Meade Polaris 60AZ-AR, Instruction Manual

Page 1: ...POLARIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL 60mm 2 4 Altazimuth Refracting Telescope 60AZ AR www meade com Polaris 60 AZ AR 3 10 06 11 48 AM Page 1 ...

Page 2: ...Polaris 60 AZ AR 3 10 06 11 48 AM Page 2 ...

Page 3: ... 2 long with nuts The tube has a focal length of 700mm and its objective lens has a diameter of 60mm The lens diameter is one of the most important pieces of information about the telescope The size of the objective lens determines how much detail you will be able to see in your telescope The focal length information will help later on to calculate magnification Setting up your telescope involves ...

Page 4: ...ipod attachment bolts and wing nuts 12 Accessory tray mounting bolt hole see Inset A 13 Diagonal mirror 14 Objective lens cell 15 Focuser drawtube and thumbscrews 16 Altitude rod slow motion fine adjustment control 17 Altitude rod 18 Altazimuth mount 19 Adjustable sliding center leg extension see Inset B 20 Tripod leg lock thumbscrew see Inset B 21 Dew shield lens shade 22 Front lens cap 23 Focusi...

Page 5: ...for the other two legs c Rotate and tighten the leg lock thumbscrew to relock the leg lock d Repeat for the other two legs ATTACH THE ACCESSORY TRAY The tray helps stabilize the tripod and is also a convenient holder of eyepieces and other Meade accessories such as the Barlow lens 1 Line up the holes at the end of one of the leg brace supports 8 with the holes in one of the leg braces 9 2 Thread o...

Page 6: ...shown in Fig 4 4 Thread a lock knob 5 through each of the holes in the forks of the mount and tighten to a firm feel ATTACH THE RED DOT VIEWFINDER An eyepiece 1 has a narrow field of view The red dot veiwfinder 2 has a red dot to make it easier to line up more precisely with a target 4 slide rod through hole lock knob lock knob place tube between forks ALIGN THE RED DOT VIEWFINDER Perform the firs...

Page 7: ...enjoy your telescope even more as you learn more about it But don t be scared off by difficult terms or complicated procedures Don t panic Just relax and enjoy your scope You will begin to grow and learn more about astronomy the more you observe Go to the library and read some books about the stars and planets Read about astronomers of old Many of them had telescope no bigger than the one you are ...

Page 8: ...ps 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 superio...

Page 9: ...nt phases But you cannot see any surface detail on Venus because it has a very thick atmosphere of gas When Mars is close to the Earth you can see some details on Mars and sometimes even Mars polar caps But quite often Mars is further away and just appears as a red dot with some dark lines crisscrossing it Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune and Pluto comprise the outer planets These planets except for ...

Page 10: ... Optional color filters help bring out detail and contrast of the planets Meade offers a line of inexpensive color filters What s Next Beyond the Solar System Once you have observed our own system of planets it s time to really travel far from home and look at stars and other objects You can observe thousands of stars with your telescope At first you may think stars are just pinpoints of light and...

Page 11: ...ee in your eyepiece inside the circle The best exercise for drawing is to observe the moons of Jupiter every night or so Try to make Jupiter and the moons approximately the same size as they look in your eyepiece You will see that the moons are in a different position every night As you get better at drawing try more challenging sights like a crater system on the moon or even a nebula Go your libr...

Page 12: ...ewing A wide variety of star charts are available in books in magazines on the internet and on CD Roms Meade offers AutoStar SuiteTM software Contact your local Meade dealer or Meade s Customer Service department for more information Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines print star charts each month for up to the minute maps of the heavens caused by the rotation of the Earth and makes an objec...

Page 13: ...ghts the air can feel cool or cold as the night wears on It is important to dress warm or to have a sweater jacket gloves etc nearby Know your observing site If possible know the location where you will be observing Pay attention to holes in the ground and other obstacles Is it a location where wild animals such as skunks snakes etc may appear Are there viewing obstructions such as tall trees stre...

Page 14: ...ion Look at the specifications You will see that the focal length of your scope is 700mm Let s say that you have obtained a 13mm eyepiece You can tell that what the focal length of your eyepiece is as it is always printed on the side of an eyepiece Divide 700 13 which equals 53 8 Round this off to the nearest whole number and your new eyepiece magnifies objects 54 times If you use your Barlow lens...

Page 15: ...o add 1 drop of biodegradable dishwashing soap per pint of solution Use soft white facial tissues and make short gentle strokes Change tissues often CAUTION Do not use scented or lotioned tissues or damage could result to the optics DO NOT use a commercial photographic lens cleaner OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES 928 45 Erecting Prism 1 25 O D Correctly orients the telescopic image during terrestrial observi...

Page 16: ... outside North America are not included in this warranty but are covered under separate warranties issued by Meade international distributors RGA Number Required Prior to the return of any product or part a Return Goods Authorization RGA number m mu us st t be obtained from Meade by writing or by calling 800 626 3233 Each returned part or product must include a written statement detailing the natu...

Page 17: ...OBSERVER OBJECT NAME DATE TIME OBSERVED CONSTELLATION EYEPIECE SIZE SEEING CONDITIONS EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES DRAWING OF IMAGE OBSERVATION LOG Polaris 60 AZ AR 3 10 06 11 48 AM Page 17 ...

Page 18: ...OBSERVER OBJECT NAME DATE TIME OBSERVED CONSTELLATION EYEPIECE SIZE SEEING CONDITIONS EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES DRAWING OF IMAGE OBSERVATION LOG Polaris 60 AZ AR 3 10 06 11 48 AM Page 18 ...

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Page 20: ...www meade com Meade Instruments Corporation 6001 Oak Canyon Irvine California 92618 1 800 626 3233 Polaris 60 AZ AR 3 10 06 11 48 AM Page 20 ...