USER MANUEL FOR THE ORION STARBLAST TELESCOPE

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1. BEWARE! Precautions to take.............. 22. Transporting the telescope.................. 33. Telescope components........................ 44. Starting the telescope.......................... 55. Operating the telescope....................... 56. Turning the telescope off..................... 57. Observing the Moon............................ 68. The planets........................................... 79. Spring sky............................................. 810. Summer sky.......................................... 911. Fall sky.................................................. 1012. Winter sky............................................ 1113. Useful terminology and links................ 1214. In closing.............................................. 12

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1. BEWARE! Precautions to take.

The Sun is the enemy of telescopes and their users. NEVER look at the Sun with this telescope, nor with the finder on it, nor with a pair of binoculars, even for a short period of time. Your vision could be permanently damaged! Specialised filters are needed to observe the Sun safely and this telescope is not equipped with these.

Telescopes are fragile instruments. Children must use this telescope only under the constant supervision of an adult. Do not attempt to adjust or modify this telescope. Be careful not to drop objects in the telescope’s tube. If the telescope is damaged, do not attempt to repair it by yourself. Rather, bring back the telescope to your library.

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NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN

2. Transporting the telescope

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3. Telescope components

1. Eyepiece (zoom 8 to 24 mm) 2. EZ Finder 3. Optical Tube (main component of telescope) 4. Focuser 5. Tube clamp 6. Altitude tension adjustment knob 7. Primary mirror cell 8. Telescope base 9. Carrying handle10. Rubber feet11. Focus wheels 12. Eyepiece securing thumbscrews (replaced by hexagonal

screws)

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4. Starting the telescope

▪ Put the telescope on a solid surface. ▪ Remove the cap off the tube and safely store it on the side of the telescope ▪ Remove the cap from the eyepiece (zoom).▪ Rotate the power knob of the finder by roughly a quarter of a turn. You do

not have to adjust the other knobs of the finder.▪ If needed, adjust the altitude tension (the large knob which holds the tube to

the base).

5. Operating the telescope▪ Roughly point the tube towards the desired objet in the sky by rotating the base for the azimuth (right-left),

and then lifting or lowering the tube on its base for the altitude.▪ Look through the finder keeping your eye at roughly 30 cm from it. A red dot indicates the spot in the sky

which the telescope is pointing (see image on the right). Adjust the tube’s position to center the object. ▪ Start observing in the eyepiece at the lowest zoom to properly position the objet in the field of view. If you

are wearing glasses, on can fold the rubber band around the eyepiece. ▪ You can enlarge the image, if desired, by rotating the eyepiece (zoom). You will need to refocus.▪ If you need to consult the sky maps of this guide, use the flashlight provided with the telescope (it lights in

red to minimize the glare and preserve your night vision).

6. Turning the telescope off▪ Turn off the power knob of the finder.▪ Put all of the caps back on.▪ Store the telescope inside.

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7. Observing the MoonThe Moon is the celestial object closest to Earth, at less than 400 000 km. The phases of the Moon represent the shape of the directly sunlit portion of the Moon as viewed from Earth and depend on the position of the Moon during its orbit around Earth. Observing the Moon in a telescope is very interesting, especially on the terminator which is the zone separating the shadowed and lit parts. You can see lots of craters and mountains. Consult the lunar map taped on the tube. The Moon can be very bright. To reduce the glare, you can put the cap back on the tube and remove the small orange cap.

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8. The planetsThe planets move in the sky month after month over the course of a year as they circle around the Sun just like Earth. Their visibility hence depends of their position on their orbit relative to Earth. Four planets are more easily accessible to neophyte amateur astronomers: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. All the planets move on a line called the ecliptic, which corresponds to the apparent trajectory of the Sun in the sky. Consult the following link to find out which planets are currently visible: http://m.espacepourlavie.ca/en/planets-visible-naked-eye

JupiterThe planet Jupiter is rather bright and therefore visible to the naked eye. In a telescope, you can see four of its biggest moons (Io, Ganymede, Calisto and Europa) just like Galileo had. Under a dark sky, it is possible to see the gaseous bands of its atmosphere.

SaturnWhile not as bright as Jupiter, the planet Saturn is also visible to the naked eye. In a telescope, you can see its rings as well as some of its moons such as Titan.

MarsThe brightness of the planet Mars varies a lot over the months and years. Visible to the naked eye, Mars can be recognised by its slightly orangey color. In a telescope, the small light dot becomes a disk and this confirms that you are indeed observing the planet and not an orangey star.

VenusVenus is the brightest of the planets visible to the naked eye. In a telescope, the planet will reveal its phase: crescent or gibbous. Given it is closer to the Sun than Earth, we always see it near our star; it can therefore only be easily seen during dawn or dusk. Be careful not to look towards the Sun with the telescope or the finder!

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Saturn

Jupiter

MarsEarth

Venus

9. Spring sky During spring, the constellation which

can most easily be identified and which dominates the sky is Leo. Look towards the south and find the brightest star, mid-sky. It’s Regulus.

The Beehive is located in the constellation Cancer. It is a lovely star cluster which looks like bees hovering around a hive. It is located mid-way between the constellations of Leo and Gemini.

The constellation of Ursa Major towards the north is almost right above your head. In this constellation, the stars Mizar and Alcor are an interesting pair of stars. Some people can distinguish one from the other with their naked eye. They mark the elbow in the handle of the dipper.

By extending the handle of the dipper towards the left, you reach Arcturus, a nice orangey star. By extending the right side of the dipper towards the north, you reach Polaris, the North Star.

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10. Summer sky Find the “Summer Triangle” formed by

the stars Vega (of Lyra), Deneb (of Cygnus), and Altair (of Aquila). They constitute three of the brightest stars of the summer sky.

The star Albireo (the head of the constellation Cygnus) looks like a single white dot to the naked eye. In a telescope, you can see two stars of different colors. What colors do you see?

The globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules is a compact ball of some thousands stars faintly visible in a small telescope.

The Milky Way is a large white band which crosses the sky from the south to the north. You need a dark sky to see it. It is the light of small stars from our own galaxy viewed from the inside.

The Perseids are a meteor shower which can be seen mid-august. More can be seen after midnight. A dark sky increases your chances to see more shooting stars. Some trace only a short streak; others cross the entire sky and are very bright.

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11. Fall sky Pegasus Square is a group of 4 stars that

form a large rectangle directly south, mid-sky. If needed, use the W of Cassiopeia to find it.

The Andromeda Galaxy is the farthest celestial objet that can be seen with the naked eye in a dark sky. In a telescope, it appears like a white oval smudge. To find it, start with the star at the upper left of Pegasus Square, look towards the left and find a row of 3 stars. The second of these stars is right under the Andromeda galaxy. Take the time to adapt your eyes to the obscurity and slightly shake the tube of the telescope to confirm there actually is a smudge where you are pointing.

Perseus Double Cluster is a pair of star clusters that look like sparkling diamonds. The clusters are located on the east side of the sky, at mid-level, not very far from the Andromeda Galaxy. Locate the stars that are shaped as a W (the Cassiopeia constellation) and move down a bit towards the constellation Perseus. Take a few moments to contemplate these little gems.

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12. Winter sky▪ The constellation Orion forms a large

rectangle of bright stars towards the south. The three-star diagonal line that crosses the center of the rectangle is Orion’s belt.

▪ Starting from Orion’s belt, move down towards a vertical row of fainter stars which forms the sword of Orion the hunter. Look at this sword through your telescope and you will see Orion’s nebula (M42), a large cosmic gas and dust cloud where stars are born.

▪ Slightly to the right of Orion, you can see M45 (the Pleiades), a small compact group of stars. In a telescope, you will see several tens of stars relatively bright. The figure they form inspired the logo on Subaru vehicles. We called these « the Seven Sisters ».

▪ Using Orion, locate the constellation Gemini. A lovely star cluster (M35) can be found at its right foot.

▪ The constellation Orion also helps locate a number of interesting stars namely Sirius (the brightest of the sky), Procyon (in Canis Minor) and Aldebaran in Taurus.

▪

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13. Useful terminology and linksAn astronomy club is a great place to learn about astronomy. In the Outaouais, you can contact the “Regroupement des Astronomes Amateurs de l’Outaouais Québécois (RAAOQ)”. For a free planetarium software: http://stellarium.org/en/

Here are a few useful astronomical terms:

Constellation: one of the 88 sections of the sky established by the International Astronomical Union in 1930 of which the brightest stars form a figure created by our ancestors (for example, Ursa Major).

Asterism: an imaginary figure drawn by relatively bright stars on the celestial sphere (for example, the big dipper).

Zenith: point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer on the Earth.

Ask your library assistant in which section one can find astronomy books and atlases and do not hesitate to deepen your knowledge and explore the sky.

14. In closingThe “Biblioscope” project is a collaboration between your library, the “Fédération des Astronomes Amateurs du Québec”, “La Maison de l’Astronomie” and your local astronomy club, the RAAOQ.

Enjoy the discoveries!

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www.raaoq.org