Meade Instruments Infinity 70AZ - Manual (Page 8)

Use the viewfinder: If you have not
done so, align the viewfinder (2)
with the telescope’s eyepiece (1) as
described earlier. Look through the
viewfinder until you can see the object. It will
be easier to locate an object using the view-
finder rather than locating with the eyepiece.
Line up the object using the viewfinders
crosshair.
Look through the eyepiece: Once you have
the object lined up in the viewfinder, look
through the optical tube’s eyepiece. If you
have aligned your viewfinder, you will see
the object in your eyepiece.
Focus: Look through the eyepiece and prac-
tice focusing on the object you have chosen.
Try out the coarse and fine adjustment
controls: Practice using the fine adjustment
control (16) to move the telescope. These
can come in very handy, especially when
you wish to move the telescope in very small
(fine control) steps.
Observe the Moon: When you feel comfort-
able
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.
Look for different features on the Moon. The
most obvious features are craters. In fact
you can see craters within craters. Some
craters have bright lines about them. These
are called rays and are the result of material
thrown out of the crater when it was struck
by a colliding object. The dark areas on the
Moon are called maria and are composed of
lava from the period when the Moon still had
volcanic activity. You can also see mountain
ranges and fault lines on the Moon.
Use a neutral density filter (often called a
“moon filter”) when observing the Moon.
Neutral density filters are available from Me-
ade as an optional accessory and enhance
contrast to improve your observation of lunar
features. Spend several nights observing the
Moon. Some nights, the Moon is so bright
6
TOO MUCH POWER?
Can you ever have too much power? If the type of
power you’re referring to is eyepiece magnification,
yes you can! The most common mistake of the
beginning observer is to “overpower” a telescope
by using high magnifications 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.
Powers above 400x should be employed only under
the steadiest atmospheric conditions.
that it makes other objects in the sky difficult
to see. These are nights that are excellent
for lunar observation.
Observe the Solar System: After observing
the Moon, you are ready to step up to the
next level of observation, the planets.
There are four planets that you can easily
observe in your telescope: Venus, Mars,
Jupiter and Saturn.
Nine planets (maybe more!) travel in a fairly
circular pattern around our Sun. Any system
of planets orbiting one or more stars is called
Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.