Aligning the Primary Mirror
Now adjust the primary mirror screws to re-center the reflection of the small secondary mirror, so it’s silhouetted
against the view of the primary. As you look into the fo cuser, silhouettes of the mirrors should look concentric.
Repeat steps one and two until you have achieved this.
Remove the collimating cap and look into the focuser, where you should see the reflection of your eye in the
secondary mirror.
Newtonian collimation views as seen through the focuser using the collimation cap
Secondary mirror needs adjustment.
Primary mirror needs adjustment.
Both mirrors aligned with the collimating
cap in the focuser
Both mirrors aligned with your eye
looking into the focuser
Figure 7-1 SPACE LAUNCHER 76AZ
Night Time Star Collimating
After successfully completing daytime collimation, night time star collimation can be done by closely
adjusting the primary mirror while the telescope tube is on its mount and pointing at a bright star. The
telescope should be set up at night and a star's image should be studied at medium to high power (30-60
power per inch of aperture). If a non-symmetrical focus pattern is present, then it may be possible to
correct this by re-collimating only the primary mirror.
Procedure (Please read this section completely before beginning
):
To star collimate in the Northern Hemisphere, point at a stationary star like the North Star (Polaris). It can
be found in the north sky, at a distance above the horizon equal to your latitude. It’s also the end star in the
handle of the Little Dipper. Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky and may even appear dim, depending
upon your sky conditions. For the Southern Hemisphere, point at Sigma Octantis.
Prior to re-collimating the primary mirror, locate the collimation screws on the rear of the telescope tube.
The rear cell (shown in Figure 7-1) has three large screws which are used for collimation and three small
screws which are used to lock the mirror in place. The collimation screws tilt the primary mirror. You will
start by loosening the small locking screws a few turns each. Normally, motions on the order of an
1
/
8
turn
will make a difference, with approximately a
1
/
2
to
3
/
4
turn being the maximum required for the large
collimation screws. Turn one collimation screw at a time and with a collimation tool or eyepiece see how
the collimation is affected (see the following paragraph below). It will take some experimenting but you
will eventually get the centering you desire.
Secondary
Mirror
Primary
Mirror
Mirror Clip
22
