"Edmund Rishekl" wrote

But now I draw to my next question: I noticed the image
shakes a little when I'm looking into the heavens. Maybe it was the
wind, maybe my eyebrow imperceptibly bouncing on the eyepiece.
Either way, is there something one can do to make the tripod base
absorb the microshocks a little better?

Telescope systems like these are inherently unstable, so there probably
isn't too much you can do but wait for it all to settle down after you've
last touched it. However, you might try hanging a bag of weights from the
center head of the tripod (the thing to which the three tripod legs attach
at their tops). Other than that, make sure the tube assembly is balanced on
the mounting (if it can be moved forward and backward), clamp everything
down, and don't use it when there are breezes.