* Calibrate the
Declination circle. With an ETX sitting on a flat, horizontal surface, level the tube by using a bubble level as a gauge.
The telescope's newly designed fork has a
declination circle on only the right arm.
We view the
declination circle through a 6x telescope (a salvaged finderscope) mounted on the polar axis near the eyepiece.
No blueprint for the missing
declination circle could be found, so the AAAP had to work from the picture reproduced on page 32 - the only known photograph of the telescope at its original site.
"Even if I feel a little sleepy at the beginning of the night," he continues while eyeing the
declination circle, "just walking into the dome, looking up at the telescope, and knowing that I'm going to be working with it gets the adrenaline pumping.
(It can happen.) After setting the slip ring of the clock drive to the star's right ascension, I read the
declination circle and record any significant deviation.
You'll also need to calibrate the telescope's
declination circle on a star of known position.
The
declination circle, however, is not preset at the factory.
Missing were the original built-in magnifying glasses for reading the telescope's right ascension and
declination circles. In July 2009 the Skyscrapers board called upon Hall's services again, asking now for a total restoration.
The
declination circles (two, on the east and west sides) are marked in 1 [degrees] increments.
"Now, slew the telescope until the pointers on the right-ascension and
declination circles read the coordinates of any star or planet that is currently visible in the sky.