Safety Information

1
Telescope MainTenance
ENGLISH
While your telescope requires little maintenance, there are
a few things to remember that will ensure your telescope
performs at its best. Each optical design type has special
collimation instructions described below. Many lower cost
Refractor and/or Newtonian telescopes do not have the
capability of collimation and thus you only need to refer
to the care and cleaning of the optics information. The
collimation instructions show images of typical Celestron
telescopes, and your telescope may be somewhat different, but
the overall functions/methods are similar.
Occasionally dust and/or moisture may build up on the objective
lens, the corrector plate, or primary mirror depending on which
type of telescope you have. Special care should be taken when
cleaning any instrument so as not to damage the optics.
If dust has built up on the optics, remove it with a brush (made
of camel’s hair) or a can of pressurized air (spray at an angle
to the glass surface for approximately two to four seconds).
Then, use an optical cleaning solution and white tissue paper to
remove any remaining debris. Apply the solution to the tissue
and then apply the tissue paper to the optics. Low pressure
strokes should go from the center of the lens (or mirror) to the
outer portion. DO NOT rub in circles!
You can use a commercially made lens cleaner or mix your
own. A good cleaning solution is isopropyl alcohol mixed with
distilled water. The solution should be 60% isopropyl alcohol
and 40% distilled water. Or, liquid dish soap diluted with water
(a couple of drops per one quart of water) can be used.
Occasionally, you may experience dew build-up on the optics
of your telescope during an observing session. If you want to
continue observing, the dew must be removed, either with a
hair dryer (on low setting) or by pointing the telescope at the
ground until the dew has evaporated.
If moisture condenses on the inside of the optics, remove
the accessories from the telescope. Place the telescope in a
dust-free environment and point it down. This will remove the
moisture from the telescope tube.
To minimize the need to clean your telescope, replace all lens
covers once you have finished using it. Since the cells are NOT
sealed, the covers should be placed over the openings when
not in use. This will prevent contaminants from entering the
optical tube.
Internal adjustments and cleaning should be done only by the
Celestron repair department or a qualified Celestron dealer.
Be sure to completely read carefully before attempting
collimation. Collimation is the process of aligning the optical
axis of each optical element with each other and with the
mechanical axis of the telescope tube. For a refractor telescope
design, this means aligning the optical axis of the objective
lens with the optical axis of the eyepiece on the rear end of
the tube. Your refractor was properly aligned at the factory.
However, extremely rough handling while traveling may
eventually alter the alignment of the lens. Your refractor
telescope may come with an adjustable objective lens housing
to assist in the alignment of the optical axis. It is rare that
collimation would be necessary, and if your telescope does not
have collimation adjustment screws, you may have to send it to
the factory for alignment.
To determine whether or not re-collimation is necessary, the
telescope should be set up outside at night. It should be a still
night and one in which you have let the telescope sit outside
for 15 to 30 minutes before attempting collimation. You should
also wait for a night with good seeing conditions and avoid
looking over anything that produces heat waves (i.e., roof tops,
car hoods, etc.).
Pick a bright star and center it in the field of the telescope.
Study the image of the star while racking it in and out of focus
using an eyepiece that yields 30 to 60 power for every inch
of aperture. If an unsymmetrical focus pattern is present, then
collimation is necessary. (If the telescope is properly collimated,
the out of focus star image will appear as a concentric ring
pattern similar to that shown).
Care and Cleaning of the optiCs
Collimation of refraCtors
Objective lens hOusing (with lens shade remOved)
shOw mOunting and cOllimatiOn screws.
Collimation
Screws (Allen head)
Mounting Screws (Phillips head)