It's actually a good question from a new Amature Astronomer. Take off the whole cap when viewing almost everything. The small cap is to stop down the aperture to about 1 1/2 inches. This is sometimes a good idea when viewing the Moon because it's so bright. If you have a Moon filter, you can remove the whole cap and use the filter. If you don't have a Moon filter and the Moon seems way too bright, just remove only the small cap for a more comfortable view. That's really the only time you'll want to remove only the small cap. Note: Ask anything you want. Don't worry, almost anything you ask, someone asked before. I've actually had to tell people which end of the telescope to look through. I guess you got that one figured out already.
That's it;
BOB SAL

• Thanks - tpg013 - January 25, 2002 - 18:33 UTC
  • Good Luck - bobsal - January 25, 2002 - 22:39 UTC