Menus And Menu Options; Objects Menu - Meade LX90 Instruction Manual

MENUS AND MENU OPTIONS

Object Menu
Use the OBJECT
menu to select an
Almost all observing with AutoStar is performed using the Object menu category. (NOTE:
object from the data-
Exceptions include Guided Tour and Landmark Survey.) See "GO TO SATURN," page 20, for an
base.
example of observing using the Object menu. Also see "USING THE GUIDED TOUR," page 20.
When your telescope
Many AutoStar menu categories contain databases. An AutoStar database is a list of viewable
is aligned and you
objects, such as stars, planets, comets, nebulae and so forth. When one of these objects is
select an object from
selected from a database, AutoStar moves your telescope (if properly aligned) and points it at
any of these lists, you
the selected object.
just need to press the
The Object Menu options include:
GO TO key to move
Solar System is a database of the eight planets (Earth is not included) in order out from the
the telescope so that
Sun, followed by the Moon, asteroids, and comets.
it is pointed at the
selected object.
Constellation is a database of all 88 Northern and Southern Hemisphere constellations. When
this menu option is chosen and a constellation name appears on the first line of the screen,
Over 30,000 objects
press GO TO once to change the second line to the name of the brightest star in the
are available for the
LX90. constellation. Press GO TO a second time to slew the telescope to that star. Use the Scroll keys
to cycle through the list of stars in the constellation, from brightest to dimmest.
The available objects
Deep Sky is a database of objects outside our Solar System such as nebulae, star clusters,
include planets,
galaxies, and quasars.
constellations, individ-
ual stars, double stars,
Star is a database of stars listed in different categories such as named, double, variable, or
star clusters, galaxies,
nearby.
quasars, satellites,
Satellite is a database of Earth-orbiting objects such as the International Space Station, the
asteroids and comets.
Hubble Space Telescope, Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, and geosynchronous
Also, try out the
orbit satellites.
Guided Tour feature;
User Objects allows the user to define and store in memory deep-sky objects of specific
the "Tonight's Best"
interest that are not currently in the AutoStar database. See "Appendix A" for more information.
Guided Tour will point
Landmarks stores the location of terrestrial points of interest in the permanent AutoStar
your telescope at the
database.
best objects visible in
the sky for every
given night of the
year.
Identify is an exciting feature for an observer who wants to scan the night sky and start
exploring. After the telescope has been properly aligned, use the AutoStar Arrow keys to move
about in the sky. Then follow this procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Browse allows you to search the database for objects with certain parameters, much like a
search engine. "Edit Parameters" lets you set various parameters for the search, such as:
Object Type, Minimum Elevation, Largest, etc. Once you have set the parameters of the search,
select "Start Search" and press ENTER. AutoStar will display the results of the search. See
page 38 for more information.
IMPORTANT NOTE: To use the Landmark function, the telescope must be located
and aligned exactly as when the landmark was added to the database.
Select: To select a Landmark already in the database (see "Add" below), choose the
"Select" option and scroll through the list. Press ENTER to select a Landmark, then press
GO TO and the telescope slews to the object.
Add: To add a Landmark, choose the "Add" option. Enter a name for the Landmark. Locate
and center the Landmark in the eyepiece, then press ENTER.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Only use the Arrow keys to move the telescope during the
Identify procedure. Do not loosen the telescope locks or move the base or align-
ment is lost.
When a desired object is visible in the eyepiece, keep pressing MODE until the "Select
Item: Object" menu is displayed. Press ENTER to select this menu.
Scroll through the Object menu options until the "Object: Identify" screen appears.
Press ENTER. AutoStar searches the database for the identity of the object being
observed.
If the telescope is not directly on an AutoStar database object, the nearest database object
is located and displayed on the screen. Press GO TO and the telescope slews to that
object.
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