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celestial objects (stars, nebulae, planets, etc.) that you
can observe, you may eventually want to view objects
that are not part of a library. Autostar II provides a
feature that allows you to enter an object's RA and DEC
coordinates in the "User: Objects" option of the Object
menu and allows automatic slewing of the telescope to
the user-entered coordinates.
In order to use this menu option, you first need to
look up the RA and DEC coordinates of the object or
objects you wish to observe. Check your local library,
computer store, or bookstore for astronomy books,
CD ROMs, or magazines (such as Sky & Telescope
or Astronomy) to find coordinates of celestial objects.
The objects/coordinates you enter become part of your
own permanent database, called "User Objects."
To enter coordinates of an object into the "User:
Objects" option of the Object menu:
1. Make sure Autostar II has been initialized and the
telescope has been aligned.
2. After the telescope is aligned, "Select Item:
Object" displays. (If necessary, use the Scroll
keys to scroll through the menus, as previously
described, to find this option.) Press ENTER.
3. "Object: Solar System" displays. Keep pressing
the Scroll Up key until "Object: User Object"
displays and press ENTER.
4. "User Object: Select" displays. Press the Scroll
Down key once. "User Object: Add" displays.
Press ENTER.
5. "Name" displays on the top line and a blinking
cursor on the second line. Use the Arrow keys,
as previously described, to enter the name of the
object you wish to add to the database. When you
are finished, press ENTER.
6. "Right Asc.: 00.00.0" displays. Use the Number
keys to enter the digits for the Right Ascension
coordinate of your object. When you are finished,
press ENTER.
7. "Declination: +00°.00'" displays. Use the Number
keys to enter the digits for the declination
coordinate of your object. If necessary, use the
Scroll Keys to change "+" to "-." When you are
finished, press ENTER.
8. Autostar II then prompts you to enter the size of
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the object. This step is optional. Use the Number
keys to enter the size (in arcminutes), if so desired,
and press ENTER to go to the next display. If
you do not wish to enter this information, simply
press ENTER.
9. Autostar II then prompts you to enter the
magnitude of the object. This step is also optional.
Use the Number keys to enter this information, if
so desired, and press ENTER to go to the next
display. "User Object: Add" displays again.
To GO TO a user-entered object:
In this procedure, you will choose an object from the
User Object list and GO TO the object.
1. With "User Object: Add" displayed, press the
Scroll Up key once. "User Object: Select"
displays. Press ENTER.
2. Use the Scroll keys (if necessary) to scroll to the
desired object. Press ENTER.
3. The name of the object and the Right Ascension
and declination coordinates display.
4. Press GO TO and the telescope slews to
the object.
Using AutoStar to Find Objects Not in
the Database
In this procedure, you will enter coordinates of celestial
objects that do not appear in any of the AutoStar
database lists. You will enter the object's name and RA
and DEC coordinates (required information). You may
also enter the object's magnitude and size (optional
information).
Although AutoStar contains an extensive database of
celestial objects (stars, nebulae, planets, etc.) that you
can observe, you may eventually want to view objects
that are not part of the database. AutoStar provides
a feature that allows you to enter an object's RA and
DEC coordinates in the "User: Objects" option of the
Object menu and allows automatic slewing of the
telescope to the user-entered coordinates.
In order to use this menu option, you first need to look
up the RA and DEC coordinates of the object or objects
you wish to observe. Check out the World Wide Web,
your local library, computer store, or bookstore for
astronomy books, CD ROMs, or magazines (such as
Sky & Telescope or Astronomy), to find coordinates
of celestial objects. The objects/coordinates you enter
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