Celestron Ultima 8 Instruction Manual
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Celestron Ultima 8 Instruction Manual

Celestron ultima 8: instruction manual
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8" ULTIMA
2000
INSTRUCTION MANUAL

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Summary of Contents for Celestron Ultima 8

  • Page 1 ® 8" ULTIMA 2000 INSTRUCTION MANUAL...
  • Page 2 This manual is dedicated to the memory of Mark J. Coco. Mark will be remembered by many people for his love of Astronomy and his talent for writing. He made many contributions to Celestron as our Staff Astronomer and Technical Writer for which we will be forever grateful. He will be missed as a great friend and co-worker.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    RIPOD EIGHT TTACHING THE ELESCOPE TO THE ... 16 NSTALLING THE INDER Attaching the Finderscope Bracket to the Telescope ... 16 Attaching the Finder to the Bracket ... 17 OCUSING THE INDERSCOPE AND ... 18 LIGNING THE INDERSCOPE ... 19...
  • Page 4 ... 45 LEWING PEED ETTING DRIVE BASE ... 46 CHAPTER 5 - TELESCOPE BASICS... 47 CHMIDT ASSEGRAIN YSTEM ... 48 MAGE RIENTATION ... 49 IRST Daytime Observing ... 50 ... 50 ALCULATING AGNIFICATION ... 50 ETERMINING IELD OF ... 51...
  • Page 5 Effective f# or f-ratio... 82 XPOSURE RIME OCUS HOTOGRAPHY CCD IMAGING... 84 Fastar Lens Assembly Option -- Using your Ultima 2000 telescope at f/1.95 with optional PixCel CCD Camera ... 84 Description of F-numbers ... 85 ... 86 ASTAR ONFIGURATIONS Imaging at f/1.95... 86 Imaging at f/6.3 (Medium size to small galaxies) ...
  • Page 6 Tube Downstop Altitude Clutch Adjustment knob Counterweight Tripod Altitude Downstop Scope-to-tripod bolt Finderscope Eyepiece Star Diagonal Azimuth Clutch Adjustment Focus Knob Hand Control Azimuth Downstop...

  • Page 7: Chapter 1 - Introduction

    CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of a Celestron Ultima 2000! The Ultima 2000 ushers in a whole new generation of computer automated technology. Simple and friendly to use, the Ultima 2000 is up and running after locating just two alignment stars.

  • Page 8: Chapter 2 - Quick Setup

    The other three are the control buttons named ENTER, UP, and DOWN. The control buttons can act on any item that is blinking on the display screen. When you turn the telescope on, the first screen that appears is MENU ALIGN.

  • Page 9: How To Enter Into A Menu Item And Return To The Main Menu List

    It turns out, that when observing, the slew function is almost never used because it is more convenient to move the telescope by hand. This is true for first time users as well as established amateurs.

  • Page 10: Using The Telescope Under The Night Sky

    Using the Telescope Under the Night Sky The purpose of this section is to get the telescope aligned and tracking under the stars as soon as possible. You need to have the telescope assembled and on the tripod to utilize this quick setup section. You also need to balance the telescope.

  • Page 11: Turning Tracking On

    Finding Objects To use this section, the telescope has to be aligned to the sky. See the previous reference section. This quick reference will show you how to find stars, Messier objects and Planets. For more information, see the Section “Menu Catalog” in Chapter 5.
  • Page 12 Scroll though the different CATALOGS The last date entered shows in the display. Change the month from Feb. to March. Change the date. Venus is selected from the database The telescope slews to Venus SOLAR SYSTEM 02-17-97 03-17-97 03-18-97 2320-066 MERCURY...

  • Page 13: Chapter 3 - Assembling Your Ultima 2000

    Setting Up the Tripod For maximum rigidity, the Celestron field tripod has a leg support bracket. This bracket fits snugly against the tripod legs, increasing stability while reducing vibration and flexure. However, the tripod is shipped with each arm of the leg support bracket in between the legs so the tripod legs can collapse.

  • Page 14: Adjusting The Tripod Height

    However, if you plan on doing photography, the tripod should be set low to ensure stability. A recommended height is to set the tripod in such a manner that you can look directly into the eyepiece on the telescope with a diagonal while seated.

  • Page 15: Attaching The Telescope To The Tripod

    Attaching the Telescope to the Tripod The telescope is fully assembled and ready to attach directly to a tripod or to an optional equatorial wedge. To attach the telescope to the tripod: 1. Align the center hole on the bottom of the telescope with the center post on the tripod. Lower the telescope onto the tripod.

  • Page 16: Installing The Finder

    Ultima 2000 to the tripod. Installing the Finder The finderscope is used to help you locate and center objects in the main field of your telescope. To start, remove the finder and hardware from the plastic wrapper. Included are the following:...

  • Page 17: Attaching The Finder To The Bracket

    Attaching the Finder to the Bracket With the bracket firmly attached to the telescope, you are ready to attach the finder to the bracket. See Figure 3-4 for a visual aide. Thread the three nylon screws into the front ring of the finder bracket. Tighten the screws until the nylon heads are flush with the inner diameter of the bracket ring.

  • Page 18: Focusing The Finderscope And Reticle

    Choose a conspicuous object that is over 500 yards away. This will eliminate any possible parallax effect. Point your telescope at the target and center it in the eyepiece of the telescope. Check the finderscope to see where the object is located in the field of view.

  • Page 19: Attaching The Visual Back

    Attaching the Star Diagonal The star diagonal is a prism that diverts the light at a right angle from the light path of the telescope. For astronomical observing, this allows you to observe in positions that are more comfortable than if you were to look straight through. To...

  • Page 20: Balancing The Telescope

    (so the front of the tube points up), then additional weights are needed. There are 4 accessory weights provided with the telescope and more optional weights are available through Celestron. The weights are small steel disks with a threaded hole on one side and a threaded rod on the other.

  • Page 21: Horizontal Position

    To maintain a dynamic balance, equal weights must be added to the top and the bottom of the telescope; i.e., two on top of the tube and two on the bottom of the tube.

  • Page 22: Adjusting The Clutches

    If there is too much load placed on a telescope without a clutch, the worm assemblies feel all the force. This can easily damage the telescope. The clutch is designed to slip when the telescope is too much out- of-balance or if a force is being applied to the system.

  • Page 23: Azimuth Clutch

    To change the azimuth clutch tension, place the clutch rod into the RA clutch adjusting ring shown in Figure 3-10. To tighten the clutch turn the rod counter-clockwise when looking down on the telescope. The clutch rod allows for about 110º...

  • Page 24: Attaching An Equatorial Wedge To The Tripod

    The tripod has six holes on its head for mounting equipment. Three of the holes are threaded with 5/16-18 threads and three of the holes are open. The three open holes are for mounting the Ultima 2000 telescope to the tripod directly for altazimuth use.

  • Page 25: Attaching The Ultima 2000 To A Wedge

    Partially insert one of the three (3/8-16x1.25") hand tightening knobs into one of the threaded holes. Pick the telescope up by the fork tines and position it above the tripod. It should be oriented so that the telescope is over the tripod with the base pointing toward the tilt plate (see Figure 3-12).

  • Page 26: Storing Your Ultima 2000

    If this is the case, all optical surfaces should still be covered to prevent dust accumulation. It is a good idea to remove the batteries when storing the telescope for long periods of time.

  • Page 27: Chapter 4 - Hand Control And Drive Base

    CHAPTER 4 - HAND CONTROL AND DRIVE BASE The Hand Control allows you to control the telescope and specify various parameters. To use, insert the batteries in the telescope drive base (see the section, Inserting the Batteries, in the Assembly chapter). This section gives details on all the different menus and sub-menus of the Ultima 2000 hand control.

  • Page 28: Control Buttons

    The hand control is quite simple. There are 4 buttons for the interface controls, 4 buttons for moving the telescope, and a display screen. The interface is a list of 8 menus with each menu having several sub-menus. Here is what each button on the hand control is for: POWER Turns the power of the hand control on and off.

  • Page 29: Command Tree

    ULTIMA 2000 A L IG N M E N U G O T O M E N U C AT AL O G S ky A u to N am ed S ta r E arth M an u al N am ed O b je ct C h an g e R e la tive...

  • Page 30: Navigating Through The Menu

    Navigating through the Menu The user interface is basically sets of menus and sub-menus. When you turn the telescope ON, you are in the main menu. The first menu item that comes up in the display is, MENU ALIGN Notice that the “A” is blinking. (Note, a blinking item on the display will be shown as a bold letter in this manual). A blinking item is a prompt to use any one of the control buttons (ENTER, UP, or DOWN).

  • Page 31: Looking Up A Messier Object

    When the scrolling is complete, the screen returns to the previous screen. (Note: if you hit enter while the display is scrolling, the telescope will slew to the object.) Don’t do this now because the telescope is not aligned. press MENU Returned to the main menu.

  • Page 32: Description Of Each Menu

    . A wedge is necessary. When you first attempt to align the telescope to the sky, you are prompted to set the telescope to its downstops. This sets the position of the encoders. There is a downstop for each axis, azimuth and altitude.

  • Page 33: Menu Go To

    Then the display will read, SET FORK TO ZERO This is your cue to rotate the telescope in azimuth until the two stickers on the drive base line up. Then press ENTER. Next the display will read, TUBE TO DOWNSTOP Now move the telescope tube to the downstop position (pointing down).
  • Page 34 definable catalog (NEW), and the PLANETS listed in order by increasing distance from the Sun. When used in conjunction with the GO TO function, the Ultima 2000 will guide you to any of the more than 10,000 objects in its database.
  • Page 35 ENTER button again. While the information is scrolling, the top part of the display will read GO TO. The leading “G” will be blinking. This indicates that you can press ENTER again and the telescope will slew to the object.

  • Page 36: Solar System

    In addition to the thousands of deep-sky objects in the database, the Ultima 2000 contains the eight planets visible from Earth and also has the Sun. (Do not view the Sun without a Solar Filter placed over the front of the telescope!) The Ultima 2000 requires the date of your observing session.

  • Page 37: Menu Position

    While the information is scrolling, the top part of the display will read GO TO with the “G” blinking. This indicates that you can press ENTER again and the telescope will slew to the object.

  • Page 38: Menu Identify

    Use the ENTER, UP and DOWN buttons to enter and change these parameters. The hand control will display the object you have in view. When you move the telescope, the hand control displays the objects as they come into view.
  • Page 39 CORD Here is a description of each SETUP item. SPEED This allows you to adjust the speed the telescope is driven by the diamond buttons. The Ultima 2000 has five speed settings: SLEW 10 degrees per second, or faster. This depends on the power source.
  • Page 40 You may have noticed that you cannot get to the SLEW rate. This is because the SLEW option is disabled at the factory. It is disabled as a safety feature. It is possible to slew the telescope into your head because you thought you were in a different speed rate.
  • Page 41 PEC TRAIN function. Watch a star with an illuminated reticle eyepiece, like the Celestron Micro Guide Eyepiece. You will notice that the star will slowly drift ahead or behind the illuminated crosshairs. Using the diamond buttons, set to PHOTO speed, practice keeping the star centered.
  • Page 42 (the time where the telescope is motionless) in eighths of a tracking motor revolution. The backlash compensation is preset at the factory to zero. When the telescope is equatorially mounted (on a wedge), the azimuth backlash does not matter. So the AZM BACK value can remain set at zero. The azimuth compensation is only needed for Alt-Az tracking and for most people, it still won’t be needed.
  • Page 43 This is the cord wrap mode. This keeps the telescope from wrapping the cord around itself. The mode can be ON or OFF. It is useful to turn this OFF if you are not using an external power source and desire the telescope to slew through the shortest distance to the object.

  • Page 44: Menu Tour

    GO TO with the “G” blinking. If you press ENTER while the display says GO TO, the telescope will slew to the object. If you wait for the message to finish, the display will give the name of the object and give directional arrows that will guide you to the object.

  • Page 45: Brightness Setting

    MANUAL mode under the sky Set up the telescope outside and align it to the night sky. Here is how to activate the tour option. ACTION NOTES Start at the TOUR menu Press ENTER Enter into the TOUR menu. Press DOWN - to the Choose the MANUAL option.

  • Page 46: Drive Base

    Another way to move the telescope at the SLEW rate is to set SPEED to FINDER. If you press the diamond button that corresponds to the direction you want the telescope to slew, then simultaneously press the opposite diamond button, the telescope will move at the SLEW rate.

  • Page 47: Chapter 5 - Telescope Basics

    The Schmidt-Cassegrain System 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 48: Image Orientation

    (upside down and reversed from left-to-right). This holds true for the 7x50 finder as well as the telescope. For correct orientation through the telescope, which is important primarily for terrestrial observing, use the optional 45° erect image diagonal 1-1/4” (#94112-A) or the 90º model (#94108)

  • Page 49: Your First Look

    Figure 5-4 This diagram shows the focusing mechanism Your First Look With the telescope fully assembled and all the accessories attached you are ready for your first look. Your first look should be done in the daytime. The primary mirror is mounted on a ring which slides back and forth on the primary baffle tube (see Figure 4-4).

  • Page 50: Daytime Observing

    Daytime Observing Your Celestron telescope works well as a terrestrial spotting scope. When not used to examine objects in the night sky, it can be used to study objects here on Earth. WARNING ! NEVER POINT YOUR TELESCOPE AT THE SUN UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER SOLAR FILTER.

  • Page 51: General Observing Hints

    .2° by 52.5. This produces a field width of 10.5 feet at one thousand yards. The apparent field of each eyepiece that Celestron manufacturers is found in the Celestron Accessory Catalog (#93685). General Observing Hints When working with any optical instrument, there are a few things to remember to ensure you get the best possible image.

  • Page 52: Chapter 6 - Astronomy Basics

    (i.e., how long) they lag behind this coordinate after it passes overhead moving toward the West. Your Ultima 2000 telescope is computer driven which translates the celestial coordinates into a precise location for the telescope to point.

  • Page 53: Motion Of The Stars

    Motion of the Stars Like the Sun, the stars also appear to move across the sky. This motion is caused by the Earth's rotation. For observers in the northern hemisphere, all stars appear to move around the north celestial pole. For observers in the southern hemisphere, all stars appear to move around the south celestial pole.

  • Page 54: Polar Alignment (With Wedge)

    Polar alignment is the process by which the telescope's axis of rotation (called the polar axis) is aligned (made parallel) with the Earth's axis of rotation. Once aligned, a telescope with a clock drive will track the stars as they move across the sky.

  • Page 55: Finding The 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 56: Latitude Scales

    Latitude Scales The easiest way to polar align a telescope is with a latitude scale, which should be located on the wedge. Unlike other methods that require finding the celestial pole by identifying certain stars near it, this method works off of the fact that you know the latitude of the site you are observing from and you know which direction is North.

  • Page 57: Pointing At Polaris

    This method uses Polaris as a guidepost to the celestial pole. Since Polaris is less than a degree from the celestial pole, you can simply point the polar axis of your telescope at Polaris. Although this is by no means perfect alignment, it does get you within one degree.

  • Page 58: Declination Drift

    First, choose your star near where the celestial equator and the meridian meet. The star should be approximately within 1/2 an hour of the meridian and within five degrees of the celestial equator. Center the star in the field of your telescope and monitor the drift in declination.
  • Page 59 Polaris. With the position provided by the Polaris Setting Plate, you are now ready to polar align your telescope. The outer portion of the month circle (i.e., the two concentric circles) looks exactly like the reticle in the finder. While looking through the finder, move the telescope mount in altitude and azimuth (i.e., vertically and horizontally) until Polaris is in the same...

  • Page 60: Chapter 7 - Procedures

    There are two basic ways a telescope can track the sky, Equatorial tracking and Altazimuth tracking. The Ultima 2000 can track both ways. If you are setting up the telescope to track in Alt-Az, it is easier to have tracking turned OFF during the star alignment process.

  • Page 61: Changing Slewing Speeds (Button Speed On)

    If you are at Photo or 2 X SDRL speed and press one Diamond button then simultaneously press the opposite diamond button, the telescope will jump up to CENTER SPEED. If you are at FINDER speed and press one Diamond button then simultaneously press the opposite diamond button, the telescope will jump up to SLEW SPEED.

  • Page 62: Saving Power

    You may want to leave your aligned Ultima 2000 running for extended periods. One example is to leave the aligned telescope ON all night so you can do some daytime observing. There are many stars that can be seen in the day as well as some planets.

  • Page 63: Determining The Altitude Backlash Compensation

    Set SPEED (under SETUP menu) to 2 X SDRL. Point the telescope at a stationary distant object (in the day) or at Polaris (in the night) and center it in the eyepiece. Press the up DIAMOND button while SPEED is set at 2 X SDRL. The motor will run at full speed for a brief moment then slow down to 2 X SDRL.
  • Page 64 90º then start counting down again. The maximum value is the position you should use for polar aligning. You will also notice that when you move the telescope in altitude, the azimuth display will change slightly. This is also due to the computer compensating for the mechanical characteristics of the telescope.

  • Page 65: Alignment

    There are several different ways to align the Ultima 2000 to the sky. The most popular way is a two star alignment with the telescope in the Alt-Az configuration. Here are some methods of aligning the Ultima 2000. SKY - Two Star Alignment This is the most popular and the quickest method.

  • Page 66: Sky - Updating Alignment

    CHANGE - Changing Alignment Stars The Ultima 2000 uses two alignment objects to align itself to the sky. If you align to a third object, the telescope replaces the alignment information of one of the previous two alignment objects. The software automatically replaces the alignment information of the nearest object to the new object.

  • Page 67: Sky - One Star Alignment

    SKY - One Star Alignment A one star alignment is a rough way to align the telescope to the sky so it will track in the Alt-Az configuration. The idea is to align to an object, wait for 5 to 10 minutes, then align to the object again. This is useful for situations when few stars are visible, like just after sunset.
  • Page 68 A few seconds pass. The telescope is now aligned to the sky to a small degree of accuracy and will track in Alt-Az mode. The pointing accuracy for this method will most likely be within the Finderscope but unlikely in the eyepiece. The longer the period between alignments will increase the accuracy.

  • Page 69: Earth - Terrestrial Alignment

    You can define terrestrial objects in the NEW Catalog and then slew between them. Furthermore, if you set up the telescope the next day in the same location and align to two of the NEW objects you programmed into the NEW database, you can slew around to all the objects again.

  • Page 70: Earth - Terrestrial Alignment To User Defined New Objects

    NEW objects. It is important to make a note for yourself which terrestrial object is in what NEW memory position if you plan on aligning to them again later. It is also important that the telescope is set up in the same location so the relative positions of the terrestrial objects have not changed.

  • Page 71: Finding 90º Declination For Polar Alignment

    For polar alignment, it is essential to know when the telescope is pointed straight up, relative to the forks. When the telescope is on a wedge, this is 90º declination. You know when the telescope is pointed straight up, parallel to the forks by using the POSITION menu.

  • Page 72: Pointing

    Pointing GO TO Command This is the command that tells the telescope to slew to an object. To use this command, the telescope needs to be previously aligned. BUTTON or ACTION Start at the ALIGN menu.

  • Page 73: Precise Pointing - Relative Command

    Move the altitude by hand and the light will start blinking once per second. Now EER is not activated on either axis. To center an alignment star, it is good practice to move the telescope by hand until the star is in the field of view. Then, use the diamond buttons at CENTER speed to center the star.

  • Page 74: Chapter 8 - Celestial Observing

    CHAPTER 8 - CELESTIAL OBSERVING With your telescope set up, you are ready to use it for observing. This section covers visual observing for both solar system and deep sky objects. Observing the Moon In the night sky, the Moon is a prime target for your first look because it is extremely bright and easy to find. Often, it is tempting to look at the Moon when it is full.

  • Page 75: Solar Observing Hints

    For safe solar viewing, use a Celestron solar filter. This filter reduces the intensity of the Sun's light, making it safe to view. With this filter you can see sunspots as they move across the solar disk and faculae, which are bright patches seen near the Sun's edge.

  • Page 76: Seeing

    Once adjusted to the outdoor temperature, don't touch the telescope tube with your hands. When pointing the telescope, hold the Ultima by the handle on the rear cell. If observing with others, make sure no one stands in front of or directly below the telescope tube.

  • Page 77: Chapter 9 - Photography

    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 78 With your camera attached to the telescope, you are ready for prime focus photography. Start with an easy object like the Moon. Here's how to do it: Load your camera with film that has a moderate-to-fast speed (i.e., ISO rating). Faster films are more desirable when the Moon is a crescent.

  • Page 79: Piggyback Photography

    The easiest way to enter the realm of deep-sky, long exposure astrophotography is via the piggyback method. Piggyback photography is done with a camera and its normal lens riding on top of the telescope. The telescope is mounted on a wedge and is polar aligned.

  • Page 80: Eyepiece Projection

    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.

  • Page 81: Effective Focal Length

    The effective focal length of the optical system for eyepiece projection is given by this formula: where DF is the distance from the center of the eyepiece to the film and magnification is the focal length of the telescope divided by the focal length of the eyepiece.

  • Page 82: Effective F# Or F-Ratio

    Most of these objects cover large angular areas and fit nicely into the prime focus field of your Celestron Telescope. The brightness of these objects, however, requires long exposure times and, as a result, are rather difficult.
  • Page 83 Insert an illuminated reticle eyepiece into the radial guider. 10. Find a suitable guide star in the telescope field. Do this by rotating the guider and adjusting the prism. This can be the most time consuming process. 11. Open the shutter using a cable release.

  • Page 84: Ccd Imaging

    25 times shorter than those needed with a f/10 system! Used with Celestron's PixCel CCD System, objects will be easily found due to the ultra-wide 2/3• by 1/2• field of view provided. With the optional Fastar lens assembly you can easily convert your Fastar compatible telescope to f/1.95 prime focus use in a matter of seconds.

  • Page 85: Description Of F-Numbers

    (focal length divided by diameter). When the secondary is removed and the CCD is placed at the Fastar position, the system becomes f/1.95, this is unique to Celestron telescopes (see figures below). Fig 9-3 -- Light path at f/10 focus The key factors for good CCD imaging are;...

  • Page 86: Fastar Configurations

    The following is a brief description of the advantages of imaging at each f-number configuration and the proper equipment needed to use the telescope in any of its many settings. Refer to Figure 9-7 for a more detailed description of the accessories offered for each configuration.

  • Page 87: Imaging At F/10 (Lunar Or Small Planetary Nebulae)

    that you may not need to guide the exposure at all. For f/6.3 imagining the optional f/6.3 Reducer/Corrector is needed. (see Optional Accessory section at the end of this manual). Imaging at f/10 (Lunar or small planetary nebulae) f/10 imaging is more challenging for long exposure, deep sky imaging. Guiding needs to be very accurate and the exposure times need to be much longer, about 25 times longer than f/1.95.
  • Page 88 Figure 9-7 - Accessory Configurations for Fastar Compatible Telescopes Optical Tube Assembly Secondary Mirror Secondary Mirror Retaining Ring Fastar Lens Assembly Tricolor Spacer Ring T-1 ¼" Adapter IR Cutoff Filter (for use with Color Filter PixCel CCD Camera Rear Cell Counterweight Radial Guider Microguide Eyepiece For more information about the above accessories refer to the Optional Accessories section at the end of...

  • Page 90: Chapter 10 - Telescope Maintenance

    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 91 (right) is shown by non symmetric rings that flare out to one side. To check the collimation of your telescope you will need a light source. A bright star near the zenith is ideal since there is a minimal amount of atmospheric distortion. Turn your telescope drive on so that you won't have to manually track the star.

  • Page 92: Optional Accessories

    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. It works very well with all Celestron eyepieces. The latest Barlow to be added to Celestron's product line (#93507) is a low profile achromatic design at an economical price. It weighs just 4 oz.
  • Page 93 Eyepieces - Like telescopes, eyepieces come in a variety of designs. And, with the advent of different eyepieces, Celestron also has a variety of designs each with its own advantages and disadvantages. For the 1-1 /4" barrel diameter there are four different eyepiece designs available.
  • Page 94 It is also a necessity for CCD imaging. Sky Maps (#93722) - When learning the night sky, the Celestron Sky Maps offer the ideal solution. The maps include all the constellations and brighter deep-sky objects. The maps are printed on a heavy stock paper that is moisture-resistant.
  • Page 95 In addition to reducing the intensity of the Sun's visible light, it also blocks 99.999% of invisible infrared light. The Celestron Solar Skreen solar filter is made of precision engineered Mylar polyester film. A layer of aluminum is vacuum-deposited on one surface of the dual sheets of Mylar used to make each filter. The aluminum coating produces a cool, comfortable pale blue image of the Sun.

  • Page 96: Appendix A - Data Base Star Information

    APPENDIX A - DATA BASE STAR INFORMATION Alignment Star List Name Greek Achernar alpha Albireo beta Aldebaran alpha Alphard alpha Alpha Centauri alpha Alpheratz alpha Altair alpha Antares alpha Arcturus alpha Betelgeuse alpha Canopus alpha Capella alpha Castor alpha Deneb alpha Denebola beta...

  • Page 97: Constellation Abbreviations

    Constellation Abbreviations Abbreviation Constellation Andromeda Antilia Apus Aquila Aquarius Aries Auriga Bootes Caelum Camebpardalis Capricomus Carina Cassiopeia Centaurus Cepheus Cetus Chamaeleon Circinus Canis Major Canis Minor Cancer Columba Coma Berenices Corona Australis Corona Borealis Crater Crux Corvus Appendix A Data Base Star Information Abbreviation Constellation Abbreviation...

  • Page 98: List Of Named Object Catalog

    List of Named Object Catalog Here is the list of all the objects under the NAMED OBJECTS menu. Display Common Name ANDROMED Andromeda Galaxy BEEHIVE Beehive Cluster BLACKEYE Blackeye Galaxy BLINKING Blinking Planetary BUTTERFL Butterfly Cluster CATS EYE Cats Eye CRAB NEB Crab Nebula DOUBLE C...

  • Page 99: Appendix B - Ultima 2000 Communication Protocol

    Depending on the configuration of the serial interface on the PC, it may be necessary to get an RS-232 wiring box and attach male pin 4 to male pin 8 and male pin 6 to male pin 20. The telescope neither monitors nor sets Data Terminal Ready or Data Set Ready.
  • Page 100 So, if you partially type in a command and decide you made a mistake, press “delete” and a new line will appear but the command will not be sent to the telescope. Here are a list of the commands and their functions.
  • Page 101 (ex. NGC0001, M001, etc.) PCSLEWQUERY Query the telescope to see if a slew is currently in progress. A return of 0 indicates no slew and a return of 1 indicates a slew in progress.

  • Page 102: Appendix C - Technical Specifications

    APPENDIX C - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Optical Specifications Design Aperture Focal Length F/ratio of the Optical System Primary Mirror Figure: Diameter: f/ratio: Radius of Curvature: Material: Coatings: Secondary Mirror Figure: Diameter: Radius of Curvature: Material: Coatings: Central Obstruction Corrector Plate Figure Material Thickness Coatings...

  • Page 103: Mechanical Specifications

    240 teeth 48 pitch 5.00 inches 1663:1 5.41 minutes This only applies when the telescope is set to EQ NORTH under the TRACKING option within the SETUP menu 8192 counts per 360º ~ 2.5 arc-minutes 65536 counts per 360º ~ 19 arc-seconds 8192 counts per 360º...
  • Page 104 Shipping Information Shipping Dimensions Telescope Box Tripod Box Accessory Box Shipping Weights Telescope Accessories Tripod Electronic Specifications Input Voltage Maximum Minimum Batteries Required Power Supply Requirements Appendix C - Technical Specifications 21” x 15” x 30” 18” x 16” x 37”...

  • Page 105: Appendix D - Autoguide Pin Out

    For long exposure astrophotography, you can use an auto guider to guide the exposure for you. The telescope should be on the optional wedge and polar aligned. Here is the pin layout for the jack on the drive base labeled GUIDE. Below is a diagram of the jack and pertinent information needed to attach a CCD autoguider.

  • Page 106: Appendix E - Operational Tips

    The effects of a star diagonal on pointing accuracy A diagonal can slightly change the optical axis of a telescope. A star that is in the center of the field in an eyepiece can be off center when a diagonal is used. This angular error is known as cone angle. If you center the star in the eyepiece then rotate the diagonal, you will notice the star does not stay in one place.

  • Page 107: Viewing Objects Below The Horizon

    The Ultima 2000 can still point to them. If you see the telescope slew just below the horizon to the East, you know the object is going to rise shortly.

  • Page 108: Glossary

    These are stars used to align the Ultima 2000’s model of the sky with the actual sky. The Ultima 2000 has a list of 28 bright alignment stars. You do not have to align the telescope to only these stars as any object contained in the database of the Ultima 2000 can be used.
  • Page 109 Backlash Dead Zone Gears in telescope have some amount of play. The dead zone refers to the time it takes for the gears to traverse the play. This is seen in the eyepiece as a period when the telescope does not move even though the motors have been activated.
  • Page 110 This is when the star images in a field of view of some device rotate about the center of the field. This occurs when you have a telescope that is tracking the sky and is not polar aligned. At the celestial equator, this effect is minimized. At the celestial poles this effect is maximized.
  • Page 111 The wedge has a tilt plate that the telescope is attached to which allows the angle of the R.A. axis of the telescope to be adjusted to match the angle of the Earth’s axis of rotation.

  • Page 112: The Sky Maps

    Because of its proximity to the celestial pole, Polaris should NOT be used as an alignment star for equatorial mounts. If you are using the telescope in the altazimuth configuration, don’t align to an object that is at the zenith (straight above).
  • Page 119 CI to repair or replace such product, the product must be returned to CI together with proof-of- purchase satisfactory to CI. The Proper Return Authorization Number must be obtained from CI in advance of return. Call Celestron at (310) 328-9560 to receive the number to be displayed on the outside of your shipping container.
  • Page 120 Celestron International 2835 Columbia Street Torrance, CA 90503 Tel. (310) 328-9560 Fax. (310) 212-5835 Copyright 1997 Celestron International All rights reserved. (Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation.) Item# 11010-I 03-98 Price $10.00...

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Ultima 8 2000

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