Celestron 11074-XLT Instruction Manual
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Celestron 11074-XLT Instruction Manual

Celestron 11074-XLT Instruction Manual

Celestron 11074-xlt: user guide
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Summary of Contents for Celestron 11074-XLT

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Version ... 24 Get Alt-Az ... 24 Goto Alt-Az... 24 Hibernate ... 24 Sun Menu ... 24 Scrolling Menu... 24 Calibrate GOTO ... 24 Set Mount Position ... 24 Periodic Error Correction ... 24 TELESCOPE BASICS ...26 Image Orientation ...26...
  • Page 3 Terrestrial Photography ...40 Metering ... 40 Reducing Vibration ... 40 F/6.3 with Reducer/Corrector ... 41 Auto Guiding... 41 TELESCOPE MAINTENANCE ...42 Care and Cleaning of the Optics ...42 Collimation...42 OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES...44 APPENDIX A - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ...46 APPENDIX B - GLOSSARY OF TERMS...47 APPENDIX C –...

  • Page 4: Introduction

    Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron CPC telescope! The CPC GPS ushers in the next generation of computer automated telescopes. The CPC series uses GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to take the guesswork and effort out of aligning and finding celestial objects in the sky.
  • Page 5 Control Panel (see below) Focus Knob Star Diagonal Hand Control Eyepiece Finderscope Finderscope Quick Release Bracket Hand Control Port Auxiliary Port s PC Interface Port Figure 2 – The CPC Series Optical Tube Schmidt Corrector Lens Fork Arm Carrying Handle Right Ascension Locking Knob Tripod Accessory Tray / Center Support Bracket...

  • Page 6: Assembly

    Start by removing the telescope and tripod from their shipping cartons and set the telescopes round base on a sturdy flat surface. Always carry the telescope by holding it from the lower portion of the fork arm on the hand control side and from the handle on the opposite side.

  • Page 7: Adjusting The Tripod Height

    Accessory tray Tension Knob The tripod that comes with your CPC telescope is adjustable. To adjust the height at which the tripod stands: Loosen the extension clamp on one of the tripod legs (see figure 3-1). Extend the leg to the desired height.

  • Page 8: Adjusting The Clutches

    Rotate the telescope base on the tripod head until the three feet on the bottom of the base fall into the feet recesses on the top of the tripod head. Thread the three attached mounting bolts from underneath the tripod head into the bottom of the telescope base. Tighten all three bolts.

  • Page 9: The Eyepiece

    So, an 8x50 finder magnifies objects eight times and has a 50mm objective lens. Finderscope Installation The finderscope must first be mounted in the included quick-release bracket then attached to the rear cell of the telescope. To install the finderscope: Locate the finderscope mounting bracket attached to the bottom portion of the finder bracket.

  • Page 10: Aligning The Finderscope

    To make the alignment process a little easier, you should perform this task in the daytime when it is easier to locate objects in the telescope without the finder. To align the finder: 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.

  • Page 11: Powering The Cpc

    Powering the CPC The CPC can be powered by the supplied 12v car battery adapter or optional power supply (see Optional Accessories section in the back of this manual). To power the CPC with the car battery adapter, simply plug the round post into the designated 12v power outlet located on the drive base.

  • Page 12: Hand Control

    The CPC is controlled by Celestron’s NexStar hand controller designed to give you instant access to all the functions the CPC 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 13: Hand Control Operation

    After quickly making all these calculations and automatically entering the information for you, the user simply needs to aim the telescope to any three bright celestial objects in the sky. Since Sky Named Stars Common name listing of the brightest stars in the sky.
  • Page 14 The CPC is then ready to start finding and tracking any of the objects in its 40,000+ object database. Before the telescope is ready to be aligned, it should be set up in an outside location with all accessories (eyepiece, diagonal and finderscope) attached and lens cover removed as described in the Assembly section of the manual.

  • Page 15: Auto Two-Star Align

    As with Sky Align, Auto Two-Star Align downloads all the necessary time/site information from orbiting GPS satellites. information is received, CPC will prompt you to slew the telescope and point at one known star in the sky. The CPC now has all the information it needs to automatically choose a second star that will assure the best possible alignment.

  • Page 16: One-Star Align

    Solar System Align is designed to provide excellent tracking and GoTo performance by using solar system objects (Sun, Moon and planets) to align the telescope with the sky. Solar System Align is a great way to align your telescope for daytime viewing as well as a quick way to align the telescope for night time observing.

  • Page 17: Eq North / Eq South Alignment

    The EQ Two-Star Align follows most of the same steps as the Alt-Az Two-Star Align. This alignment method does not require the user to align the altitude index markers or point towards the Meridian, but it does require the user to locate and align the telescope on two bright stars.

  • Page 18: Cpc Re-Alignment

    “unassigned” with an actual object. 6. Press ALIGN to make the change. Now that the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose an object from any of the catalogs in the CPC's extensive database. The hand Helpful 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 Hint through the named object lists and entering object numbers.

  • Page 19: Slewing To An Object

    To see the next tour object, press the Up key. In addition to the Tour Mode, the CPC telescope has a Constellation Tour that allows the user to take a tour of all the best objects within a particular constellation. Selecting Constellation from the LIST menu will display all the constellation names that are above the user defined horizon (filter limits).

  • Page 20: Rate Button

    5 = 16x *Rate 1 and 2 are photographic guide rates and are meant to be used when the telescope is set up on a wedge in equatorial mode. These rates can be used while set up in altazimuth, however the actual speed rate may differ slightly.

  • Page 21: View Time-Site

    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 22: Precise Goto

    The hand control then calculates the small difference between its goto position and its centered position. Using this offset, the telescope will then slew to the desired object with enhanced accuracy. To use Precise Goto: Press the MENU button and use the Up/Down keys to select Precise Goto.

  • Page 23: Slew Limits

    0° would prevent the telescope from slewing Helpful down past the celestial equator not the horizon. To set the slew limit so that the telescope will slew to the horizon while on a Hint wedge, you must set the minimum slew limit to equal your latitude minus 90°.

  • Page 24: Version

    Align button. Once synced on the star, you are free to manually move the mount in both axes in order to rebalance. 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 25 MENU TRACKING MODE ALT-AZ EQ NORTH EQ SOUTH RATE SIDEREAL SOLAR LUNAR VIEW TIME-SITE SCOPE SETUP SETUP TIME-SITE ANTI-BACKLASH SLEW LIMITS FILTER LIMITS DIRECTION BUTTONS GOTO APPROACH AUTOGUIDE RATE CORD WRAP UTILITIES GPS ON/OFF LIGHTS CONTROL FACTORY SETTING VERSION GET AXIS POSITION GOTO AXIS POSITION HIBERNATE SUN MENU...

  • Page 26: Telescope Basics

    's focusing mechanism controls the primary mirror which is mounted on a ring that slides back and forth on the primary baffle tube. The focusing knob, which moves the primary mirror, is on the rear cell of the telescope just below the star diagonal and eyepiece. Turn the focusing knob until the image is sharp.

  • Page 27: Calculating Magnification

    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 CPC 8 for example has a focal length of 2032mm) by the focal length of the eyepiece, 40mm. Dividing 2032 by 40 yields a magnification of 51 power.

  • Page 28: Astronomy Basics

    Up to this point, this manual covered the assembly and basic operation of your CPC 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 29: 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 30: Polar Alignment (With Optional Wedge)

    CPC requires an optional equatorial wedge between the telescope and the tripod. This allows the telescope's tracking motors to rotate the telescope around the celestial pole, the same way as the stars. Without the equatorial wedge, you would notice the stars in the eyepiece would slowly rotate around the center of the field of view.

  • Page 31: Finding The North Celestial Pole

    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.

  • Page 32: Declination Drift Method Of Polar Alignment

    When looking due south, insert the diagonal so the eyepiece points straight up. Insert the cross hair eyepiece and align the cross hairs so that one is parallel to the declination axis and the other is parallel to the right ascension axis. Move your telescope manually in R.A. and DEC to check parallelism.

  • Page 33: 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 34: Observing The Sun

    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 35 temperature layers have different densities and, therefore, bend light differently. Light 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.

  • Page 36: Celestial 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 37: 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, Pentax, etc.).

  • Page 38: 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 39: Periodic Error Correction (Pec)

    Using Periodic Error Correction Once the telescope has been polar aligned using the EQ North Align (or EQ South for southern hemisphere) method, select PEC from the Utilities menu and press ENTER to begin recording your periodic error. Here’s how to use the PEC function.

  • Page 40: Terrestrial Photography

    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 is best to restart PEC recording after the worm gear has found its index.

  • Page 41: F/6.3 With Reducer/Corrector

    They reduce the vibration amplitude and vibration time. 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 F/6.3 with Reducer/Corrector When imaging some objects like planetary nebula (for example M57, the Ring Nebula) and small galaxies (M104, the Sombrero Galaxy), larger image scale is needed to resolve finer detail.

  • Page 42: 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 43 (see figure 9-2). 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.

  • Page 44: Optional Accessories

    Ultima eyepieces. Model #93507 is a compact achromatic Barlow lens that is under three inches long and weighs only 4 oz. It works very well with all Celestron eyepieces.
  • Page 45 Celestron offers filters for CPC 800 (#94162). T-Adapter (#93633-A) - T-Adapter (with additional T-Ring) allows you to attach your SLR camera to the rear cell of your Celestron CPC. This turns your CPC into a high power telephoto lens perfect for terrestrial photography and short exposure lunar and filtered solar photography.

  • Page 46: Appendix A - Technical Specifications

    Light Gathering Power Near Focus w/ standard eyepiece or camera Field of View: Standard Eyepiece : 35mm Camera Linear Field of View (at 1000 yds) Optical Tube Length Weight of Telescope Weight of Tripod Electronic Specifications Input Voltage Maximum Minimum...

  • Page 47: 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 48 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 49 Sidereal Rate This is the angular speed at which the Earth is rotating. Telescope tracking motors drive the telescope at this rate. The rate is 15 arc seconds per second or 15 degrees per hour. Terminator The boundary line between the light and dark portion of the moon or a planet.

  • Page 50: Appendix C - Rs-232 Connection (For Computerized Hand Control)

    You can control your NexStar 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 NexStar can be controlled using popular astronomy software programs. Communication Protocol: NexStar-i communicates at 9600 bits/sec, No parity and a stop bit. All angles are communicated with 16 bit angle and communicated using ASCII hexadecimal.

  • Page 51: Appendix F - Time Zone Map

    APPENDIX F – MAPS OF TIME ZONES...

  • Page 59: Observational Data Sheet

    Observational Data Sheet Yearly Meteor Showers Shower Quadrantids Lyrids Puppids eta-Aquarids June Bootids July Phoenicids Southern delta-Aquarids Perseids alpha-Aurigids Draconids Orionids Leonids alpha-Monocerotids Phoenicids Puppid-Velids Geminids Ursids * These meteor showers have the potential of becoming meteor storms with displays of thousands of meteors per hour.
  • Page 60 Celestron warrants this telescope to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years. Celestron will repair or replace such product or part thereof which, upon inspection by 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 61 Celestron 2835 Columbia Street Torrance, CA 90503 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 # 11073- INST $10.00 08-09...

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