SHARPER IMAGE 22060 Solar Eclipse Telescope Instruction Manual

June 13, 2024
Sharper Image

SHARPER IMAGE 22060 Solar Eclipse Telescope

SHARPER-IMAGE-22060-Solar-Eclipse-Telescope-product

Product Information

The Travel Solar Scope is a 50mm Refractor Telescope designed for travel and solar observation. It comes with ISO certified solar filters that allow safe direct observation of the Sun. The telescope is equipped with various parts and accessories to enhance your observing experience, including a tripod, telescope tube, objective lens with solar filters, star diagonal, eyepiece, finderscope, and storage backpack.

What’s in the Box:

  • Telescope tube
  • Objective lens & solar filters
  • Platform tilt knob
  • Telescope mounting platform
  • Azimuth tension knob
  • Central column locking knob
  • Solar finderscope
  • 20 mm Kellner eyepiece
  • Hybrid star diagonal
  • Focus knob
  • Panning handle/Altitude clutch
  • Tripod
  • Storage backpack

Solar Warning: Although the telescope is equipped with ISO certified solar filters, it is important to follow safety rules when observing the Sun.

Product Usage Instructions

Assembling Your Telescope:

The Mount & Tripod:

  1. Stand the tripod upright and extend the tripod legs to the desired height by pulling open the three leg clamp levers on each leg and pressing the clamp levers closed.
  2. Extend the center column of the tripod by turning the center column locking knob counterclockwise until unlocked. Pull the mount head upward to the desired height and turn the center column lock knob clockwise to lock the column in place.

The Telescope Tube:

  1. Locate the 1/4-20 threaded hole on the bottom of the telescope tube.
  2. Place the telescope tube over the threaded bolt on the mounting platform and tighten the knob by turning it clockwise until finger tight. Do not over-tighten.
  3. Loosen the platform tilt knob and rotate the platform to the left 90 degrees from its original horizontal position. Tighten the tilt knob to secure the platform in place.

The Star Diagonal:

  1. Remove the cap from the focuser of the telescope by turning the silver set screws counterclockwise until they are no longer protruding into the focuser tube.
  2. Install the star diagonal by inserting it into the focuser tube.

Note: The star diagonal allows for more comfortable observation by diverting light at a right angle to the telescope’s light path. The image may appear mirror reversed left to right, but this is normal.

50MM REFRACTOR TELESCOPE

Instruction Manual MODEL # 22060
The permanently mounted glass solar filters in this product:

  • Conforms to and meets the Transmission Requirements of ISO 12312-2:2015(E), Filters for Direct Observation of the Sun.
  • Meets the Transmission Requirements of EN 1836:2005 + A1:2007 (E) for an E15 Filter for the Direct Observation of the Sun.
  • Meets the Transmission Requirements of AS/NZS 1338.1:2012, Filters for Eye Protectors.
  • EC Type Examination by: SAI Global Assurance Services Ltd. (Notified Body No. NB2056), MK5 8HJ U.K.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

We recommend saving your telescope box so it can be used to store the telescope when it is not in use. Unpack the box carefully as some parts are small. Use the parts list below to verify that all parts and accessories are present.

PARTS LIST

  1. Telescope tube
  2. Objective lens & solar fi lters
  3. Platform tilt knob
  4. Telescope mounting platform
  5. Azimuth tension knob
  6. Central column locking knob
  7. Solar fi nderscope
  8. 20 mm Kellner eyepiece
  9. Hybrid star diagonal
  10. Focus knob
  11. Panning handle/Altitude clutch
  12. Tripod
  13. Storage backpack

SOLAR WARNING
Even though your EclipSmart telescope is equipped with ISO certifi ed solar fi lters that allow safe direct observation of the Sun, there are still some important rules you should follow when solar observing:

  • Never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye or with a telescope unless you have the proper solar fi lter. Permanent and irreversible eye damage may result.
  • Never use a telescope to project an image of the Sun onto any surface. Internal heat build-up can damage the telescope and any accessories attached to it.
  • Never use an eyepiece solar fi lter or a Herschel wedge. Internal heat build-up inside the telescope can cause these devices to crack or break, allowing unfi ltered sunlight to pass through to the eye.
  • Do not leave the telescope unsupervised, especially when children or adults unfamiliar with the correct operating procedures of your telescope are present.

ASSEMBLING YOUR TELESCOPE

THE MOUNT & TRIPOD
The tripod and mount come preassembled so the setup is very easy:

  1. Stand the tripod upright and pull the tripod legs outward until the tripod’s center leg brace slides bottom of the center column.
  2. You can extend the tripod legs to the height you desire. The lowest setting of 16 inches is perfect for tabletop use, while the fully extended height is 43 inches. To change the height, pull open the three leg clamp levers on each leg. Pull the legs out to the desired length and press the clamp levers closed.
  3. Your tripod also has an extendable center column, allowing you to raise the mount up to another 6 inches. Turn the center column locking knob counterclockwise until the column is unlocked. Pull the mount head upward until you are at the desired height and turn the center column lock knob clockwise to lock the column in place. With the legs fully extended the mount will now be 49 inches tall.SHARPER-IMAGE-22060-Solar-Eclipse-Telescope-fig-2

THE TELESCOPE TUBE
The tripod and mount come preassembled so the setup is very easy:

  1. Loosen the platform tilt knob by turning it counterclockwise. This allows you to tilt the telescope mounting platform 90° to the right to the vertical position, allowing for easy access of the mounting knob underneath the platform. Tighten the tilt knob to secure the platform in place.
  2. Locate the 1/4-20 threaded hole in the plate on the bottom of the telescope tube. Place it over the threaded bolt on the mounting platform and tighten the knob by turning it clockwise until it is finger tight. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.
  3. With the telescope now attached to the mount, loosen the platform tilt knob and rotate the platform to the left 90 degrees to its original horizontal position. Tighten the tilt knob to secure the platform in place.

THE STAR DIAGONAL
The star diagonal is a mirror that diverts the light at a right angle to the light path of the telescope. This to observe in a position that is more comfortable than if you had to look straight through. When looking eyepiece, the image will appear to be correctly oriented up and down, but will be mirror reversed left to perfectly normal.

To install the diagonal:

  1. Remove the cap from the focuser of the telescope by turning the silver set screws counterclockwise until they are no longer protruding into the focuser tube.
  2. Remove the caps from both ends of the star diagonal.
  3. I nsert the silver barrel of the star diagonal into the focuser tube..

THE EYEPIECES
Your EclipSmart telescope comes with one high quality 20 mm eyepiece that will give you 18x magnifi cation and a 2-degree fi eld of view. This is a perfect magnifi cation for watching the phases of a solar eclipse or just looking at sunspots at any time. You can increase the magnifi cation by using optional eyepieces with focal lengths shorter than 20 mm. Your scope can accept any industry-standard 1.25 inches diameter eyepiece between 5 mm and 32 mm focal length.

To install an eyepiece:

  1. Loosen the setscrews on the open end of the star diagonal.
  2. I nsert the silver barrel of the 20 mm eyepiece into the diagonal.
  3. Tighten the setscrews to secure the eyepiece.

MOVING THE TELESCOPE

The photo-style altazimuth mount is simple to use. To move the scope left and right, loosen the azimuth tension knob at the base of the mount. Hold one of the tripod with one hand and grab the panning handle with the other. Move the scope to the desired location. You can adjust the tension of the left and right motion by adjusting the tightness of the azimuth tension knob.

To move the scope up and down, loosen the altitude clutch by turning the entire panning handle counter-clockwise. Move the handle up or down as required and turn the handle clockwise to lock the scope on target.

NOTE: When observing, the Sun will appear to slowly drift in your field of view. This is perfectly normal and is caused by the Earth’s rotation. You will need to re-center the Sun in your field of view every couple of minutes. If you use any optional higher magnification eyepieces, the drift will become more apparent and you will need to readjust the telescope’s position more often to keep it in the field of view.

THE SOLAR FINDERSCOPE

The EclipSmart telescope comes with a 100% safe solar finderscope that allows you to align your telescope without looking directly at the Sun. The finderscope is already installed and is ready for use.
To use this finder:

  1. Point the telescope in the general direction of the Sun.
  2. Look at the large round bulls-eye pattern on the sunlit side of the finderscope.
  3. Adjust the position of the telescope until the shadow of the ball at the end of the projection arm is within the innermost circle of the bulls-eye pattern.
  4. This Sun should appear somewhere in the field of view of your 20 mm eyepiece, but may not be perfectly centered. Looking through the eyepiece, adjust the position of the telescope until the Sun is centered. If the Sun is not visible in the eyepiece, put the shadow of the projection arm over the innermost ring and slowly search in a circular pattern until you see the sun in the eyepiece.SHARPER-IMAGE-22060-Solar-Eclipse-Telescope-fig-8

OBSERVING THE SUN

SOLAR ECLIPSES
Solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth at least twice a year. There are two kinds of eclipses – partial and total.
A partial solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun and the Moon block part of the Sun’s light. If the Moon happens to be near the far point of its orbit from Earth, a very special form of a partial eclipse occurs, called an annular eclipse. In an annular eclipse, the Moon will block out most of the Sun’s disk, but leaves a small ring (or annulus) of sunlight surrounding the Moon.

SHARPER-IMAGE-22060-Solar-Eclipse-Telescope-fig-9

A total eclipse occurs when the moon is close enough to the Earth in its orbit so that it blocks the entire disk of the Sun from view. The partial phases of a total solar eclipse leading up to totality are incredible to watch. The Moon will fi rst appear as a small dark dent in the edge of the Sun, growing to a large bite. If you are in the path of totality, the Sun will eventually become a thin crescent and will disappear completely. For a couple of minutes, daytime turns to deep twilight and bright stars and planets are visible in the daytime sky. After totality, the process reverses itself as the Sun reemerges from behind the Moon. It is a sight that should not be missed.

SHARPER-IMAGE-22060-Solar-Eclipse-Telescope-fig-10

SUNSPOTS
Sunspots are dark spots that appear on the photosphere, or visible “surface” of the Sun. They usually have a dark core, called the umbra, surrounded by a lighter border, called the penumbra. They form when large disturbances in the Sun’s magnetic field cool portions of the photosphere. Sunspots are relatively cool, being only 6000°F (3300°C) compared to the normal 10,000°F (5500°C) of the rest of the photosphere. Although these spots appear to be almost black, they are actually quite bright. If it were possible to remove a sunspot from the Sun and put it in the night sky, it would shine brighter than the full moon. They only appears to be “dark” when compared to the rest of the photosphere. Sunspots can be big. Very big. They can range in size from 10 to 100,000 miles (16 to 160,000 km) in diameter. To put that into perspective, the Earth is only 8,000 miles (12,800 km) in diameter! Compare sunspot sizes to the relative size of the Earth in the image below in order to better grasp the immense size of the Sun and share that WOW factor with neighbors, friends, and family.

SHARPER-IMAGE-22060-Solar-Eclipse-Telescope-fig-11

Sunspots usually appear in pairs but can also appear in very large groups. They can last from a few days to several weeks and can change their shape, size and number as they slowly rotate across the face of the Sun. It will take about two weeks for a sunspot group to cross the Sun. Try looking at the Sun every day and draw a picture of what you see. At the end of the week, compare your drawings and you’ll see how sunspots evolve.

PLANETARY TRANSIT
Planetary transits occur when the planet Mercury or Venus pass between the Sun and Earth allowing observers on Earth to track the planet’s dark disk as it crosses the face of the Sun. This is an extremely rare event, occurring only four times over the next 50 years.

LIMB DARKENING
When viewing the Sun’s disk, look for a falloff of brightness as you look from the center of the disk to the edge, or limb. This is caused by the thick solar corona, or outer atmosphere of the Sun. As you look at the center of the solar disk, you are looking straight down through the least amount of atmosphere. As you look near the limb, you are looking through a thicker layer, which dims the amount of light shining through.

WARRANTY

2 years

celestron.com/pages/warranty

FCC

FCC NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

  • Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
  • Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
  • Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
  • Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Product design and specifi cations are subject to change without prior notifi cation.
This product is designed and intended for use by those 14 years of age and older.

©2023 Celestron. Celestron and Symbol are trademarks of Celestron, LLC. All rights reserved. Celestron.com
2835 Columbia Street, Torrance, CA 90503 USA
22060
08-23
Printed in China

References

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