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One Sky Manual

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Astronomers

• ~~t~~~~ ~~~~:~~ y

AWB 1 30 NEWTONIAN
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
31100
The AWB 130 Newtonian is sold in the US exclusively by Astronomers Wrthout Borders to raise funds to support its astronomy
programs connecting people worldwide through a common interest in astronomy. Celestron imports the AWB 130 Newtonian for
Astronomers Without Borders as part of Celestron's commitment to supporting global astronomy programs. Astronomers
Without Borders is a US charitable non-profit organization (501 (c)(3)).

For more information go to www.astronomerswithoutborders.org.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY . . . . . . . .3
OPERATING YOUR TELESCOPE . .4
Positioning the telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Using the Tension Control Knob . . . . . . . . . . .4
Focusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Using the Red Dot Finder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 4
Removing the telescope tube . . . . . .......... 4
Pointing the Dobsonian . . . . . . . ... 4
Calculating the magnification . . . . .4
Field of view . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

OBSERVING THE SKY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7


Sky Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 7
Selecting an Observing Site . . . . . . ... 7
Choosing the Best Time to Observe . ·.... 7
Cooling the Telescope. . . ... 7
Adopting Your Eyes . . . . ... 7

PROPER CARE FOR YOUR TELESCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8


Collimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 8
Cleaning Your Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

BEFORE YOU BEGIN


Read the entire manual carefully before beginning. Your telescope should be assembled during daylight hours.
Choose a large, open area to work to allow room for all parts to be unpacked.

CAUTION!
NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE WILL RESULT. USE A
PROPER SOLAR FILTER FOR VIEWING THE SUN. WHEN OBSERVING THE SUN, REMOVE YOUR FINDERSCOPE TO
PROTECT IT FROM EXPOSURE. NEVER USE AN EYEPIECE-TYPE SOLAR FILTER AND NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE
TO PROJECT SUNLIGHT ONTO ANOTHER SURFACE, THE INTERNAL HEAT BUILD-UP WILL DAMAGE THE TELESCOPE
OPTICAL ELEMENTS.
, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Red Dot finder

r------------------- Eyepiece

~--- Dovetail locking Screw

Carrying Handle

All-Azimuth Base

Tension Control Knob

2 I
TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY

1 . Remove the telescope and accessories from the pack- 6. Remove the dust cap before viewing.
age.
7. Position the telescope as in Fig. f with the tube
2. Locate the red dot finder. Slightly loosen the screws on horizontal. Hold the tube firmly and loosen the tension
the side of the finder. (Fig.a) control knob until there is no longer friction holding the
tube in place. If the telescope is not balanced the tube
Fig.a
will begin to move. To balance the telescope, loosen the
dovetail locking screw and slide the tube to a point where
the tube no longer moves on its own. Tighten the dovetail
locking screw to hold the tube in place. Do not over-tight-
Slightly loosen these screws en the screw. Tighten the tension control knob until the
tube requires a slight effort to move to provide a small
3. Locate the small red dot finderscope base near the front amount of friction to hold the telescope in place. Do not
opening of the tube. Slide the red dot finder onto the over-tighten the knob. The tube should still move smoothly
base and tighten the screws to secure it in place. Do not with very little effort.
over-tighten the screws. (Fig.b)
Fig.b Fig.e

4. Locate the eyepiece. Loosen the eyepiece lock screws


and slide the eyepiece into the holder. Slightly tighten the
screws to hold the eyepiece in place. Do not over-tighten
the screws. (Fig.c)
Fig.c

5. Fig.d should be how the telescope is stored when not in


use. To extend the telescope tube, loosen the two slider
Fig.!
lock screws and pull the top part of the telescope assem-
bly up until it clicks in place. (Fig.e) Tighten the slider lock
screws. Do not over-tighten.

Fig.d

loosen the two slider


locking screws

I 3
OPERATING YOUR TELESCOPE

POSITIONING THE TELESCOPE USING THE RED DOT FINDER


To position the telescope to the desired angle, simply move The Red Dot Finder is a zero magnification pointing tool
the telescope tube up and down in altitude or swivel the that uses a coated glass window to superimpose the image
telescope around the base in azimuth. (Fig.f) of a small red dot onto the night sky. The Red Dot Finder
is equipped with a variable brightness control, azimuth
USING THE TENSION CONTROL adjustment control, and altitude adjustment control (Fig.h).
KNOB The Red Dot Finder is powered by a 3-volt lithium battery
located underneath at the front. To use the Finder, simply
Loosen or tighten the tension control knob to add just
look through the sight tube and move your telescope until
enough friction to allow the tube to move easily when
the red dot merges with the object. Make sure to keep both
nudged but to stay in position when not. It may be neces-
eyes open when sighting.
sary to re-adjust the tension control knob when lightweight
accessories are added to, or removed from, the tube. Azimuth Adjustment
Fig.h Control
When heavier accessories are used, it may be better to Sigh!Tube
rebalance the scope as described in step 7 on page 3.

FOCUSING
Altitude
Slowly turn the focus wheel (Fig.g), one way or the other, Adjustment
until the image in the eyepiece is sharp. The image usually Control
has to be finely refocused over time, due to small variations
caused by temperature changes, flexures, etc. This often Aligning the Red Dot Finder
happens with short focal ratio telescopes, particularly when
they haven't yet reached outside temperature. Refocusing is Like all finderscopes, the Red Dot Finder must be properly
almost always necessary when you change an eyepiece or aligned with the main telescope before use. This is a simple
add or remove a Barlow lens. process using the azimuth and altitude control knobs.

1. Open the battery cover by pulling it down (you can gently


pry at the 2 small slots) and remove the plastic shipping
cover over the battery.
2. Turn on the Red Dot Finder by rotating the variable bright-
ness control clockwise until you hear a "click". Continue
rotating the control knob to increase the brightness level.
3. Insert a low power eyepiece into the telescope's focuser.
Locate a bright object and position the telescope so that
the object is in the centre of the field of view.
4. With both eyes open, look through the sight tube at the
Fig.g object. If the red dot overlaps the object, your Red Dot
Finder is perfectly aligned. If not. turn its azimuth and
altitude adjustment controls until the red dot is merged
with the object.
5. Turn the Red Dot Finder off after use by rotating the vari-
able brightness control counter-clockwise until you hear a
"click".

4 I
REMOVING THE TELESCOPE TUBE
The telescope tube can be removed from the mount for Fig.i
storage. Hold the telescope tube in one hand while loosen-
ing the dovetail locking knob with the other. Carefully slide
the tube off the mount. The telescope tube can be installed
on any telescope mount with a dovetail mounting system.
You may also install a different short-tube telescope on this
portable table-top Dobson ian mount.

POINTING THE DOBSONIAN


Pointing an altitude-azimuth (alt-az) mounted telescope,
such as a Dobsonian, is relatively easy. With the mount level,
you can swivel the telescope around on a plane parallel to
1
your horizon and then tilt it up and down from there (Fig.f).
You can think of it as turning your telescope in azimuth until
it is pointed toward the horizon below a celestial object
you want to view, and then tilting it up to the altitude of the
object. However, the Earth rotates and therefore the stars
are constantly moving, so to track with this mount you have
to constantly nudge the optical tube in both azimuth and
altitude to keep the object in the field.

In reference material for your local position, the altitude will


be listed as ±degrees (minutes, seconds) above or below
your horizon. Azimuth may be listed by the cardinal compass
points such as N, SW, ENE, etc., but it is usually listed in
360 degree (minutes, seconds) steps clockwise from North
(0°), with East, South and West being 90°, 180° and 270 °,
respectively (Fig.j).

Fig.j Zenith

I
....
.... .... '
/ ' '
/

/ " Mertdian line ''


'
I
I
'

~
Rotate in Azimuth

Nadir

I 5
CALCULATING THE
MAGNIFICATION (POWER)
The magnification produced by a telescope is determined
by the focal length of the eyepiece that is used with it. To
determine a magnification for your telescope, divide its focal
length by the focal length of the eyepieces you are going to
use. For example, a 1 Omm focal length eyepiece will give
65X magnification with a 650mm focal length telescope.

Focal length of the telescope 650mm


·magnification = = -- = 65x
Focal length of the eyepiece 1Omm

When you are looking at astronomical objects, you are look-


ing through a column of air that reaches to the edge of space
and that column seldom stays still. Similarly, when viewing
over land you are often looking through heat waves radiating
from the ground, house, buildings, etc. Your telescope may
be able to give very high magnification but, depending on
the conditions at the time, you may end up magnifying is all
the turbulence between the telescope and the subject. The
highest usable magnification for this telescope when the sky
is very steady is approximately 250x.

FIELD OF VIEW
The amount of sky you can see through your telescope de-
pends on the design of the eyepiece. Your telescope comes
with a 25mm eyepiece that has a field of view of 1.9 degrees
and a 1 Omm eyepiece that has a field of view of 0. 7 degrees.
To put this into perspective, the whole moon is about 0.5 de-
grees in diameter. The 1 Omm eyepiece, with its 0. 7 degree
field of view would allow you to frame the whole face of the
moon in your view with a little room to spare. Remember, too
much magnification and too small a field of view can make
it very hard to find things. It is usually best to start at a lower
magnification with its wider field and then increase the mag-
nification when you have found what you are looking for. First
find the moon then look at the shadows in the craters!

6 I
OBSERVING THE SKY

SKY CONDITIONS up directly on a dirt or grassy surface. Setting up on any


raised platform such as a wooden deck or a hard surface
Sky conditions can significantly affect the performance of
like concrete or a sidewalk, movements you make may
your telescope in three ways.
cause the telescope to vibrate.
· Steadiness of the air: On windy days, images of the Observing through a window is not recommended because
moon and planets will appear to wave or jump around in the window glass will distort images considerably. And an
the eyepiece; as if you are looking t them through moving open window can be even worse, because warmer indoor
water. Nights where winds are calm will offer the best air will escape out the window, causing turbulence which
higher magnification views of the planets and the moon. also affects images. Astronomy is an outdoor activity.
The best way to judge the stability of the atmosphere is to
look at bright stars with the naked eye. If they are "twin- CHOOSING THE BEST TIME
kling" or rapidly changing colors, the air is unstable and you TO OBSERVE
are better off using lower powers and looking for deep sky
Try not to view immediately after sunset. After the sun goes
objects. If the stars are sharp and not twinkling, the air is
down, the Earth is still cooling, causing air turbulence. As the
stable and should offer great high magnification planetary
night goes on, not only will seeing improve, but air pollution
views.
and ground lights will often diminish. Some of the best ob-
· Transparency: How clear is the air you are looking serving time is often in the early morning hours before dawn.
through? If there is a high amount of humidity in the air, the Objects are best observed as they cross the meridian, the
faint light from galaxies and nebulae can be scattered and imaginary line that runs from north to south through a point
diffused before reaching your telescope, causing a loss of directly over your head. This is the point at which objects
brightness in your image. Debris in the air from local forest reach their highest points in the sky and your telescope is
fires or even distant volcanic eruptions can contribute to looking through the least amount of atmosphere possible.
large loss of brightness. Sometimes this humidrrJ or debris Objects that are rising or setting near the horizon will suffer
can help stabilize the air, making for good planetary and more atmospheric turbulence since you are looking through a
lunar images, but the loss of light would make it difficult to much longer column of air. It is not always necessary to have
see fainter deep-sky objects. cloud-free skies if you are looking at planets or the moon.
· Sky Brightness: The amount of ambient light in the atmo- Often broken cloud conditions provide excellent seeing.
sphere can also effect deep-sky observing. How dark the
sky is can depend on your local surroundings. In the middle COOLING THE TELESCOPE
of a city, sky-glow caused by city lights being reflected Telescopes require at least 10 minutes to cool down to
back to earth from the sky can overpower the faint light outside air temperature. This may take longer if there is a big
from distant galaxies. Getting away from the bright lights of difference between the temperature of the telescope and
a major city can make the difference between seeing a faint the outside air. This minimizes heat wave distortion inside
deep-sky object and missing it altogether. Planets and the telescope tube (tube currents).
moon are plenty bright enough on their own so the effect
on observing them is minimal. ADAPTING YOUR EVES
If you are planning to observe deep sky objects at a dark
SELECTING AN OBSERVING SITE
sky site, it is best if you allow your eyes to fully adapt to the
If you are going to be observing deep-sky objects, such dark by avoiding exposure to white light sources such as
as galaxies and nebulae, you should consider traveling to flashlights, car headlights, streetlights, etc. It will take your
a dark sky site that is reasonably accessible. It should be pupils about 30 minutes to expand to their maximum diam-
away from city lights, a relatively unobstructed view of the eter and build up the levels of optical pigments to help your
horizon, and upwind of any major source of air pollution. eyes see the faint light from a distant target. If you need light
Always choose as high an elevation as possible as this to help setup your telescope in the dark, try using a red LED
can lower the effects of atmospheric instability and can flashlight at as low a brightness setting as possible and avoid
ensure that you are above any ground fog. While it can be looking straight at the light source. This will give you the best
desirable to take your telescope to a dark sky site, it is not chance of capturing those faint deep sky objects.
always necessary. If you plan to view the planets, the moon
When observing, it is important to observe with both eyes
or even some of the brighter deep-sky objects, you can do
open. This avoids eye fatigue at the eyepiece. If you find
this from any location, such as your own backyard. Try to
this too distracting, cover the unused eye with your hand
setup the scope in a location that is out of the direct path
or an eye patch. The center of your eye works well in bright
of streetlights or house lights to help protect your night
daylight, but is the least sensitive part of the eye when trying
vision. Try to avoid observing anything that lies within 5 to
to see subtle detail at low light levels. When looking in the
1 0 degrees over the roof of a building. Roofs absorb heat
eyepiece for a faint target, don't look directly at it. Instead
during the day and radiate this heat qut at night. This can
look toward the edge of the field of view and the object will
cause a layer of turbulent air directly over the building that
appear brighter.
can degrade your image. It is best if you set your telescope

I 7
PROPER CARE FOR YOUR TELESCOPE

COLLIMATION
Collimation is the process of aligning the mirrors of your tele- Fig.g

~
scope so that they work in concert with each other to deliver
properly focused light to your eyepiece. By observing out-
of-focus star images, you can test whether your telescope's
optics are aligned. Place a star in the centre of the field of
I
view and move the focuser so that the image is slightly out
Correctly aligned Needs collimation
of focus. If the seeing conditions are good, you will see a
central circle of light (the Airy disc) surrounded by a number
of diffraction rings. If the rings are symmetrical about the Airy Fig.h ~Focuser
disc, the telescope's optics are correctly collimated (Fig.g).
If you do not have a collimating tool, we suggest that you ~for
make a "collimating cap" out of a plastic 35mm film canister ;a:mlary mirror

(black with gray lid). Drill or punch a small pinhole in the


exact center of the lid and cut off the bottom of the canis-
ter. This device will keep your eye centered of the focuser
tube. Insert the collimating cap into the focuser in place of a Primary mirror
regular eyepiece.
Collimation is a painless process and works like this:
Fig.i
Pull off the lens cap which covers the front of the telescope
and look down the optical tube. At the bottom you will see
the primary mirror held in place by three clips 1 20° apart, and
at the top the small oval secondary mirror held in a support
and tilted 45° toward the focuser outside the tube wall
(Fig.h).
The secondary mirror is aligned by adjusting the three small-
er screws surrounding the central bolt. The primary mirror is
adjusted by the three adjusting screws at the back of your
scope. The three locking screws beside them serve to hold
the mirror in place after collimation. (Fig.i)

Aligning the Secondary Mirror Fig.j


Point the telescope at a lit wall and insert the collimating cap
into the focuser in place of a regular eyepiece. Look into the
focuser through your collimating cap. You may have to twist
the focus knob a few turns until the reflected image of the
focuser is out of your view. Note: keep your eye against the
back of the focus tube if collimating without a collimating
cap. Ignore the reflected image of the collimating cap or
your eye for now, instead look for the three clips holding the
primary mirror in place. If you can't see them (Fig.j), it means
that you will have to adjust the three bolts on the top of the
secondary mirror holder, with possibly an Allen wrench or
Phillip's screwdriver. You will have to alternately loosen one
and then compensate for the slack by tightening the other Fig.k
Primary mirror ~
two. Stop when you see all three mirror clips (Fig.k). Make Primary mirror clip
sure that all three small alignment screws are tightened to
secure the secondary mirror in place.

Primary mirror clip

8 I
Aligning the Primary Mirror
There are 3 large bolts and 3 small screws at the back of Fig.p
your telescope. The large bolts are the adjusting screws
and the small screws are the locking screws (Fig.p). Loosen
the large bolts by a few turns. Now run your hand around
the front of your telescope keeping your eye to the focuser, Adjusting screws
you will see the reflected image of your hand. The idea here
being to see which way the primary mirror is defected, you
Locking screws
do this by stopping at the point where the reflected image of
the secondary mirror is closest to the primary mirrors' edge
(Fig.q).
When you get to that point, stop and keep your hand there
while looking at the back end of your telescope, is there an Fig.q
adjusting screw there? If there is you will want to loosen it
(turn the screw to the left) to bring the mirror away from that Secondary mirror
point. If there isn't a adjusting screw there, then go across to
the other side and tighten the adjusting screw on the other
side. This will gradually bring the mirror into line until it looks
like Fig.r. (It helps to have a friend to help for primary mirror
collimation. Have your partner adjust the adjusting screws
according to your directions while you look in the focuser.)
After dark go out and point your telescope at Po!a:is. the
North Star. With an eyepiece in the focuser, take the image Primary mirror Stop and keep your
hand here
out of focus. You will see the same image only now, it will be
illuminated by starlight. If necessary, repeat the collimating
process only keep the star centered while tweaking the
mirror.

CLEANING YOUR TELESCOPE


Replace the dust cap over end of telescope whenever not
in use. This prevents dust from settling on mirror or lens
surface. Do not clean mirror or lens unless you are familiar
with optical surfaces. Clean finderscope and eyepieces with
special lens paper only. Eyepieces should be handled with
care, avoid touching optical surfaces.
Both mirrors aligned Both mirrors aligned with
with collimating cap in eye looking in focuser

I 9
CAUTION!
NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE WILL RESULT. USE A
PROPER SOLAR FILTER FOR VIEWING THE SUN. WHEN OBSERVING THE SUN, REMOVE YOUR FINDERSCOPE TO
PROTECT IT FROM EXPOSURE. NEVER USE AN EYEPIECE-TYPE SOLAR FILTER AND NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE
TO PROJECT SUNLIGHT ONTO ANOTHER SURFACE, THE INTERNAL HEAT BUILD-UP WILL DAMAGE THE TELESCOPE
OPTICAL ELEMENTS.

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