tripod and moutn have ot been moved; only the telescope tube has been moved on the R.A. and Dec. axes.
To check collimation, remove the eyepiece and look down the focuser drawtube. You should see the secondary mirror centered in the drawtube, as well as the reflection of the primary mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflection of the secondary mirror (and your eye) centered in the reflection of the primary mirror, as in Figure 14a. If anything is off-center, as in Figure 14b, proceed with the following collimation procedure.
Adjusting the Primary Mirror The final adjustment is made to the primary mirror. It will need adjustment if, as in Figure 14d, the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser and the reflection of the primary mirror is centered in the secondary mirror, but the small reflection of the secondary mirror (with the “dot” of the collimation cap) is off-center.
8. Astronomical Observing For many users, the SkyView Pro 8 EQ telescope will be a major leap into the world of amateur astronomy. This section is intended to get you ready for your voyages through the night sky. Site Selection Pick a location away from street lights and bright yard lighting. Avoid viewing over rooftops and chimneys, as they often have warm air currents rising from them, which distort the image seen in the eyepiece. Similarly, you should not observe through an open window from indoors.
used to achieve higher or lower powers. It is quite common for an observer to own five or more eyepieces to access a wide range of magnifications. This allows the observer to choose the best eyepiece to use depending on the object being viewed. At least to begin with, the two supplied eyepieces will suffice nicely. Whatever you choose to view, always start by inserting your lowest power (longest focal length) eyepiece to locate and center the object.
Because it is so close to the Sun, it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon. No surface markings can be seen on Venus, which is always shrouded in dense clouds. MARS The Red Planet makes its closest approach to Earth every two years. During close approaches you’ll see a red disk, and may be able to see the polar ice cap. To see surface detail on Mars, you will need a high power eyepiece and very steady air! D. The Stars Stars will appear like twinkling points of light.
9. Astrophotography When coupled to a 35mm single-lens reflex camera, the SkyView Pro becomes a telephoto lens. To attach a camera, you need only a T-ring for your specific camera model and the included camera adapter. First you must attach the included camera adapter to the SkyView Pro 8 EQ’s focuser. To do this, remove the 1.25" and 2" eyepiece adapters from the focuser drawtube (Figure 22a). Then screw the camera adapter into the focuser drawtube (Figure 22b).
Aim the telescope at a deep-sky object. It should be a fairly large deep-sky object, as the camera lens will likely have a wide field of view. Check to make sure that the object is also centered in the camera’s viewfinder. Turn the motor drive on. Now, look into the telescope’s eyepiece and center the brightest star within the field of view. Remove the eyepiece and insert the illuminated reticle eyepiece into the focuser drawtube. Turn the eyepiece’s illuminator on (dimly!).
under a stream of lukewarm water. Any particles on the surface can be swabbed gently with a series of cotton balls, each used just one time. Dry the mirror in a stream of air (a “blower bulb” works great), or remove any stray drops of water with the corner of a paper towel. Water will run off a clean surface. Cover the mirror surface with Kleenex, and leave the mirror in a warm area until it is completely dry before reassembling the telescope. 11.
One-Year Limited Warranty This Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. During this warranty period Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted instrument that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid to: Orion Warranty Repair, 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076.
