Related Manuals for Celestron CGE Pro 1100
Summary of Contents for Celestron CGE Pro 1100
- Page 1 INSTRUCTION MANUAL ● ● ● ●...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Installing the Star Diagonal ... 11 Installing the Eyepiece ... 11 Installing the Finderscope... 11 Installing the CGE Pro 1100 & 1400 Finderscope... 12 Moving the Telescope Manually ... 13 Balancing the Mount in R.A... 14 Balancing the Mount in DEC ... 14 Adjusting the Mount... - Page 3 Set Mount Position ...31 Turn On/Off GPS ...31 Turn On/Off RTC ... 31 Periodic Error Correction ...31 Move to Switch ... 31 TELESCOPE BASICS... 33 Image Orientation ... 33 Focusing ... 34 Calculating Magnification ... 34 Determining Field of View ... 34 General Observing Hints ...
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Page 4: Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron CGE Pro Series telescope! The CGE Pro 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: Assembly
Optical Tube Telescope Mounting Platform Latitude Adjustment Knob Equatorial Mount Azimuth Adjustment Knob Electronics Pier Hand Control CONTROL PANEL On/Off Switch 12v Input Jack Figure 2.2 – CGE Pro (CGE Pro 1400 Shown) Tripod Tripod Center Leg Brace/Accessory Tray Counterweight(s) -
Page 6: Setting Up The Tripod
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 7: Attaching The Accessory Tray
After the tripod is set up, you are ready to attach the equatorial mount. The equatorial mount is the platform to which the telescope attaches and allows you to move the telescope in right ascension and declination. To attach the equatorial mount... -
Page 8: One Person Installation
As an alternative to the method described above, The CGE Pro mount can be more easily assembled by one person if the polar housing axis is installed separately from the latitude side plates. To do this you must first lay the equatorial head on a flat soft surface and remove the two sections. -
Page 9: Attaching The Motor Cables
Once the bar is securely in place you are ready to attach 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. -
Page 10: Attaching The Optical Tube To The Mount
The telescope attaches to the mount via a dovetail slide bar which is mounted along the bottom of the telescope tube. Before you attach the optical tube, make sure that the declination and right ascension clutch knobs are tight (see Figure 2-14) and the counterweight(s) are securely installed. -
Page 11: Installing The Star Diagonal
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. To attach the star diagonal onto the optical tube: Turn the set screw on the visual back until its tip no longer extends into (i.e., obstructs) the inner diameter of the visual back. -
Page 12: Installing The Cge Pro 1100 & 1400 Finderscope
Find the two holes in the rear cell of the telescope on the top left, when looking from the back of the tube. Place the mounting bracket over the two holes of the rear cell as shown in the figure 2-10. -
Page 13: Moving The Telescope Manually
Choose a conspicuous object that is in excess of one mile away. This will eliminate any possible parallax effect between the telescope and the finder. Point your telescope at the object you selected and center it in the main optics of the telescope. Lock the azimuth and altitude clamps to hold the telescope in place. -
Page 14: Balancing The Mount In R.a
And when the tube is on the east side of the mount there should be a slight imbalance toward the telescope side. This is done so that the worm gear is pushing against a slight load. The amount of the imbalance is very slight. -
Page 15: Adjusting The Mount
In order for a motor drive to track accurately, the telescope’s axis of rotation must be parallel to the Earth’s axis of rotation, a process known as polar alignment. -
Page 16: Attaching The Hand Control Holder
Thread the locking nut onto the threads on the 12v outlet. This will keep you from losing power should the power cord accidentally be pulled. Turn on the power to the telescope by flipping the switch, located on the electronics panel, to the "On" position. Hand... -
Page 17: Hand Control
All Celestron computerized telescope come with a hand control 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. Below is a brief description of the individual... -
Page 18: Hand Control Operation
In order for the telescope to accurately point to objects in the sky, it must first be aligned with known positions (stars) in the sky. With this information, the telescope can create a model of the sky, which it uses to locate any object with known coordinates. -
Page 19: Startup Procedure
One Star Align uses the same time/location information but only uses one star for alignment. Solar System Align will display a list of visible daytime objects (planets and the moon) available to align the telescope. -
Page 20: Two Star Align
Note: If incorrect information is entered into the hand control, the UNDO button acts like a back space button allowing the user to re-enter the correct data. Two-Star Align allows the user to select two stars on which to align the telescope. To align your telescope using the Two-Star Align method: Select Two-Star Align from the alignment choices given. -
Page 21: Quick-Align
To improve the telescope pointing accuracy, you can use the Re-Align feature as described below. Quick-Align uses all the date and time information entered at startup to align the telescope. However, instead of slewing to the alignment stars for centering and alignment, the telescope bypasses this step and simply models the sky based on the information given. -
Page 22: Re-Alignment
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: Slewing To An Object
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: Rate Button
The direction that a star moves in the eyepiece when a direction is pressed will change depending on which side of the Meridian the telescope tube is positioned. In order to change the direction of the arrow buttons, see Scope Setup Features later in this section. -
Page 25: Date/Time
User Defined Objects - Your telescope can store up to 400 different user defined objects in its memory. The objects can be daytime land objects or an interesting celestial object that you discover that is not included in the regular database. -
Page 26: Goto R.a/Dec
Identify Identify Mode will search any of the telescope's database catalogs or lists and display the name and offset distances to the nearest matching objects. This feature can serve two purposes. First, it can be used to identify an unknown object in the field of view of your eyepiece. -
Page 27: Filter Limits
(right ascension) or altitude (declination) button direction and press ENTER. Select either positive or negative for both axes and press ENTER to save. Setting the azimuth button direction to positive will move the telescope in the same direction that the telescope tracks (i.e. towards the west). Setting the altitude buttons to positive will move the telescope counterclockwise along the DEC axis. -
Page 28: Autoguide Rates
Favor West – If the target object is accessible from both sides of the mount, selecting "Favor West" instructs the telescope to point to the object as if it were on the west side of the meridian. The optical tube will then be positioned on the east side of the mount and pointing west. -
Page 29: Utility Features
Meridian (ie. -20º on both sides) 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 30: Home Position
To set the Home position for your mount simply use the arrow buttons on the hand control to move the telescope mount to the desired position. Select the Set option and press Enter. -
Page 31: Scrolling Menu
When you are ready to slew the telescope to your next object, just remember to manually return the tube to the same bright star and carefully center it in the eyepiece. - Page 32 MENU TRACKING MODE RATE VIEW TIME-SITE SCOPE SETUP SETUP TIME-SITE ANTI-BACKLASH FILTER LIMITS DIRECTION BUTTONS GOTO APPROACH AUTOGUIDE RATES OTA ORIENTATION MERIDIAN MOUNT SETTINGS R.A. LIMITS UTILITIES CALIBRATE MOUNT HOME POSITION LIGHTS CONTROL FACTORY SETTINGS GET AXIS POSITION GOTO AXIS POSITION HIBERNATE SUN MENU SCROLLING MENU...
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Page 33: 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 34: Focusing
Let’s say, for example, you are using the 40mm Plossl eyepiece. To determine the magnification you simply divide the focal length of your telescope (the C8-S for example has a focal length of 2032mm) by the focal length of the eyepiece, 40mm. -
Page 35: General Observing Hints
This inconsistency can and will affect the ability to focus your telescope. In most cases you will not be able to achieve a truly sharp image, while in some cases, you may actually see a double image. -
Page 36: 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 37: 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 38: Finding The North Celestial Pole
Latitude Scales The easiest way to polar align a telescope is with a latitude scale. Unlike other methods that require you to find the celestial pole by identifying certain stars near it, this method works off of a known constant to determine how high the polar axis should be pointed. -
Page 39: All-Star Polar Alignment
If you are observing from Los Angeles, which has a latitude of 34°, then the celestial pole is 34° above the northern horizon. All a latitude scale does then is to point the polar axis of the telescope at the right elevation above the northern (or southern) horizon. - Page 40 To re-align your telescope: Slew the telescope to one of the original alignment stars, or another bright star if the original alignment stars are no longer in a convenient location. Press the Align button and use the Up/Down buttons on the hand controller to select Alignment Stars from the list.
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Page 41: 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 42: 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 43 Figure Seeing conditions directly affect image quality. These drawings represent a point source (i.e., star) under bad seeing conditions (left) to excellent conditions conditions produce images that lie some where right). Most often, seeing between these two extremes.
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Page 44: 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 45: 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; a deluxe tele-extender (#93643), which attaches to the visual back, and a T-ring for your particular camera make (i.e., Minolta, Nikon,... - Page 46 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;...
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Page 47: Long Exposure Prime Focus Photography
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. -
Page 48: Periodic Error Correction (Pec)
Hint Once the worm gear is indexed, it will not need to be positioned again until the telescope is turned-off. So, to give yourself more time to prepare for guiding, it may be necessary to restart PEC recording after the worm gear has found its index. -
Page 49: 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 50: Auto Guiding
The CGE PRO mount 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 51: Telescope Maintenance
NOT sealed, the cover should be placed over the opening when not in use. 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 52 (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. The shadow of your finger should be visible when looking into the eyepiece.
- Page 53 Perfect collimation will yield a star image very symmetrical just inside and outside of focus. In addition, perfect collimation delivers the optimal optical performance specifications that your telescope is built to achieve. If seeing (i.e., air steadiness) is turbulent, collimation is difficult to judge. Wait until a better night if it is turbulent...
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Page 54: Optional Accessories
7mm, 10mm, 15mm, 19mm, 23mm, and 31mm. Filters Sets, Eyepiece - Celestron offers four convenient filter sets, which contain four different filters per set. Not only are these highly useful filter combinations, but they also offer an economical way to add versatility to your filter collection. - Page 55 110v/220v AC adapter and cigarette lighter adapter included. Radial Guider (#94176) - The Celestron Radial Guider ® is specifically designed for use in prime focus, deep sky astrophotography and takes the place of the T-Adapter. This device allows you to photograph and guide simultaneously through the optical tube assembly of your telescope.
- Page 56 Sky Maps (#93722) - Celestron Sky Maps are the ideal teaching guide for learning the night sky. You wouldn’t set off on a road trip without a road map, and you don’t need to try to navigate the night sky without a map either. Even if you already know your way around the major constellations, these maps can help you locate all kinds of fascinating objects.
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Page 57: Appendix A - Technical Specifications
Complete Caldwell Abell Galaxies Solar System objects Famous Asterisms Selected CCD Imaging Objects Selected SAO Stars Total Object Database 11086 11087 CGE Pro 1100 280mm (11") Schmidt- Cassegrain 2800mm F/10 6x30 9x50 CGE Pro Computerized Equatorial Equatorial 40mm Plossl (70x) 1.25"... -
Page 58: 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 59 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 60 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 61: Appendix C - Rs-232 Connection
Appendix C - 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 62 Additional RS232 Commands Multiply the desired tracking rate (arcseconds/second) by 4. Example: if the desired trackrate is 150 arcseconds/second, then TRACKRATE = 600 Separate TRACKRATE into two bytes, such that (TRACKRATE = TrackRateHigh*256 + rackRateLow). Example: TrackRateHigh = 2 TrackRateLow = 88 To send a tracking rate, send the following 8 bytes: Positive Azm tracking: Negative Azm tracking:80, 3, 16, 7, TrackRateHigh, TrackRateLow, 0, 0...
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Page 63: Appendix D - Time Zone Map
APPENDIX D – MAPS OF TIME ZONES... - Page 71 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 72 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 2009 Celestron All rights reserved. (Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation.) Item # 11086-INST $10.00 08-09...