Baader Planetarium Mark III Laser Collimator

Baader Newtonian and SC Laser Collimator Mark III

Compared with simpler models, the Baader Laser Collimator Mark III has a couple of advantages:

Brief Newtonian collimation instruction


1. The Newtonian´s focuser should be above the OTA and the collimator should not be clamped in order to prevent tilting. A tilted laser would degrade the collimation result.

2. Switch on the laser diode and center the laser spot on the main mirror using the adjustment screws at the secondary mirror (see picture on the left).

3. Now, adjust the primary mirror with its collimation screws until the laser beam is reflected back into its central bore.




The picture on the right shows a slightly miscollimated primary mirror. When the system is far out of collimation, the laser spot would sit outside the reticle. The picture on the left shows a collimated system. The laser beam is fully reflected into the central bore.

Detailed instructions: Baader Planetarium provides instructions for Newtonian alignment with this alignment laser in German, you can find the PDF file here.



Adjusting Schmidt Cassegrain (SC) Telescopes with the Baader Mark III Laser Colllimator

To adust an SC Telescope, the Laser must be very precise. Cheaper Lasers are not good enough and the reflected laser beam is too big to make an accurate adjustment. The new Baader Laser Mark III produces a smaller point for more precision.

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