Celestron is one of the best telescope brands for bird watching or astronomy. This article will look at how to use a Celestron telescope for astronomy.
If you have never used a telescope before but have just received your Celestron telescope, we are here to help.
There are some things that you must know when using a telescope. We will briefly discuss them so you don’t run into any hiccups. To learn the basics and tips for using a telescope, keep reading.
First Things First: Safety
You must understand one thing if you have never used a telescope before. Never look directly at the sun with your telescope.
Irreparable eye damage can only take a fraction of a second of looking at the sun with a telescope. You will suffer a life-changing injury and will never use a telescope again. So, bear this in mind when using any telescope.
You can only use a telescope to look at the Sun when you have a specifically designed solar filter securely attached to the front of your telescope. You must never allow the Sun’s light to enter your telescope directly. The Sun’s light is strong enough to damage your telescope’s optics.
Assembly
Follow the specific and thorough instructions from Celestron to assemble your telescope. A detailed manual should have come with your telescope. You can download one from Celestron’s website if you have misplaced your manual.
You will use your telescope in the evening, but it is best to set it up during the day. Having plenty of light will help you assemble it much more easily.
Find a space and set everything up according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Their manual will provide useful insight into the mechanisms of the telescope you won’t get anywhere else. Ensure that you keep track of all the pieces.
Figure Out Which Mount You Have
There are generally two types of mount: an alt-azimuth and equatorial mounts. Both mount types are easier to understand than you think, so don’t worry if you can’t figure out which is yours.
An alt-azimuth mount sounds confusing, but you have probably seen one before. It’s the classic mount. They usually have a tripod of legs with a unique joint on top of the tripod, which connects to your telescope. It is the simplest mount design.
This kind of mount allows you to move the telescope in straight lines – up, down, right and left. The direction of movement runs parallel to the horizon and perpendicular to it. While it’s a simple design, they are still used on complex telescopes.
For visual use, alt-azimuth mounts are perfectly acceptable. If you wish to move into astrophotography later, some issues arise. The issues are caused by the directions in that they move not being aligned with how astronomical bodies move in the sky.
An equatorial mount follows the stars as they move across the sky. They must be aligned with the axis that the Earth rotates. They must also be set up for the latitude where they are located. Equatorial mounts are more complicated to set up and move than alt-azimuth mounts.
Equatorial mounts use a counterweight system to balance the telescope. A balanced telescope allows smooth tracking as it follows the moving sky. The telescope must be correctly balanced before use. For detailed instruction on how to set up your telescope that uses an equatorial mount see How to Setup a Telescope Equatorial Mount.
This mount type can be moved manually or have a motor that moves the telescope as they track the stars. Large observatory-size telescopes use equatorial mounts.
An alt-azimuth mount is usually manually operated whereas equatorial mounts are commonly motorized or computer operated.
Equatorial Mount Movement Directions
As discussed above the movement of Equatorial mounts are not as natural as for alt-azimuth mounts. We will briefly discuss right ascension (RA) and declination (DEC) to get you started.
In the same way that the geographic grid uses longitude and latitude, the night sky is divided into right ascension and declination. Right ascension is the equivalent of longitude, and declination is the equivalent of latitude.
Declination is measured in degrees with the celestial equator at 0 degrees and each pole at 90 degrees. South of to equator is considered negative.
Right ascension is measured in hours. Below is a diagram showing RA and DEC in planetarium software.
When using an equatorial mount, it moves along declination and right ascension. This will feel unnatural to start with and require practice to move the mount efficiently. Take time and practice patience.
Moving Your Telescope
No matter the brand, telescopes will have a lock system. When you observe a specific target, you can lock the telescope so that it doesn’t move on its own and you ‘lose your place’. To move the telescope manually, it has to be unlocked.
Loosen the lock knobs on the altitude and azimuth axis for an alt-azimuth mount. With an equatorial mount loosen the lock knobs on the right ascension and declination axis.
You will have an optical tube; this is simply the part of the telescope that houses the optics. It is the long cylinder that most people would call the telescope.
This is what you direct at what you want to look at. If you find something you want to show someone, lock it in place so that the telescope does not move. In practice, you should lock both axes once you locate your target.
This manual movement of the optical tube is also useful for large sweeping movements across the sky. This allows you to explore the sky randomly.
You can lock the axes if you want to make much shorter movements. You can explore a smaller area of space by using the movement knobs or control panel. If you have motors, you use this method to align the telescope with the target as it moves through the sky.
With a mount with tracking motors, you will not need to re-center the target as it moves across the sky. If your mount does not have motors, you must use the RA knob to move the mount slightly to account for movement across the sky.
Understanding Eyepieces
Eyepieces are a really important part of the telescope. They magnify the image the telescope forms before producing an image for us to see. The design and materials used to produce an eyepiece determine the image’s characteristics.
Simply, the eyepiece is what allows us to view things far away in space. Depending on your telescope model, you may have various eyepieces or just have one. It is a good idea to have a selection of eyepieces.
The main thing to understand here is what the numbers mean, such as ‘9 mm’. We use this number to determine an eyepiece’s magnification ability. There can be lots to understand about eyepieces, but you should know about magnification.
The lower the mm value on your eyepiece, the higher the magnification, and vice versa. Use the eyepiece with the smallest numbers to provide the highest level of magnification.
You may also have a ‘Barlow lens’. This type of lens doesn’t work on its own. They must be used in conjunction with an eyepiece. Barlow lenses multiply the magnification of that specific eyepiece by a set amount. These items’ most common multiplication factor is 2x, meaning the magnification will be doubled.
A Barlow lens is an economical way to provide a variety of magnifications. For instance, three eyepieces and a Barlow lens would provide six magnifications.
You may struggle to find specific things immediately when using your Celestron telescope. For example, trying to find the moon by simply searching the sky with your telescope is harder than you think.
To see something a finder scope allows you to align your telescope with the object you want to observe. They are usually smaller telescopes with much less magnification that help you align your telescope with the object you want to see.
Our article, How To Use A Telescope, discusses aligning a finder scope with your telescope.
Final Thoughts
You need to know these basic things to operate a Celestron telescope, or any telescope. The type of mount you have will dictate how you move it. Eyepieces provide magnification.
Hi, my name is Jason Anderson, and I am a Physics Professor. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with space, the universe, the moon, you name it. I spent hours and hours at the planetarium close to my hometown, wondering what else could be out in the universe.
Since then, I’ve been an avid stargazer and astronomer, and love nothing more than spending my time charting stars, observing planets, and finding constellations.
This is why I decided to start Telescope Guru. I only wish to share this fun pastime with the world. With this site, I hope to answer all of your questions relating to astronomy, telescopes, and stargazing.
