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List – For quick access, all of the best and most popular objects in the NexStar database have been broken down into lists based on their
type and/or common name:
5.
Info: Displays coordinates and useful information about objects selected from the NexStar database.
6.
Tour: Activates the tour mode, which seeks out all the best objects for the current date and time, and automatically slews the
CPC to those objects.
7.
Enter: Pressing Enter allows you to select any of the CPC functions and accept entered parameters.
8.
Undo: Undo will take you out of the current menu and display the previous level of the menu path. Press Undo repeatedly to get
back to a main menu or use it to erase data entered by mistake.
9.
Menu: Displays the many setup and utilities functions such as tracking rate and user defined objects and many others.
10. Scroll Keys: Used to scroll up and down within any of the menu lists. A double-arrow will appear on the right side of the LCD
when there are sub-menus below the displayed menu. Using these keys will scroll through those sub-menus.
11. Rate: Instantly changes the rate of speed of the motors when the direction buttons are pressed.
12. RS-232 Jack: Allows you to interface with a computer and control the CPC remotely.
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This section describes the basic hand control procedures needed to operate the CPC. These procedures are grouped into three categories:
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, tracking rate and setting filter and slew limits; finally, the last
section reviews all of the utilities functions such as PEC, polar alignment and hibernating the telescope.
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In order for the CPC to accurately point to objects in the sky, it must first be aligned to 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. There are many
ways to align the CPC with the sky depending on what information the user is able to provide: SkyAlign use the internal GPS receiver to
acquire all the necessary time/site information needed for the CPC to create an accurate model of the sky. Then the user can simply point
the telescope to any three bright celestial objects to accurately align the telescope with the sky. Auto Two-Star Align will ask the user
to choose and center the first alignment star, then the CPC will automatically select and slew to a second star for alignment. Two-Star
Alignment requires the user to identify and manually slew the telescope to the two alignment stars. One-Star Align is the same as Two-
Star Align however only requires you to align to one known star. Although not as accurate as the other alignment methods, One-Star
Align is the quickest way to find and track bright planets and objects in Altazimuth mode. Solar System Align will display a list of
visible daytime objects (planets and the moon) available to align the telescope. Finally, EQ North and EQ South alignments are
designed to assist you in aligning the CPC when polar aligned using an equatorial wedge. Each alignment method is discussed in detail
below.
Definition
Altazimuth" or "Alt-Az" refers to a type of mounting that allows a telescope to move in both altitude (up and down) and
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azimuth (left and right) with respect to the ground. This is the simplest form of mounting in which the telescope is attached
directly to a tripod without the use of an equatorial wedge.
Sky Align
Sky Align must be used with the telescope mounted in altazimuth. With Sky Align, the GPS receiver links with and acquires information
from 3 of the orbiting GPS satellites. With this information, the built-in GPS system calculates the scope's location on Earth with an
accuracy of a few meters and calculates universal time down to the second. 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
Named Objects
Double Stars
Variable Stars
Asterisms
CCD Objects
IC Objects
Abell Objects
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Common name listing of the brightest stars in the sky.
Alphabetical listing of over 50 of the most popular deep
sky objects.
Numeric-alphabetical listing of the most visually stunning
double, triple and quadruple stars in the sky.
Select list of the brightest variable stars with the shortest
period of changing magnitude.
A unique list of some of the most recognizable star
patterns in the sky.
A custom list of many interesting galaxy pairs, trios and
clusters that are well suited for CCD imaging with the
CPC telescope.
A complete list of all the Index Catalog deep-sky objects.
A complete list of all the Abell Catalog deep-sky objects.
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