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locating Objects
SynScan's Object Database
The SynScan hand controller boasts a vast database of over
42,900 stars and other celestial objects. Once the telescope
has been GoTo aligned, you can easily access and view any
one of them. The database contains the following catalogs:
Deep-Sky Tour: Takes you on a preset tour across the night
sky, stopping at the brightest and most beautiful deep-sky
objects visible in your sky at the current time/date.
Named Star: A list of 100 popular, known stars
Solar System: The other 8 planets of our solar system
(includes Pluto) and Earth's Moon
NGC: 7,840 of the brightest deep-sky objects from the Revised
New General Catalog
IC: 5,386 of standard stars and deep sky objects from the
Indexed Catalog
Messier: Complete list of 110 Messier objects
Caldwell: Complete list of 109 Caldwell objects
SAO: 29,523 stars brighter than magnitude 8, a small subset
of the 259,000-star SAO catalog
Double Stars: 55 well-known double stars
Variable Stars: 20 famous variable stars
User Objects: Up to 25 user-defined objects can be saved
Selecting an Object
There are several ways to select a celestial object to view.
Many involve pressing one of the Dual Purpose, or Shortcut,
keys on the hand controller (Figure 17A) .
Take a Guided Tour!
This is a great feature for backyard astronomers with minimal
observing experience! The hand controller's built-in Deep Sky
Tour feature commands the mount to find the best deep-sky
objects in the currently visible sky and automatically slews the
telescope to each one, at your prompt.
TOUR – The TOUR shortcut key takes you to the Deep Sky
Tour submenu, where you can tour a preselected list of the
best and brightest deep-sky objects in your current sky. Use
the down scroll key to browse the objects. Choose an object
by pressing ENTER. The display will show the coordinates
of the chosen object. Pressing ENTER again will prompt the
telescope to slew to the object, then track it.
You can also access the tour function from the SETUP menu,
by scrolling to DEEP SKY TOUR and pressing ENTER.
Select using the Object Type Shortcut Keys
M, NGC, IC – These shortcut keys give you access to these
popular celestial object catalogs. Use the numeric keys to
select an object by entering its number. Pressing ENTER
will display its coordinates. Pertinent information such as
size, magnitude, and constellation are obtained by pressing
the scroll keys. Pressing ENTER again will prompt the tele-
scope to slew to the selected object, then track it.
14
PLANET – This shortcut key takes you to the Solar System
submenu in the database. Use the scroll keys to cycle
through the list of planets in our solar system (including
Pluto!) and the Moon. Press ENTER to view an object's
coordinates, and ENTER once more to slew to the object
and track it.
USER – This key will take you to the database of User
Objects that you can define for yourself. You can enter a new
location or recall objects that have been previously saved
(see "Saving and Accessing User-Defined Objects").
Select using the Object or Menu Shortcut Keys
OBJECT – The OBJECT key takes you to the Objects cata-
log, where you have complete access to over 42,900 celes-
tial objects in the database.
MENU – Press the MENU key, then the ESC key and you
will see CHOSE MENU:. Scroll down to OBJECT LIST and
press ENTER. Similar to the OBJECT key, this gives you
access to all 42,900 celestial objects in the database.
• If the selected object is below the horizon at this time, the
SynScan hand controller will display "Below horizon" for
2 seconds; otherwise, it will display the object's current
azimuth and altitude.
• By using the scroll keys, you can browse the following
information of the object: J2000 celestial coordinates,
magnitude (MAG= ), rising time (Rise: ), transit time
(Transit: ), setting time (Set: ), size (Size= ) and associated
constellation (Constellation: ).
• Once the mount has located the selected object, it will
automatically start tracking it.
• You can press the ESC key to stop the mount if needed.
The screen will display "Mount stopped. Press any key..."
Then press any key to return to the previous step.
NOTE: The mount will not slew if:
• The object is below the horizon.
• The object's altitude exceeds the limit set in the hand
controller. (The screen will display "Target over slew limit" in
this case.)
Identifying an unknown Object
After aligning the mount for GoTo operation, the SynScan
hand controller can be used to identify any object at which the
telescope is pointing.
1.
Center the object to be identified in the telescope's
eyepiece.
2.
Press the "INFO" shortcut key, or from the CHOOSE
MENU screen, scroll to "UTILITY FUNCTION" and press
ENTER, then to IDENTIFY and press ENTER. The
screen will display "Identify: Searching..." The SynScan
hand controller will look up the named stars, planets,
Messier objects, NGC objects, and IC objects within a 5
degrees range of the object centered in the eyepiece.
3.
The screen will display "No object found" if the SynScan
hand controller cannot identify the object.
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