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North
0°
Fig. 8: Alt/Az Home Position.
Initialization is a pro-
cedure that ensures
that Autostar oper-
ates correctly. When
you first use Autostar,
it doesn't yet know
where the observa-
tion location site is or
the time or date of
the observation ses-
sion.
During the procedure,
you will enter infor-
mation, such as the
current time and date,
and observation loca-
tion. Autostar uses
this information to
precisely calculate
the location of celes-
tial objects (such as
stars and planets)
and to move your tel-
escope correctly for
various operations.
Astronomical Observing
Used as an astronomical instrument, your telescope has many optical and electromechanical
capabilities. It is in astronomical applications where the high level of optical performance is
readily visible. The range of observable astronomical objects is, with minor qualification, limit-
ed only by the observer's motivation.
To Track an Object Automatically
As the Earth rotates beneath the night sky, the stars appear to move from East to West. The
speed at which the stars move is called the sidereal rate. You can setup your telescope to move
at the sidereal rate so that it automatically tracks the stars and other objects in the night sky. If
the telescope is not tracking an astronomical object, the object will drift out of the eyepiece field
of view. The tracking function automatically keeps an object more or less centered in the tele-
scope's eyepiece.
To automatically track objects, you must first set the telescope in the home position, then ini-
tialize Autostar, and finally select "Targets: Astronomical" from the Autostar Setup menu. You
must also learn how the Autostar keypad operates in order to move through the Autostar
menus.
The "Alt/Az" Home Position
1.
Loosen the telescope's Dec lock (6, Fig. 1).
2.
Level the tripod head (1, Fig.3). Level the optical tube by lining up 0° on the Dec setting
circle (11, Fig. 1) with the Dec pointer (12, Fig. 1).
3.
Tighten the Dec lock (6, Fig. 1) to a firm feel only.
4.
Unlock the R.A. lock (9, Fig. 1) and turn the telescope horizontally until it points North. See
'LOCATING POLARIS," page 46 for more information.
5.
Re-lock the R.A. lock (9, Fig. 1). Press ENTER.
Moving Through Autostar's Menus
The Autostar database is organized in levels for quick and easy navigation.
• Press ENTER to go deeper into Autostar's menu levels.
• Press MODE to move back toward the top menu level.
• Press the Scroll keys to move up and down through the options available for
each level.
• Press the Arrow keys to enter characters and digits.
The Arrow keys are also used to move the telescope.
Initializing Autostar
This section describes how to initialize Autostar. Perform this procedure the first time you use
Autostar or after performing a RESET (see "RESET," page 28).
1.
Make sure that the Dec and R.A. locks (6 and 9, Fig. 1) are secured as described on page 7.
2.
Verify that Autostar is properly connected to your telescope. See "HOW TO ASSEMBLE
YOUR TELESCOPE," page 13.
3.
Flip the telescope power switch to the ON position.
The Autostar screen is activated and a copyright message displays briefly, followed by a
short beep. Then Autostar takes a few moments to start up the system.
4.
A message displays that warns not to look at the Sun. At the end of this message, press
the key prompted by Autostar to signify that the message has been read and understood.
5.
The Getting Started menu displays a scrolling message. Press ENTER (2, Fig. 2) to
bypass the Help tutorial and continue with initialization.
6.
Autostar then requests the current date. Use the Number keys (5, Fig. 2) to enter the dig-
its for the date. Use the Right Arrow key (5, Fig. 3) to move from one number to the next
in the day display, and also to move to the month. Then, use the Scroll keys (7, Fig. 3) to
cycle through the list of months.
17
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