How to Align a Telescope
- 1). Mount your telescope in the darkest area possible, since even low light can inhibit your view.
- 2). Lock the eyepiece with the lowest magnification to the eyepiece mount.
- 3). Scan the sky through the eyepiece until you find a focal point, for example the moon, and move this point so it is visible near the crosshair in the center of your eyepiece. It does not have to be exactly on the crosshair, just roughly aligned.
- 4). Loosen your telescope's focus knobs, which are found near the finder scope (the long tube you look through.)
- 5). Tighten the focus knobs while looking through the eyepiece. Tightening the knobs will move your view in alternating directions. Keep adjusting the position until your focal point is in the very center of your crosshair. This allows you to align your telescope exactly.
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