An apparatus for adjusting a beam path for tracking an object includes an illumination unit to generate an illumination light beam, an optical unit with a beam expander optical unit and a beam deflection unit, the beam expander optical unit being configured to divergently expand the illumination light beam and the beam deflection unit being configured to deflect the illumination light beam spatially about two different axes of rotation, a detector unit to capture a light beam reflected by the object in response to an illumination by the illumination light beam and to generate a measurement signal, an evaluation and control unit to evaluate the measurement signal and configured to determine a manipulated variable for setting an effective focal length of the beam expander optical unit and/or for setting a spatial alignment of the beam deflection unit based on the information item in respect of the illumination of the object.