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5
Terrestrial Views
Please note the example picture of Mount Rushmore.
Start with the 26mm eyepiece and focus until clear.
After mastering the focus with the 26mm change the
12.5mm eyepiece and practice focusing and scanning
until images become clear in the eyepiece. We have
included some additional examples that are possible
with your telescope such as a bird and a green on a
golf course.
DO NOT POINT YOUR TELESCOPE
DIRECTLY AT THE SUN AS IT MAY CAUSE BLINDNESS.
The Moon
The moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite.
Diameter:
3.476 km (2.2 miles)
Distance: approx.
384,401 km (216,486 miles)
The moon has been known to humans since
prehistoric times. It is the second brightest object in
the sky (after the sun). Because the moon circles the
Earth once per month, the angle between the Earth,
the moon and the sun is constantly changing; one
sees this change in the phases of the moon. The time
between two consecutive new moon phases is about
29.5 days (709 hours).
Orion Nebula (M 42)
M 42 in the Orion constellation
Right ascension:
05:32.9 (Hours: Minutes)
Declination:
-05º�25´ (Degrees: Minutes)
Distance:
1.500 light years
With a distance of about 1.500 light years, the Orion
Nebula (Messier 42, abbreviation: M 42) is the
brightest diffuse Nebula in the sky – visible with the
naked eye, and a rewarding object for telescopes in
all sizes, from the smallest fi eld glass to the largest
earthbound observatories and the Hubble Space
Telescope. When talking about Orion, we‘re actually
referring to the main part of a much larger cloud of
hydrogen gas and dust, which spreads out with over
10 degrees over the half of the Orion constellation.
The expanse of this enormous cloud stretches several
hundred light years.
Ring Nebula in Lyra constellation (M 57)
M 57 in the Lyra constellation
Right ascension: 18:53 (Hours: Minutes)
Declination: +33º 01´ (Degrees: Minutes)
Distance: 2.3 light years
The famous Ring Nebula M 57 in the constellation
of Lyra is often viewed as the prototype of a
planetary Nebula; it is one of the magnifi cent
features of the Northern Hemisphere’s summer
sky. Recent studies have shown that it is probably
comprised of a ring (torus) of brightly shining
material that surrounds the central star (only
visible with larger telescopes), and not of a gas
structure in the form of a sphere or an ellipsis. If
you were to look at the Ring Nebula from the side,
it would look like the Dumbbell Nebula (M27).
With this object, we’re looking directly at the pole
of the Nebula.
Dumbbell Nebula in the Vulpecula (Fox)
constellation (M 27)
M 27 in the Fox constellation
Right ascension: 19:59.6 (Hours: Minutes)
Declination: +22º�43´ (Degrees: Minutes)
Distance: 1.360 light years
The Dumbbell Nebula (M 27) in Fox was the fi rst
planetary nebula ever discovered. On July 12,
1764, Charles Messier discovered this new and
fascinating class of objects. We see this object
almost directly from its equatorial plane. If you
could see the Dumbbell Nebula from one of the
poles, it would probably reveal the shape of a
ring, and we would see something very similar to
what we know from the Ring Nebula (M 57). In
reasonably good weather, we can see this object
well even with small magnifi cations.
Terrestrial Images
The Moon
Orion Nebula (M 42)
Ring Nebula in Lyra
constellation (M 57)
Dumbbell Nebula in the
Vulpecula (Fox)
constellation (M 27)
f=26mm
f=26mm
f=12.5mm
f=12.5mm
