The pier serves as the stand for the telescope. It provides a sturdy base for the telescope and eliminates vibrations. Telescope piers must be a specific height when being used inside an observatory dome to ensure the telescope doesn't hit anything.

The german equatorial mount moves the telescope so that it can keep celestial objects in view. The mount is aligned with the skies axis of rotation, the North star. Finding an object in the night sky relies on three variables.

1. Altitude is an angle that corresponds with your latitudinal coordinate. This helps to align the telescope with the North Star. 

2. Declination corresponds to the angle from the North Star to a celestial object. It is measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds.

3. Right ascension corresponds to an angular distance in the sky. It is measured in hours, minutes, and seconds.

Declination and right ascension are essentially mathematical polar coordinates, where the origin is the North Star. Aligning the telescope with the axis of rotation allows for easy tracking of celestial objects, since the telescope only has to rotate around the North Star. The observatory has a Software Bisque Paramount ME II, which allows for manual and remote control.

The main part of the telescope is the optical tube. It houses all components, such as lenses, mirrors, and fans. The telescope contains two curved mirrors which concentrate the image into one spot, called the focal point. The diameter of the optical tube is called the aperture, and the larger the aperture, the clearer and brighter objects in the sky will appear.

The optical tube also contains a heater and control panel for the telescope. The heater keeps dew and condensation from forming on the mirrors, while the control panel controls the internal fans on the telescope. The fans help to circulate air within the telescope. The telescope itself is a  20-inch Planewave corrected dall-kirkham telescope.

The finderscope is a smaller telescope or sight that is mounted to the side of a telescope. They often have lower magnification but provide a wider field of view of the night sky. Finderscopes align with the telescope's line of sight. They are used for quickly aiming the telescope at objects in the sky then fine-tuning the aim with the full-size telescope. The Observatory’s telescope uses a red laser sight to help with aiming.

The focuser helps to adjust the clarity of the telescope's image. Focusers can be manually adjusted with knobs or controlled remotely. One side of the focuser attaches to the rear of the telescope, while the other side connects to a camera or eyepiece. The focuser also contains an LCD screen to display information about the image quality. The telescope contains a moonlite nitecrawler focuser.

The camera shows a live view of the telescope on a computer screen. It also gives astronomers the ability to take pictures or videos through the telescope. The observatory’s camera is 16 megapixels and has the ability to take long-exposure photographs, an essential function in the world of astrophotography.

Long exposure photographs capture more detail in the sky by letting light into the camera for an extended period of time. The camera can also take full HD video. The telescope contains a Mallincam skyraider ds16c camera.

Since the telescope and all it's components can weigh a considerable amount, the equatorial mount needs to be balanced in order to function properly. The counterweight for the dusty star observatory telescope weights about 140lbs. By properly balancing the telescope, stress is taken off the motors in the mount, allowing for smoother rotation and easier use.