Care of Astronomical Telescopes and Accessories: A Manual for the Astronomical Observer and Amateur Telescope Maker (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series)
M. Barlow Pepin
Language: English
Pages: 256
ISBN: 2:00189372
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Commercially-made astronomical telescopes are better and less expensive than ever before, and their optical and mechanical performance can be superb. When a good-quality telescope fails to perform as well as it might, the reason is quite probably that it needs a little care and attention! Here is a complete guide for anyone who wants to understand more than just the basics of astronomical telescopes and accessories, and how to maintain them in the peak of condition. The latest on safely adjusting, cleaning, and maintaining your equipment is combined with thoroughly updated methods from the old masters. Here, too, are details of choosing new and used optics and accessories, along with enhancements you can make to extend their versatility and useful lifetime. This book is for you. Really. Looking after an astronomical telescope isn’t only for the experts - although there are some things that only an expert should attempt - and every serious amateur astronomer will find invaluable information here, gleaned from Barlow Pepin's many years’ experience working with optical instruments.
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And telescope before your arrival if possible. Items are commonly missing from a used outfit that may have changed hands before, and it is very easy to overlook such while browsing through a box of parts. Make sure the unit is complete with the optical tube and mounting hardware, mount head (with counterweight shaft and counterweights, if an equatorial), tripod or pier and its finder, if that was a stock item. Always ask if the owner’s manual is available, since any special use and maintenance.
The same holds true to a lesser extent for the Classical Cassegrain and other open-tube variants, since the mirror is a long way from the tube opening and the spider arrangements that hold the secondary Used Equipment 75 mirrors. Spot checks include close inspection for coating irregularities. You will usually need to do the “flashlight” routine, bearing in mind its drawbacks. Coatings and Mirror Materials: Types of coatings and “coating groups” applied to cat scope mirrors and correctors are.
Plastic-film-based filters. Optical Accessories 93 Don’t risk eye damage. If you even suspect coating damage from cleaning, carefully check the filter for holes by holding it well away from the face, and inspecting for pinholes by passing it between the unaided eye and the solar disc. A few pinhole breaks in the coating can be touched up, as recommended by certain manufacturers, with a spot of black enamel paint or similar opaquing medium. If a number of such tiny, bright pinholes or larger.
Snug a fit in the focuser; alternately wrap it in clear packaging tape (well burnished down) to take up any minor slack. • Hold the plug in a table vise, jaws padded with cardboard slips, or use a tubing adapter if you have one. • Drill holes, one from each end, to meet at the center. Start with a 1/8-inch (3 mm) bit, and increase the size by steps to match your dowel. A drill press will do a neater job. • Check that the hole is parallel to the plug sides by putting the dowel in place and rolling.
Coatings, use a spray finish to avoid brush marks. Just make sure that the type you use for a clear finish coat is compatible: that it won’t “lift” the sanding sealer or stain underneath. Stick with one manufacturer’s coating line, if possible, and follow package directions. Tip: Get more of the product than you need to cover the project you are working on, setting aside a can for future touchups, or for finishing added parts that you want to match in gloss and durability. Materials: • • • • • •.