Object Catalog; Selecting An Object; Slewing To An Object - Celestron NexStar 102GT Instruction Manual

OBJECT CATALOG

SELECTING AN OBJECT

Once the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose an object from any of the catalogs in the
NexStar+ Hand Control's database. The Hand Control has a key designated for each category of
objects in its database; Solar System objects, Stars and Deep Sky objects.
• Solar System – The Solar System catalog will display all the planets (and Moon) in our Solar
System that are currently visible in the sky. To allow the Sun to be displayed as an option in the
data base, see Allow Sun option in the Database Setup section of the manual.
• Stars – The Stars catalog displays custom lists of all the brightest stars, double (binary) stars,
variable stars, constellations and selected asterisms.
• Deep Sky – The Deep Sky catalog displays a list of all the best galaxies, nebulae and clusters, as
well as the complete Messier and select NGC objects. There is also an alphabetical list of all deep
sky objects in order by their common name.
Use the scroll keys to scroll through the catalogs to find the object you wish to view.
When scrolling through a long list of objects, holding down either the UP or DOWN key will allow you
to scroll through the catalog at a rapid speed.

SLEWING TO AN OBJECT

Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control screen, you have two options:
Press the OBJECT INFO Key. This will give you useful information about the selected object
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such as magnitude, constellation and extended information about the most popular objects.
o Use the UP/DOWN arrow buttons to scroll through the displayed object info.
o Use the BACK button to return to the object database.
Press the ENTER Key. This will automatically slew the telescope to the coordinates of the
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object displayed on the Hand Control. While the telescope is slewing to the object, the user can
still access many of the Hand Control functions (such as displaying information about the object).
NOTE: The Messier, NGC, and SAO catalogs require the user to enter a numeric designation. Once
you have selected the appropriate catalog button, and selected the Messier, NGC, or SAO catalog,
you will see a flashing cursor indicating you are in numeric entry mode. Enter the catalog number for
the object you want to view. Press ENTER to command the telescope to slew to the object or hold
the OPTION button (the Celestron logo) and press OBJECT INFO to see information about the
object you selected.
Caution: Never slew the telescope when someone is looking into the eyepiece. The telescope
can move at fast slew speeds and may hit an observer in the eye.
Object information can be obtained without having to do a star alignment. After the telescope is
powered on, pressing any of the catalog keys allows you to scroll through object lists or enter catalog
numbers and view the information about the object as described above.
COMPUTERIZED TELESCOPE
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