Hello everyone, I’m Darrell Heath with the UALR College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences;
welcome to The Night Sky.
One of the most important resources to be found in any community across our nation is
the public library.
These venerable institutions operate under the guiding principle that information and
knowledge should be made free and accessible to all who want it no matter who they are.
The advent of home computers, the internet, and new technologies such as smartphones and
pads has radically changed how we all access information.
So to have libraries evolved to meet the changing needs of their patrons and today’s public
libraries are much more than buildings that house books.
Take the Central Arkansas Library System as an example of a modern day public library.
Sure, you can still check out books here but within its various branches you’ll find
a wide array of services, programs, and media available to all of its card-carrying patrons.
And now CALS has partnered with the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society (with some generous
funding provided by UALR’s Arkansas Space Grant Consortium) to bring library patrons
a resource that can connect them to the universe itself: telescopes.
To be honest, CALS is not the first library to do this.
In December of 2008 the New Hampshire
Astronomical Society decided to place a few small telescopes in some of their local libraries
with the modest hopes of fostering an interest in astronomy and perhaps generating some scientific
literacy within their community.
Long story short: the program was a huge hit with the libraries and their patrons, far
surpassing the expectations of everyone involved.
The libraries couldn’t keep up with the demand.
Since then there have been similar programs launched in other states and all have met
with much success.
In this program I’d like to give you a little bit of a rundown on the telescope and a quick
tutorial on how it works.
This is the telescope that the New Hampshire Astronomical Society chose for their program
and since it has worked so well for them CALS and the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society
decided to follow their lead and stick to what’s proven to work.
Optical telescopes come in two very basic designs but in essence they all do the same
things: harvest light from distant objects and then focus that light into an image.
The most recognizable type of telescope is known as a refractor.
The first telescope ever built back in
1608 was a refractor and they are nothing more than a long tube with glass lenses for
collecting light at one end and then focusing that light into an image at the opposite end.
The second type of optical telescope, like this library telescope, is known as a reflector.
Reflectors were first built in 1668 by Sir Isaac Newton and rather than glass lenses,
Newton chose to use mirrors to collect starlight.
The primary mirror (the one responsible for collecting all of that starlight) is found
at the bottom of the tube while the secondary mirror is located at the other and is
placed at an angle.
Its job is to reflect the image through an opening located on the side of the tube, this
opening is where the eyepieces and then your eye would go.
Okay, so this is the Orion Starblaster 4.5-inch reflector telescope.
It was selected out of all the other possible candidates because it’s well-made and light
weight (weighing about 17 pounds) so it is easily transported, it’s sturdy, it’s
easy to use and has fine optics.
In short: an ideal scope for beginners.
But don’t let its small size fool you into thinking that this just a toy, it’s not,
it’s a fine piece of optical equipment suitable for use by anyone of any age or level of experience.
Before we go any further though I want to emphasize a few very important things:
Never use the scope to look directly at the Sun as this could cause permanent eye damage
or even blindness.
And while the scope is robust, never drop it.
It’s always a good idea to carry the scope by placing one hand onto the handle while
using your other hand to support the base.
When transporting the telescope, please buckle it in just like you would a person.
This way, if you make any sudden stops the telescope won’t collide with another part
of your car or with you or any of your passengers.
Never insert or drop anything into the optical tube.
-Do not attempt to clean any of the optics, and that includes the eyepieces and mirrors.
If any of the optics appear to be dirty then please notify your librarian.
Do not touch the eyepieces or mirrors.
And finally
Do not attempt to remove the casing for the mirror at the base of the telescope.
Okay, assuming that you’ve managed to check a telescope out from the library, how do you
use it?
The great thing about the Orion StarBlast is its portability and ease of use.
You can store it easily in your vehicle and drive to your favorite observing location
or you can just set it up in your back yard.
For best results I suggest setting it up on a sturdy table top such as a picnic table
or even a card table if you have one.
Once you’ve got it set up on a sturdy table you might want to check and make sure that
the tube is aligned for comfortable viewing.
If you need to make any adjustments, slightly loosen the tube clamp screw and then rotate
the tube to your desired position.
Before you start to observe it’s a good idea to let the telescope mirror acclimate
to the outside temperature.
Let it set outside with the tube cover removed for about 20 or 30 minutes.
If you don’t do this, then images in the scope will probably appear very blurry.
While adjusting the tube you’ll have no doubt noticed this feature, this is the finder; and it
helps you to aim and point the telescope at the object that you want to look at.
Provided that it is in alignment (remember, you want to avoid bumping it while transporting
or carrying the scope) all you need do is turn it on here.
Looking up the tube you will see a red dot appear.
Just swivel the telescope tube around until that red dot it aligned with your target object.
Now let’s turn our attention to the eyepiece.
These library telescopes have been specially outfitted with a zoom eyepiece that has four
different focal lengths and corresponding four levels of magnification.
The focal length numbers are given in millimeters and include 24, 18, 12, and 8.
The magnifications are 20 times with the 24 mm eyepiece, 27 times with the 18 mm, 40 times
with 12 mm, and 60 times with the 8 mm.
These offer you an array of choices that are best suited for this particular telescope.
Always begin your observations with the lowest magnification setting, in this case with the
24 mm eyepiece..
The reason for this is that you will be starting out with the widest field of view, thereby
enabling you to find your target all the easier.
Be aware that as you increase your magnification you decrease the field of view and objects,
once located, will drift out of your field of view quickly as the Earth rotates upon
its axis.
No matter which setting you use you’ll have to occasionally guide the scope by hand in
order to compensate for this, just gently nudge the tube in the desired direction.
To change focal lengths and magnification settings all you need do is twist the eyepiece
barrel so that you can align the setting you want with the white triangle.
Now, each time you change the focal length and magnification you’ll also need to focus
and to do that turn either of these knurled wheels until the image resolves itself clearly.
If you wear glasses, first try using them while looking into the eyepiece.
You may discover that you don’t need them.
Folks with severe astigmatism often find that they get better views while wearing glasses.
And that’s pretty much it as far as operating the scope goes.
Now, what can you expect to see?
Well, the moon and its rugged landscape of craters and mountains will look spectacular.
The best time to view it will be when the moon is only partially illuminated as opposed
to a full moon.
The reason for this is that when a full moon’s surface is entirely lit much of the lunar
topography looks dull and flat.
However, when the moon is only partially lit the Sun’s light, coming in at an oblique
angle, makes many of the craters and peaks stand out with an almost 3-D kind of relief.
Looking at the moon as it goes through all of its phases will be very rewarding.
With this telescope you’ll also be able to see the bands in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere
as well as the planet’s four largest moons.
Saturn’s beautiful rings will be viewable as well and it’s a stunning sight.
You can also observe Venus in its various phases but you’ll not see any surface features
as the planet is always shrouded in clouds of sulfur dioxide laced with droplets of sulfuric
acid.
Venturing beyond the solar system you’ll be able to see a number of double stars, star
clusters, nebulae and even a few galaxies.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to escape the light pollution of the city in order to
see many of these deep sky objects and for the really faint objects you will also need
to observe on a moonless night.
And don’t expect to bright colors like in the photos found in books and magazines.
This isn’t a fault of the scope but that of the human eye not being able to gather
in as much light the way a camera can.
To find out more about astronomy, celestial objects and how to find them I suggest perusing
the book shelves of your local library.
Our web site also has a list of a variety of resources to help the beginning stargazer.
The Central Arkansas Astronomical Society will also maintain a page on their web site
will all kinds of information about the telescope as well as news about the latest
happenings in your night sky.
If you are considering taking up astronomy as a hobby, then you will want to consider
visiting the society’s star parties or monthly club
meetings.
You will find that you will learn a lot more if you have an experienced stargazer as a
mentor to help get you going.
Your adventures in exploring the universe have only just begun and with a library card
and a telescope you’ll soon find yourself outside looking up in both awe and wonder.