Direction Buttons; Rate Button; Setup Procedures; Tracking Mode - Celestron NexStar 8 Instruction Manual

D i r e c t i o n B u t t o n
D i r e c t i o n B u t t o n
The NexStar has four direction buttons in the center of the hand control which control the telescope motion in altitude (up and
down) and azimuth (left and right). The telescope can be controlled at nine different speed rates.
R a t e B u t t o n
R a t e B u t t o n
Pressing the RATE key
guiding rate or anywhere in between. Each rate corresponds to a number on the hand controller key pad. The number 9 is the
fastest rate (6º per second, depending on power source) and is used for slewing between objects and locating alignment stars.
The number 1 on the hand control is the slowest rate (1x sidereal) and can be used for accurate centering of objects in the
eyepiece and photographic guiding. To change the speed rate of the motors:
•
Press the RATE key on the hand control. The LCD will display the current speed rate.
•
Press the number on the hand control that corresponds to the desired speed. The LCD will display "NexStar
Ready" indicating that the rate has been changed.
The hand control has a "double button" feature that allows you to instantly speed up the motors without having to choose a speed
rate. To use this feature, simply press the arrow button that corresponds to the direction that you want to move the telescope.
While holding that button down, press the opposite directional button. This will increase the slew rate to approximately 1.5º per
second (equal to rate 7 on the hand control). This feature will not function if the telescope is currently set at a speed rate of 8 or
9.
The slower slew rates (6 and lower) move the motors in the opposite direction than the faster slew rates (8 and 9). This is done
so that an object will move in the appropriate direction when looking into the eyepiece (i.e. pressing the right arrow button will
move the star towards the right in the field of view of the eyepiece). However, if any of the
below
) are used to center an object in the Star Pointer, you may need to press the opposite directional button to make the
telescope move in the correct direction.
S e t u p P r o c e d u r
S e t u p P r o c e d u r
The NexStar 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 scrolling through the options:

Tracking Mode

s
s
(11)
allows you to instantly change the speed rate of the motors from high speed slew rate to precise
1 = 1x (sidereal)
2 = 2x
3 = 8x
4 = 16x
5 = 64x
Nine available slew speeds
e s
e s
This allows you to change the way the telescope tracks depending on the type of mount being
used to support the telescope. The NexStar has three different tracking modes
Alt-Az This is the default tracking rate and is used when the telescope is placed on
a
flat surface or tripod without the use of an equatorial wedge. The
telescope must be aligned with two stars before it can track in Alt-Az.
EQ North Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned using an
equatorial wedge in the Northern Hemisphere.
Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned using an
EQ South
equatorial wedge in the Southern Hemisphere.
Off When using the telescope for terrestrial (land) observation, the tracking
can be turned off so that the telescope never moves.
6 = 128x
7 = 1.5º / sec
8 = 3º / sec
9 = 6.5º / sec
18
slower slew rates (
rate 6
:
and