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Related Manuals for Celestron C11-SGT
Summary of Contents for Celestron C11-SGT
- Page 1 INSTRUCTION MANUAL ● ● ● ● ● ●...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Installing the Eyepiece ... 11 Installing the Finderscope ... 12 Removing the Lens Cap ... 13 Moving the Telescope Manually ... 13 Balancing The Mount in R.A... 13 Balancing The Mount in DEC ... 14 Adjusting the Mount ... 14 Adjusting the Mount in Altitude ...14... - Page 3 Get Alt-Az ... 29 Goto Alt-Az... 29 Hibernate ... 29 Turn On/Off GPS ... 29 TELESCOPE BASICS ... 31 Image Orientation ...31 Focusing...32 Aligning the Finderscope ...32 Calculating Magnification...32 Determining Field of View...33 General Observing Hints ...33 ASTRONOMY BASICS... 34 The Celestial Coordinate System ...34...
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Page 4: Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron Advanced Series telescope (AST)! The Advanced Series of telescopes come in standard (non-computerized) and computerized GT models. The Advanced Series is made of the highest quality materials to ensure stability and durability. All this adds up to a telescope that gives you a lifetime of pleasure with a minimal amount of maintenance. - Page 5 Figure 2.1 – Advanced Series ASSE Optical Tube Finderscope Finderscope Bracket Equatorial Mount Latitude Adjustment Scale Tripod Center Leg Brace/Accessory Tray (Advanced C8-S Shown) Tripod Counterweight(s) Counterweight Bar Declination Setting Circle Dovetail Mounting Bar Schmidt Corrector Lens...
- Page 6 Figure 2.2 – Advanced Series GT Optical Tube Finderscope Finderscope Bracket Equatorial Mount Latitude Adjustment Scale Tripod Center Leg Brace/Accessory Tray Tripod Counterweight(s) CONTROL PANEL Hand Control Port DEC Motor Port (Advanced C8-SGT Shown) Counterweight Bar Declination Setting Circle Dovetail Mounting Bar Schmidt Corrector Lens Hand Control R.A.
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Page 7: Assembly
Remove all the pieces from their respective boxes and place on a flat, clear work area. A large floor space is ideal. When setting up your Celestron telescope you must start with the tripod and work up from there. These instructions are laid out in the order each task must be performed. -
Page 8: Attaching The Equatorial Mount
The equatorial mount allows you to tilt the telescope’s axis of rotation so that you can track the stars as they move across the sky. The CG-5 mount is a German equatorial mount that attaches to the tripod head. On one side of the tripod head there is a metal alignment peg for aligning the mount. -
Page 9: Installing The Counterweight
Since the fully assembled telescope can be quite heavy, position the mount so that the polar axis is pointing towards north before the tube assembly and counterweights are attached. This will make the polar alignment procedure much easier. Depending on which AST telescope you have, you will receive either one or two counterweights. To install the counterweight(s): 1. -
Page 10: Attaching The Optical Tube To The Mount
Slide the dovetail bar on the telescope tube into the mounting platform of the mount. Slide the telescope so that the back of the dovetail bar is close to the back of the mounting platform. Tighten the mounting screw on the side of the mounting platform to hold the telescope in place. -
Page 11: Installing The Star Diagonal
If you want to remove the visual back, rotate the slip ring counterclockwise until it is free of the rear cell. The star diagonal is a prism that diverts the light at a right angle to the light path of the telescope. This allows you to observe in positions that are physically more comfortable than if you looked straight through. -
Page 12: Installing The Finderscope
The AST telescopes come with a 6x30 finderscope used to help you locate and center objects in the main field of your telescope. To accomplish this, the finder has a built-in cross-hair reticle that shows the optical center of the finderscope. -
Page 13: Removing The Lens Cap
The C6-S, C9.25-S and C11-S have lens caps that press fit on to the front of the telescope. The C8-S lens cap utilizes a bayonet-type locking mechanism to hold it in place. To remove the lens cap, hold the cover firmly and rotate the outer edge 1/2”... -
Page 14: Balancing The Mount In Dec
DEC lock lever is loose. To balance the telescope in DEC: Loosen the R.A. clutch lock lever and rotate the telescope so that it is on one side of the mount (i.e., as described in the previous section on “Balancing the Mount in R.A.”). -
Page 15: Adjusting The Mount In Azimuth
Adjusting the Mount in Azimuth For rough adjustments in azimuth, simply pick up the telescope and tripod and move it. For fine adjustments in azimuth: 1. Turn the azimuth adjustment knobs located on either side of the azimuth housing (see Fig 2-14). While standing behind the telescope, the knobs are on the front of the mount. -
Page 16: Powering The Telescope
The Advanced GT can be powered by the supplied car battery adapter or optional 12v AC adapter. Use only adapters supplied by Celestron. Using any other adapter may damage the electronics or cause the telescope not to operate properly, and will void your manufacturer's warranty. -
Page 17: Hand Control
The Advanced Series GT, computerized version of each telescope has a hand controller designed to give you instant access to all the functions that your telescope has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 40,000 objects, and common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions. -
Page 18: Hand Control Operation
Alignment, Setup and Utilities. The alignment section deals with the initial telescope alignment as well as finding objects in the sky; the setup section discusses changing parameters such as tracking mode and tracking rate; finally, the last section reviews all of the utilities functions such as calibrating your mount, polar alignment and backlash compensation. -
Page 19: Alignment Procedures
Auto Three Star Align involves the same process as Auto Align, however it allows the user to select which star to use to align the telescope. Quick-Align will ask you to input all the same information as you would for the Auto Align procedure. -
Page 20: Auto Align
Meridian and have you repeat this procedure for that star. 5. For the third alignment star, the telescope will select a bright star on the opposite side of the Meridian and slew to it. Once again center the star in the crosshairs of the finderscope and then center the star in the eyepiece, pressing ENTER when complete. -
Page 21: Quick-Align
This will allow you to roughly slew to the coordinates of bright objects like the moon and planets and gives the telescope the information needed to track objects in any part of the sky (depending on accuracy of polar alignment). -
Page 22: Object Catalog
Selecting an Object Now that the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose an object from any of the catalogs in the telescope's extensive database. The hand control has a key (4) designated for each of the catalogs in its database. There are two ways to select objects from the database: scrolling through the named object lists and entering object numbers. -
Page 23: Tour Mode
Constellation Tour In addition to the Tour Mode, your telescope has a Constellation Tour that allows the user to take a tour of all the best objects in each of the 88 constellations. Selecting Constellation from the LIST menu will display all the constellation names that are above the user defined horizon (filter limits). -
Page 24: Setup Procedures
5 = 16x The Advanced GT contains many user defined setup functions designed to give the user control over the telescope's many advanced features. All of the setup and utility features can be accessed by pressing the MENU key and... -
Page 25: Get Ra/Dec
Additionally, Identify Mode can be used to find other celestial objects that are close to the objects you are currently observing. For example, if your telescope is pointed at the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, choosing Identify and then searching the Named Star catalog will no doubt return the star Vega as the star you are observing. -
Page 26: Precise Goto
The telescope will remember these values and use them each time it is turned on until they are changed. -
Page 27: Direction Buttons
(west) for azimuth and counterclockwise in declination. Declination Goto approach will only apply while the telescope tube is on one side of the Meridian. Once the tube passes over to the other side of the Meridian, the Goto approach will need to be reversed. -
Page 28: East/West Filtering
Warning: In order for the telescope to be able to slew to a star from the direction that minimizes the amount of backlash in the gears, it may be necessary for the telescope to slew beyond the specified slew limit in order to approach the star from the correct direction. -
Page 29: Light Control
Accessories section of the manual), you will need to turn the GPS on the first time you use the accessory. . If you want to use the telescope's database to find the coordinates of a celestial object for a future or past dates you would... - Page 30 ADVANCED GT MENU ALIGNMENT TRACKING START-UP PROCUDURE MODE EQ NORTH EQ SOUTH RATE SIDEREAL SOLAR LUNAR VIEW TIME-SITE SCOPE SETUP SETUP TIME-SITE ANTI-BACKLASH FILTER LIMITS DIRECTION BUTTONS GOTO APPROACH AUTOGUIDE RATE AZIMUTH LIMITS EAST/WEST FILTERING UTILITIES CALIBRATE GOTO HOME POSITION POLAR ALIGN LIGHT CONTROL FACTORY SETTING...
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Page 31: Telescope Basics
A telescope is an instrument that collects and focuses light. The nature of the optical design determines how the light is focused. Some telescopes, known as refractors, use lenses. Other telescopes, known as reflectors, use mirrors. The Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system (or Schmidt-Cass for short) uses a combination of mirrors and lenses and is referred to as a compound or catadioptric telescope. -
Page 32: Focusing
Release the altitude and azimuth clamps and point the telescope at your target. Center your target in the main optics of the telescope. You may have to move the telescope slightly to center it. Adjust the screw on the finder bracket that is on the right (when looking through the finder) until the crosshairs are centered horizontally on the target seen through the telescope. -
Page 33: Determining Field Of View
480 power. Although this is the maximum useful magnification, most observing is done in the range of 20 to 35 power for every inch of aperture which is 160 to 280 times for the C8-S telescope. -
Page 34: Astronomy Basics
Up to this point, this manual covered the assembly and basic operation of your telescope. However, to understand your telescope more thoroughly, you need to know a little about the night sky. This section deals with observational astronomy in general and includes information on the night sky and polar alignment. -
Page 35: Motion Of The Stars
Motion of the Stars The daily motion of the Sun across the sky is familiar to even the most casual observer. This daily trek is not the Sun moving as early astronomers thought, but the result of the Earth's rotation. The Earth's rotation also causes the stars to do the same, scribing out a large circle as the Earth completes one rotation. - Page 36 1. Set the telescope up so that the polar axis is pointing north. 2. Loosen the DEC clutch knob and move the telescope so that the tube is parallel to the polar axis. When this is done, the declination setting circle will read +90°. If the declination setting circle is not aligned, move the telescope so that the tube is parallel to the polar axis.
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Page 37: Finding The North Celestial Pole
For example, in the northern hemisphere all stars move around the north celestial pole. When the telescope's polar axis is pointed at the celestial pole, it is parallel to the Earth's rotational axis. -
Page 38: Declination Drift Method Of Polar Alignment
So, repeat the process again to improve the accuracy checking both axes for minimal drift. Once the drift has been eliminated, the telescope is very accurately aligned. You can now do prime focus deep-sky astrophotography for long periods. -
Page 39: Celestial Observing
With your telescope set up, you are ready to use it for observing. This section covers visual observing hints for both solar system and deep sky objects as well as general observing conditions which will affect your ability to observe. -
Page 40: Solar Observing Hints
The best time to observe the Sun is in the early morning or late afternoon when the air is cooler. • To center the Sun without looking into the eyepiece, watch the shadow of the telescope tube until it forms a circular shadow. - Page 41 rays from the same object arrive slightly displaced creating an imperfect or smeared image. These atmospheric disturbances vary from time-to-time and place-to-place. The size of the air parcels compared to your aperture determines the "seeing" quality. Under good seeing conditions, fine detail is visible on the brighter planets like Jupiter and Mars, and stars are pinpoint images.
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Page 42: Astrophotography
Short exposure prime focus photography is the best way to begin recording celestial objects. It is done with the camera attached to the telescope without an eyepiece or camera lens in place. To attach your camera you need the Celestron T- Adapter (#93633-A) and a T-Ring for your specific camera (i.e., Minolta, Nikon, Pentax, etc.). -
Page 43: Eyepiece Projection
In order to get the image large enough, you must attach your camera to the telescope with the eyepiece in place. To do so, you need two additional accessories;... -
Page 44: Long Exposure Prime Focus Photography
Advance the film and you're ready for your next shot. Keep in mind that the card should be held a few inches in front of the telescope, and not touching it. It is easier if you use two people for this process;... - Page 45 To accomplish this you need a guiding ocular with an illuminated reticle to monitor your guide star. For this purpose, Celestron offers the Micro Guide Eyepiece (#94171) Here is a brief summary of the technique.
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Page 46: Terrestrial Photography
(land) photography. Terrestrial photography is best done will the telescope in Alt-Az configuration and the tracking drive turned off. To turn the tracking drive off, press the MENU (9) button on the hand control and scroll down to the Tracking Mode sub menu. Use the Up and Down scroll keys (10) to select the Off option and press ENTER. -
Page 47: Auto Guiding
Auto Guiding The Advanced GT telescope has a designated auto guiding port for use with a CCD autoguider. The diagram below may be useful when connecting the CCD camera cable to the telescope and calibrating the autoguider. Note that the four outputs are active-low, with internal pull-ups and are capable of sinking 25 mA DC. -
Page 48: Telescope Maintenance
This will prevent contaminants from entering the optical tube. Internal adjustments and cleaning should be done only by the Celestron repair department. If your telescope is in need of internal cleaning, please call the factory for a return authorization number and price quote. - Page 49 (see figure 8-2). Center the de-focused star and notice in which direction the central shadow is skewed. Place your finger along the edge of the front cell of the telescope (be careful not to touch the corrector plate), pointing towards the collimation screws.
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Page 50: Optional Accessories
Barlow Lens - A Barlow lens is a negative lens that increases the focal length of a telescope. Used with any eyepiece, it doubles the magnification of that eyepiece. Celestron offers two Barlow lens in the 1-1/4" size. The 2x Ultima Barlow (#93506) is a compact triplet design that is fully multicoated for maximum light transmission and parfocal when used with the Ultima eyepieces. - Page 51 This includes mercury and high and low pressure sodium vapor lights. In addition, they also block unwanted natural light (sky glow) caused by neutral oxygen emission in our atmosphere. Celestron offers a model for 1-1/4" eyepieces (#94126A) and a model that attaches to the rear cell ahead of the star diagonal and visual back (#94127A).
- Page 52 Skylight Filter (#93621) - The Skylight Filter is used on the Celestron telescope as a dust seal. The filter threads onto the rear cell of your telescope.
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Page 53: Appendix A - Technical Specifications
Linear FOV (@1000 yds) Optical Coatings - Standard Starbright XLT Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Area by Diameter Optical tube length 16 inches Telescope Weight Advanced GT Additional Specifications Hand Control Motor: Type Max Slew Speed Software Precision Hand Control Ports... -
Page 54: Appendix B - Glossary Of Terms
Sun against the stars". Equatorial mount A telescope mounting in which the instrument is set upon an axis which is parallel to the axis of the Earth; the angle of the axis must be equal to the observer's latitude. - Page 55 1 and those increasingly fainter from 2 down to magnitude 5. The faintest star that can be seen without a telescope is about magnitude 6. Each magnitude step corresponds to a ratio of 2.5 in brightness. Thus a star of magnitude 1 is 2.5 times brighter than a star of magnitude 2, and 100 times brighter than a magnitude 5 star.
- Page 56 The rate is 15 arc seconds per second or 15 degrees per hour. Terminator boundary Universe The totality of astronomical things, events, relations and energies capable of being described objectively. Variable Star A star whose brightness varies over time due to either inherent properties of the star or something eclipsing or obscuring the brightness of the star.
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Page 57: Appendix C - Longitudes And Latitudes
LONGITUDE LATITUDE degrees degrees ALABAMA Anniston 34.8 Auburn 26.4 40.2 Birmingham 34.2 Centreville Dothan 19.2 Fort Rucker 43.2 16.8 Gadsden 58.2 Huntsville 46.2 Maxwell AFB 22.2 22.8 Mobile 40.8 Mobile Aeros 37.8 Montgomery Muscle Shoal 37.2 Selma 59.4 20.4 Troy 52.2 Tuscaloosa 37.2... - Page 58 LONGITUDE LATITUDE degrees degrees Melbourne 37.8 Miami 16.8 49.2 Naples Nasa Shuttle 40.8 37.2 Orlando 19.2 25.8 Panama City 40.8 Patrick AFB 13.8 Pensacola 19.2 Ruskin 58.2 Saint Peters 40.8 55.2 Sanford 46.8 Sarasota Tallahassee 22.2 22.8 Tampa Intl 31.8 58.2 Titusville 31.2...
- Page 59 LONGITUDE LATITUDE degrees degrees Wurtsmith Ypsilanti 31.8 13.8 MINNESOTA Albert Lea 22.2 40.8 Alexandria 22.8 52.2 Bemidji Muni 55.8 Brainerd-Crw Detroit Laks 52.8 49.2 Duluth 10.8 49.8 49.2 Fairmont 25.2 Fergus Falls Grand Rapids 31.2 13.2 Hibbing 22.8 Intl Falls 22.8 34.2 Litchfield...
- Page 60 LONGITUDE LATITUDE degrees degrees OKLAHOMA Altus AFB 16.2 40.2 Ardmore Bartlesville Clinton Enid 22.8 Fort Sill Gage 46.2 Hobart Lawton 25.2 34.2 Mcalester 46.8 52.8 Norman 28.2 13.8 Oklahoma Page 37.2 40.8 Ponca City 43.8 Stillwater Tinker AFB 22.8 25.2 Tulsa Vance AFB 55.2...
- Page 61 LONGITUDE LATITUDE degrees degrees Walla Walla 16.8 Wenatchee Whidbey Is Yakima 31.8 WEST VIRGINIA Beckley Bluefield 13.2 Charleston Clarksburg 13.8 Elkins Huntington Lewisburg Martinsburg 58.8 Morgantown 55.2 Parkersburg 25.8 Wheeling Wh Sulphur CITY PROVINCE LONGITUDE Calgary Alberta Churchill Newfoundland Coppermine Northwest Terr.
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Page 62: Appendix D - Rs-232 Connection
Appendix D - RS-232 Connection You can control your telescope with a computer via the RS-232 port on the computerized hand control and using an optional RS-232 cable (#93920). Once connected, the telescope can be controlled using popular astronomy software programs. - Page 63 Additional RS232 Commands 1. Multiply the desired tracking rate (arcseconds/second) by 4. Example: if the desired trackrate is 150 arcseconds/second, then TRACKRATE = 600 2. Separate TRACKRATE into two bytes, such that (TRACKRATE = TrackRateHigh*256 + rackRateLow). Example: TrackRateHigh = 2 TrackRateLow = 88 3.
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Page 64: Appendix E - Maps Of Time Zones
APPENDIX E – MAPS OF TIME ZONES... -
Page 72: Celestron Two Year Warranty
Celestron, is found to be defective in materials or workmanship. As a condition to the obligation of Celestron to repair or replace such product, the product must be returned to Celestron together with proof-of-purchase satisfactory to Celestron. - Page 73 Celestron 2835 Columbia Street Torrance, CA 90503 U.S.A. Tel. (310) 328-9560 Fax. (310) 212-5835 Web site at http//www.celestron.com Copyright 2003 Celestron All rights reserved. (Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation.) Item # 11025-INST $10.00 08-05...
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