How To Perform The Easy Align Procedure - Meade EXT90 Instruction Manual

AutoStar automatically picks two stars from its database
for the Easy Align procedure. During this procedure,
AutoStar slews the telescope to a first alignment star.
The user is asked to verify that the telescope is pointed
at the chosen star and then prompted to center the star
in the eyepiece. The process is repeated with a second
star to complete the alignment.
Note: Before aligning the telescope, first verify
that "INITIALIZING AUTOSTAR", page 10,
has been performed. See "Moving through
Autostar's Menus", page 10, for a description
of how Autostar's keys operate.
How to perform the Easy Align
Procedure
If you have just powered on the telescope, follow the
procedures listed in "Initializing AutoStar" on page
10. When completed, continue on to the steps below
to perform the Easy Alignment procedure. If the
telescope is already powered on and the correct site
location, date, time and telescope model have already
been entered, the Easy Alignment can be started by
selecting in the menu Setup: Align: Easy and following
the steps below.
1. When the Easy Alignment procedure is selected
in the AutoStar's setup menu. See page 9,
"The ETX90 Home Position" for a description
on placing the ETX90 telescope into the home
position.
Note: The easiest way to set the telescope in
the home position is using the Magnetic North
method. Follow the steps on page 9 "Finding
True North using a compass adjusted for local
declination".
2. Star Alignment - The AutoStar then chooses
two stars to align upon. When the telescope
slews to the first star for alignment, it may not
appear in the field of view in the eyepiece. The
alignment star should be easily recognized and
be the brightest star in the area of the sky where
the telescope is pointing. While looking through
the red dot finder, use the Arrow Keys to move
the telescope to place the red dot on the top of
the brightest nearby star. Now look through the
eyepiece and use the Arrow Keys to move the
star to the center of the eyepiece field. Press
ENTER. If that area of the sky is obscured by
an object, you can prompt AutoStar to chose an
alternate star by pressing either one of the two
Scroll Keys. Repeat procedure for the second
alignment star.
When the procedure is performed correctly, "Alignment
Successful" displays. If AutoStar does not display this
message, perform this procedure again.
Note: AutoStar locates alignment stars based on the
date, time, and location entered. The alignment stars
may change from night to night. All that is required
is for the observer to center the selected stars in the
eyepiece when prompted.
NOTE: The GO TO key also allows you to perform
a "spiral search". A spiral search is useful when the
telescope slews to an object, but that object is not
visible in the eyepiece after the telescope finishes its
search. (This sometimes occurs during an alignment
procedure.) Press GO TO when the slew is finished
and the telescope starts slewing in a spiral pattern at a
very slow speed around the search area. Look through
the eyepiece and when the object does become visible,
press MODE to stop the spiral search. Then use the
Arrow keys to center the object.
Which One's the Alignment Star?
If you're not familiar with objects in the night sky, how
can you be sure if the star in your eyepiece is really the
alignment star?
The rule of thumb is that an alignment star is usually
the brightest star in that area of the sky. If you perform a
GoTo to an alignment star and you're not sure if you have
located the alignment star or it isn't in the eyepiece, look
through your viewfinder. When you view an alignment
star in the viewfinder, it stands out dramatically from the
rest of the stars in that portion of the sky.
The viewfinder will help you locate a star more quickly
than the eyepiece. Using AutoStar, set the slew speed
to 6 (press Number key 6) or higher and use the Arrow
keys to center the alignment star in the viewfinder. If
your viewfinder has been aligned with the telescope,
the alignment star should now be in the eyepiece. Set
the slew speed to 4 or less and center the star in the
eyepiece. Also see the Spiral Search tip, this page.
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