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INSTRUCTION MANUAL
®
Orion
™
SkyView Pro 120 EQ
#9867 Equatorial Refractor Telescope
Customer Support (800)-676-1343
E-mail: support@telescope.com
Corporate Offices (831)-763-7000
P.O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061
Providing Exceptional Consumer Optical Products Since 1975
IN 189 Rev. B 04/05
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Objective lens Optical tube Tube rings Declination lock lever (opposite side) Finder scope Right Ascension lock lever (opposite side) Declination slow-motion Finder scope bracket control knob Eyepiece Safety thumbscrew Star diagonal Mounting plate securing knob Focus wheel Counterweight shaft Right Ascension Counterweights slow-motion control knob Counterweight lock knobs Latitude scale Latitude adjustment L-bolts Center support shaft Tripod support tray Tripod leg Leg lock knobs Figure 1. Th
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® Congratulations on your purchase of an Orion telescope. Your new SkyView Pro 120 EQ is designed for high-resolution viewing and astrophotography of astronomical objects. With its precision optics and sturdy equatorial mount, you’ll be able to enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens. These instructions will help you set up, properly use, and care for your telescope. Please read them over thoroughly before getting started. Table of Contents 2. Parts List 1 Optical tube assembly 1. U
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Finder scope bracket Nylon alignment thumbscrews Finder scope Azimuth adjustment Post knobs Tensioner Figure 2. Orient the equatorial mount so that the post on the Focus lock ring tripod head lines up between the azimuth adjustment knobs on the equatorial mount. 1. Stand the tripod legs upright and spread the legs out as far Figure 3a. The 8x40 finder scope. as they will go. Keep the tripod legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length, for now; you can extend them to a more desirable
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® a b c d Figure 4a - 4d. Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on both the R.A. and Dec. axes. (a) With the R.A. lock lever released, slide the counterweight along the counterweight shaft until it just counterbalances the tube. (b) When you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. (c) With the Dec. lock lever released, loosen the tube ring lock clamps a few turns and slide the telescope forward or back in the tube rings. (d
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with them off, and see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of the full field. If they do, you can easily observe with your glasses off by just re-focusing the telescope the needed amount. If you suffer from severe astigmatism, however, you may find images noticeably sharper with your glasses on. Aligning the Finder Scope View through finder scope The SkyView Pro 120 EQ comes with a 8x40 achromatic find- er scope (Figure 3a). The number 8 means eight-times magni- fication and t
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® achieved by focusing the finder scope on a bright star. Once To use 2" eyepieces, simply loosen the two large thumbscrews the image appears sharp, retighten the locking ring behind the on the 2" adapter that are just in front of the thumbscrew that objective lens cell. The finder scope’s focus should not need holds the provided 1.25" star diagonal in place. Once these to be adjusted again. thumbscrews are loosened, the entire back end of the focus- er, including any 1.25" diagonal and eyepi
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Declination Axis Dec. slow-motion control knob Dec. setting circle R.A. setting circle Dec. lock lever Polar axis finder Front opening scope (optional) R.A. lock lever Latitude scale (opposite side) R.A. slow-motion control knob Latitude adjustment L-bolts Figure 6. The SkyView Pro 120 equatorial mount. Azimuth Little Dipper adjustment knobs (in Ursa Minor) N.C.P. Big Dipper (in Ursa Major) Polaris Cassiopeia Figure 7. To find Polaris in the night sky, look north and find the Figu
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Eyepiece Alignment Objective focus ring set-screws (3) lens Focus lock ring Figure 9a. The optional polar axis finder scope. Figure 9b. Installing the optional polar axis finder scope. directly from your observing site, consult a compass and rotate the tripod so the telescope points north. There is a label bearing a large “N” at the base of the equatorial mount (Figure 8). It should be facing north. The equatorial mount is now polar aligned for casual observ- ing. More precise polar alignme
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2. Loosen the Dec. lock lever and rotate the optical tube on (Figure 9a) and thread the entire objective end of the finder the declination axis so that the tube is at a 90° to the right inwards or outwards until images appear sharp. Re-tighten the ascension axis (Figure 10). This is so you can view through focus lock ring. Once the polar axis finder’s objective lens is the mount with the polar axis finder. Tighten the Dec. lock focused, it should not need to be adjusted again. lever. Use of t
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star in the telescope’s field of view with the slow-motion Dec. setting circle control knobs. Dec. setting 4. Loosen one of the R.A. setting circle thumbscrews (see R.A. circle setting Figure 11); this will allow the setting circle to rotate freely. thumbscrew circle Rotate the setting circle until the R.A. pointer arrow indi- (2) cates the R.A. coordinate listed in the star atlas for the object. Re-tighten the setting circle thumbscrew. Dec. indicator arrow Finding Objects With the Se
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1.9 4.9 2.4 2.4 3.4 1.7 a b 2.5 1.9 Figure 13. Megrez connects the Big Dipper’s handle to it's “pan”. It is a good guide to how conditions are. If you can not see Megrez (a 3.4 mag star) then conditions are poor. importantly, make sure that any chosen site has a clear view of a large portion of the sky. B. Seeing and Transparency c d Atmospheric conditions play a huge part in quality of viewing. In conditions of good “seeing”, star twinkling is minimal and Figure 12a-d. This illustration sh
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tion outside to cooler air (or vice-versa), a telescope needs Deep-sky objects, however, typically look better at medium time to cool to the outdoor temperature. The bigger the instru- or low magnifications. This is because many of them are ment and the larger the temperature change, the more time quite faint, yet have some extent (apparent width). Deep-sky will be needed. objects will often disappear at higher magnifications, since greater magnification inherently yields dimmer images. This
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Important Note: Do not look at the Sun with any optical you find an observing site well away from light pollution. Take instrument without a professionally made solar filter, or plenty of time to let your eyes adjust to the darkness. Do not permanent eye damage could result. Also, be sure to expect these subjects to appear like the photographs you see cover the finder scope, or better yet, remove it altogeth- in books and magazines; most will look like dim gray smudg- er. es. But as you becom
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The TrueTrack Motor Drive System (single or dual axis) is also required. This is because a longer exposure is necessary, which would cause the image to blur if no motor drive was used for tracking. The equatorial mount must be accurately polar aligned, too. As before, connect the T-ring to your camera. Before connect- ing the universal camera adapter to the T-ring, an eyepiece must be inserted and locked into the body of the universal camera adapter. Start by using a medium-low power eyepi
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est star within the field of view. Remove the eyepiece and insert the illuminated reticle eyepiece into the diagonal. Turn the eyepiece’s illuminator on (dimly!). Recenter the bright star (guide star) on the crosshairs of the reticle eyepiece. Check again to make sure that the object to be photographed is still centered within the camera’s field of view. If it is not, recenter it by repositioning the camera on the piggyback adapter, or by Reflective ring moving the main telescope. If you
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11. Specifications Objective lens: Achromatic doublet, air-spaced Objective lens coating: Multi-coated Pair of collimating Objective lens diameter: 120mm (4.7") screws (3) Focal length: 1000mm Focal ratio: f/8.3 Eyepieces: 25mm and 10mm Sirius Plössls, fully coated, 1.25" Magnification: 40x (with 25mm) and 100x (with 10mm) Finder Scope: 8x40 Achromatic, 5.33° field of view Focuser: Rack and4pinion, accepts 1.25" or 2" accessories and camera T-Ring Diagonal: 90° Star diagonal, mirror type, 1
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One-Year Limited Warranty This Orion SkyView Pro 120 EQ is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. During this warranty period Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted instrument that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid to: Orion Warranty Repair, 89 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076. If
