TELESCOPE CARE by Jerry Oltion Nurture YOUR NEWT II: Collimation Aligning your reflector's mirrors - critical to getting the best view - is easier than you think. I n our first installment of this series, we talked about keeping your Newtonian telescope clean and how to wash the primary mirror when it gets dirty. Now let's look at how to collimate it. Like mirror washing, collimation is a lot easier than many people think. The Internet is so full of scary advice on collimation that many people think it's as dangerous Figure 2 Spider vane Reflection of secondary mirror Edge of primary mirror with mirror clip visible Center marker on primary mirror p OUT OF WHACK You'll see something like this when neither the primary nor the secondary mirror is aimed properly. Each illustration depicts the telescope pointing straight up. 68 A PR I L 2 019 * SK Y & TELESCOPE p SECONDARY ALIGNED When the secondary is adjusted properly, the entire primary will be visible within its perimeter. Note that all three mirror clips are equally visible. UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL IMAGES ARE COURTESY OF THE AU THOR; TELESCOPE CU TAWAY: G REGG DINDER M A N / S&T; TELESCOPE PHOTO: SE A N WA LK ER / S&T Figure 1