Orion SKYQUEST XT12 User Manual download pdf (Page 10)

1.25" eyepiece adapter. The other eyepiece can be placed in

the eyepiece rack until it is needed.

The basic assembly of your SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonian

is now complete. It should appear as shown in Figure 1. The

dust cap on the front of the telescope tube should always

remain in place when the telescope is not in use. It is also

a good idea to store eyepieces in an eyepiece case and to

replace the cover caps on the focuser and finder scope when

the telescope is idle.

3. Aligning (Collimating)

the Optical System

To get the sharpest images, your telescope’s optical sys-

tem must be in precise alignment. The process of aligning

the primary and secondary mirrors with each other and with

the mechanical axis of the telescope is called collimating.

Collimating is relatively easy to do and can be done in day

light or at night.

Because the primary mirror is shipped separately from the

optical tube, the telescope’s optics must be collimated before

it can be used. Most of the adjustments will be to the tilt of the

primary mirror, as the secondary mirror has been pre-aligned

at the factory. It is also good idea to check the collimation

(optical alignment) of your telescope before each observing

session and make any necessary adjustments.

To check collimation, remove the eyepiece and look down the

focuser drawtube. You should see the secondary mirror cen

tered in the drawtube, as well as the reflection of the primary

mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflection of

the secondary mirror (and your eye) centered in the reflection

of the primary mirror, as depicted in Figure 21a. If anything

is off-center, as in Figure 21b, proceed with the following col

limation procedure.

The Collimation Cap and Mirror Center Mark

Your SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope 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 reflective inner

surface. The cap helps center your eye so that collimating is

easier to perform. Figures 21b through 21e assume you have

the collimation cap in place.

As an additional aid in collimating, the primary mirror of the

SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope has a tiny adhesive ring marking

its exact center. This center ring will not affect the images you

see when observing with the telescope in any way (since it

lies directly in the shadow of the secondary mirror), but will

greatly facilitate collimating when using the supplied collima

tion cap or other, more sophisticated collimation devices such

as the Orion LaserMate Laser Collimator.

drawtube

Reflection

of primary

mirror clip

Figure 21. Collimating the optics. (a) When the mirrors are properly aligned, the view down the focuser drawtube should look like this. (b)

With the collimation cap in place, if the optics are out of alignment, the view might look something like this. (c) Here, the secondary mirror is

centered under the focuser, but it needs to be adjusted (tilted) so that the entire primary mirror is visible. (d) The secondary mirror is correctly

aligned, but the primary mirror still needs adjustment. When the primary mirror is correctly aligned, the “dot” will be centered, as in (e).

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Orion SKYQUEST XT12 User Manual Page 10

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