Event Menu; Glossary Menu; Utilities Menu - Meade LX90 Instruction Manual

Event Menu

Use the Event menu
to look up dates of
The Event menu provides access to dates and times of astronomical events. The Event
various astronomical
database includes:
events, such as
Sunrise and Sunset calculates the time that the Sun rises or sets on the current date. Find
sunrises and sunsets,
rise and set times for other dates by entering a new date into the "Setup: Date" menu. See
eclipses, moon
"DATE," page 27.
phases, meteor
Moonrise and Moonset calculates the time that the Moon rises or sets on the current date.
showers, equinoxes
Find rise and set times for other dates by entering a new date into the "Setup: Date" menu. See
and solstices...
"DATE," page 27.
...and not just for the
Moon Phases displays the date and time of the next Full, New, 1st Quarter, and 3rd Quarter
current date. Set any
Moon.
date, past or future,
Meteor Showers provides information on upcoming meteor showers, such as the Perseids, the
when initializing
Leonids, etc. Also lists the dates of the showers and when they reach maximum.
AutoStar and you can
check the time for
other events.
Solar Eclipse lists upcoming Solar Eclipses, including the date and type (total, annular, or par-
tial) of eclipse, and the location and time of the first and last contacts of the Moon's shadow.
Use the Scroll Up and Down keys to display the available data. Remember, never use a
telescope to look at the Sun! See "WARNING!" to the left.
Lunar Eclipse lists upcoming Lunar Eclipses, including the date and type (total, partial,
penumbral) of eclipse. Use the Scroll Up and Down keys to display the available data.
Min. (Minimum) of Algol is the minimum brightness of the dramatic eclipsing binary star
system, Algol. It is relatively close at a distance of 100 light years. Every 2.8 days during a 10-
hour period, Algol undergoes a major change in apparent magnitude as one of the two stars
passes behind the other. The combined magnitude of the two stars thus dips from +2.1 to a
minimum of +3.4 halfway through the eclipse as the second star is hidden. AutoStar calculates
minimum magnitude time at mid-eclipse.
Autumn and Vernal Equinox calculates the time and date of the fall or spring equinox of the
current year.
Winter and Summer Solstice calculates the time and date of the winter or summer solstice of
the current year.

Glossary Menu

Use the Glossary
The Glossary menu provides an alphabetical listing of definitions and descriptions for common
menu to look up
astronomical terms and AutoStar functions. Access directly through the Glossary menu or
definitions of
through hypertext words embedded in AutoStar. A hypertext word is any word in [brackets],
astronomical terms and
usually found when using the AutoStar Help function or when reading a scrolling message such
get a description of
as a description of a planet or star. Press ENTER whenever a hypertext word is on screen and
AutoStar features.
AutoStar goes to the glossary entry for that word.
To access directly from the Glossary menu, use the Scroll keys to scroll through the alphabet.
Press ENTER on the desired letter. Scroll to the desired entry and then press ENTER to read
the description.

Utilities Menu

The Utilities menu provides access to several extra features within AutoStar, including a
Use the Utilities
menu to perform countdown timer and an alarm. The Utilities functions include:
many of AutoStar's
Timer selects a countdown timer. This feature is useful for functions such as astrophotography
useful features, such
and tracking satellites. See "OBSERVING SATELLITES," page 32. To use the Timer, press
as setting an alarm,
ENTER, then choose "Set" or "Start/Stop."
adjust the display
contrast, calculate the
best eyepiece for
viewing an object, set
up your own landmark
survey, and so forth.
Alarm selects a time for an alarm signal as a reminder. To use the Alarm, press ENTER, then
choose "Set" or "Start/Stop."
NOTE: Meteors are fast moving objects that cover large areas of the sky and are
usually best observed with the naked eye.
Set: Enter the time to be counted down, in hours, minutes, and seconds, then press ENTER.
Start/Stop: Activates the timer set previously. Use the Scroll keys to toggle between ON and
OFF. When ON is displayed, press ENTER to activate the timer. When the timer runs out, four
beeps sound and the timer is deactivated.
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