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Table of Contents

1. Parts List  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2. Assembly  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3. Using Your Telescope  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4. Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount . . 7

5. Collimation (Aligning the Mirrors) . . . . . . . . . 11

6. Astronomical Observing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

7. Astrophotography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

8. Care and Maintenance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

9. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1. Parts List

1 Optical tube assembly

1 German type equatorial mount

1 Counterweight shaft

1 Large counterweight

1 Small counterweight

3 Tripod legs with accessory tray bracket attached

3 Leg attachment screws with wingnuts and washers

3 Leg lock knobs

1 Accessory tray with mounting hardware

2 Slow-motion control cables

1 Polar axis finder scope

1 Plastic cover for polar axis finder scope

2 Optical tube mounting rings (one with piggyback mount)

1 6x30 achromatic crosshair finder scope

1 Finder scope bracket with O-ring

1 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece

1 10mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece

1 Dust cap

1 Collimation cap

4 Assembly tools (2 wrenches, Phillips screwdriver, flat-head
screwdriver key)

2. Assembly

After opening the box your telescope came in, make sure all
the parts listed in part 1 are present and familiarize yourself
with their features. Please keep the original shipping box and
interior packaging! In the unlikely event that you should need
to ship the original telescope back to Orion for warranty repair
service, you must use the original packaging.

Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about
30 minutes. No tools are needed other than the ones provid-
ed. All bolts should be tightened securely to eliminate flexing
and wobbling, but be careful not to over-tighten or the threads
may strip. Refer to Figure 1 during the assembly process.

During assembly (and anytime, for that matter), DO NOT
touch the surfaces of the telescope mirrors, the lenses of the
finder scope or eyepieces with your fingers. The optical sur-
faces have delicate coatings on them that can easily be dam-
aged if touched inappropriately.

1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod legs
one at a time to the mount using the leg attachment screws.
Line up the holes in the top of the leg with the holes in the
base of the mount, and insert the screw so it passes through
the leg and the mount. Tighten the wingnuts only finger-tight,
for now. The washers go between the screw’s head and the
leg, and between the wingnut and the leg.

2. Insert and tighten the leg lock knobs into the base of the tri-
pod legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully retract-
ed) length; you can extend them to a more desirable length
later, after the scope is completely assembled.

3. With the tripod legs now attached to the equatorial mount,
stand the tripod upright (be careful!) and spread the legs
apart as far as they will go, until the accessory tray bracket is
taut.

4. Attach the accessory tray to the bracket with the three
wingnut-head screws already installed in the tray. Push the

Welcome to the exciting world of amateur astronomy! Your new AstroView 6 EQ Reflector is designed for
high-resolution viewing of astronomical objects. With its precision optics and equatorial mount, you’ll be
able to locate and enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including the planets, Moon, and a
variety of deep-sky galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters.

These instructions will help you set up, properly use, and care for your telescope. Please read them thor-
oughly before getting started.

WARNING:

Never look directly at the Sun

through your telescope or its finder scope—even
for an instant—without a professionally made
solar filter that completely covers the front of the
instrument, or permanent eye damage could
result. Young children should use this telescope
only with adult supervision.

Summary of Contents for AstroView 6 EQ 9827

Page 1: ...Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 Customer Support 800 676 1343 E mail support telescope com Corporate Offices 831 763 7000 P O Box 1815 Santa Cruz CA 95061 Orion AstroView 6 EQ 9827 Equatorial Reflecting Telescope ...

Page 2: ...Small counterweight Toe Saver Counterweight lock knobs Tripod leg Accessory tray bracket Accessory tray Finder scope Finder scope bracket Eyepiece Focus knob Tube rings Optical tube Right ascension slow motion control Right ascension lock lever Polar axis finder covered Latitude scale Latitude adjustment T bolts Leg lock knob ...

Page 3: ...s the lenses of the finder scope or eyepieces with your fingers The optical sur faces have delicate coatings on them that can easily be dam aged if touched inappropriately 1 Lay the equatorial mount on its side Attach the tripod legs one at a time to the mount using the leg attachment screws Line up the holes in the top of the leg with the holes in the base of the mount and insert the screw so it ...

Page 4: ...ring clamps fin ger tight to secure the telescope in position 11 Now attach the two slow motion control cables to the R A and Dec worm gear shafts of the equatorial mount by posi tioning the small screw on the end of the cable over the indented slot on the worm gear shaft Then tighten the screw Use the short slow motion control for the R A axis it will stick out sideways from the mount The longer ...

Page 5: ...ope is now balanced on both axes Now when you loosen the lock lever on one or both axes and manually point the telescope it should move without resistance and should not drift from where you point it 3 Using Your Telescope Focusing the Telescope You should now try to familiarize yourself with focusing the tel escope First insert the 25mm eyepiece in the focuser and point the telescope in the gener...

Page 6: ...hrough the finder scope the images appear somewhat out of focus you will need to refocus the finder scope for your eyes Loosen the lock ring located behind the objective lens cell on the body of the finder scope see Figure 2a Back the lock ring off by a few turns for now Refocus the finder scope on a distant object by threading the objective lens cell in or out of the finderscope body Precise focu...

Page 7: ...l axis out into space Stars in the Northern Hemisphere appear to revolve around Polaris To find Polaris in the sky look north and locate the pattern of the Big Dipper Figure 6 The two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper point right to Polaris Observers in the Southern Hemisphere aren t so fortunate to have a bright star so near the south celestial pole SCP The star Sigma Octantis lies a...

Page 8: ...d for accurate polar alignment once the finder is properly aligned Alignment of the polar finder is best done during the day before going out into the field at night Aligning the Polar Axis Finder Scope Aligning the polar axis finder scope so that it will accurately point at the true north pole is a two step procedure First the polar finder must be rotated in its housing so that the small circle i...

Page 9: ...ian by the calculated amount If your local longitude has a value greater than the closest standard time meridian you are west of the standard time meridian by the calculated amount For example if you are in Las Vegas which has a longitude of 115 the closest stan dard time meridian is 120 The difference between these two numbers is 5 Since Las Vegas longitude value is less than the standard time me...

Page 10: ...ting Circle 1 Identify a bright star in the sky near the celestial equator Dec 0 and look up its coordinates in a star atlas 2 Loosen the R A and Dec lock levers on the equatorial mount so the telescope optical tube can move freely 3 Point the telescope at the bright star whose coordinates you know Lock the R A and Dec lock levers Center the star in the telescope s field of view with the slow moti...

Page 11: ...f cen ter as in Figure 10b proceed with the following collimation procedure The Collimation Cap and Mirror Center Mark Your AstroView 6 EQ comes with a collimation cap This is a simple cap that fits on the focuser drawtube like a dust cap but has a hole in the center and a silver bottom This helps center your eye so that collimation is easy to perform Figures 10b through 10e assume you have the co...

Page 12: ...e primary mirror It will need adjustment if as in Figure 10d the secondary mirror is cen tered under the focuser and the reflection of the primary mir ror is centered in the secondary mirror but the small reflec tion of the secondary mirror with the dot of the collimation cap is off center The tilt of the primary mirror is adjusted with three spring loaded collimation thumbscrews on the back end o...

Page 13: ...ion even though they may be perfectly aligned It is critical to keep the star centered so over time you will need to make slight corrections to the telescope s position in order to account for the sky s apparent motion 6 Astronomical Observing Site Selection Pick a location away from streetlights and bright yard light ing Avoid viewing over rooftops and chimneys as they often have warm air current...

Page 14: ...k adaptation like white light does A flashlight with a red LED light is ideal or you can cover the front of a regular flashlight with red cellophane or paper Beware too that nearby porch and streetlights and automobile headlights will spoil your night vision Eyepiece Selection By using eyepieces of varying focal lengths it is possible to attain many magnifications with the AstroView 6 EQ The tele ...

Page 15: ...itan VENUS At its brightest Venus is the most luminous object in the sky excluding the Sun and the Moon It is so bright that sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight Ironically Venus appears as a thin crescent not a full disk when at its peak brightness Because it is so close to the Sun it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon No surface markings can be see...

Page 16: ...raphy can be success fully attempted with the AstroView 6 EQ Moon Photography This is perhaps the simplest form of astrophotography as no motor drive is required All that is needed is a T Ring for your specific camera model Attach the T ring to your camera body and then thread the T Ring on to the focuser drawtube Now you are ready to shoot Point the telescope toward the Moon and center it within ...

Page 17: ... eyepiece you re ready to shoot Deep sky objects are quite faint and typically require expo sures on the order of 10 minutes To hold the camera s shutter open this long you will need a locking shutter release cable Set the camera s shutter to the B bulb setting Depress the locking shutter release cable and lock it You are now expos ing your first deep sky object While exposing through the camera l...

Page 18: ...ow remove the mirror from the mirror cell Do not touch the surface of the mirror with your fingers Lift the mirror carefully by the edges Set the mirror in a clean soft towel Fill a clean sink free of abrasive cleanser with room temperature water a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent and if possible a capfull of rubbing alcohol Submerge the mirror aluminized face up in the water and let it s...

Page 19: ...19 ...

Page 20: ...y Watsonville CA 95076 If the product is not registered proof of purchase such as a copy of the original invoice is required This warranty does not apply if in Orion s judgment the instrument has been abused mishan dled or modified nor does it apply to normal wear and tear This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state For further wa...

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