The first step consists in observing a bright star (magnitude 0 or 1) at a magnification of about the diameter of the telescope in millimeters (ex.: 200x for a 200 mm). When the star is strongly defocused (figures below), it appears as a donut, the central hole being the shadow of the secondary mirror. This shadow must be perfectly centred (left figure). If it is shifted (right figure), it is necessary to have an effect on the collimation screw(s) situated in the direction of the shift (it may be useful to think with clock hours). If a star diagonal is in place, do not forget to take the up-down reversal of the image into account. if your arm is long enough, you can also put a finger in front of the aperture of the telescope and see the position where it corresponds to the shift. |