Object Library Menu File - Meade LX200 Instruction Manual

step c, above. Press ENTER when the number is
entered.
e. Check the time delay as described in step b. If there
is a delay, increase the compensation number. If
there is a slight jump when reversing direction, then
the number is too large.
When the compensation number is correct, the
LX200 telescope will move almost instantly when
reversing the direction in Declination. This
compensation feature also works in conjunction with
popular CCD autoguiders, allowing for more
accurate autoguiding.
This number is stored in permanent memory and
should never need to be set again.
b. OBJECT LIBRARY Menu File
The OBJECT LIBRARY menu file is the other half of the
TELESCOPE/OBJECT LIBRARY mode. With it you can
become a tourist of the sky, or conduct research surveys of the
64,359 objects. The LX200 Object Library is accessible in the
most results-getting, user friendly system ever designed for
observers and astrophotographers.
The core library, essentially a "greatest hits of the sky,"
encompasses eight planets of our solar system from Mercury
to Pluto, 351 stars (doubles, variables, pole stars), the entire
Messier catalog of 110 objects, 7840 of the finest galaxies,
diffuse and planetary nebulae, and globular and open star
clusters
The position epoch of these objects is for real time, updated
each time you turn on your LX200. Even the planet's positions
have their orbits calculated! This not only qualifies the LX200
as the most accurate integrated object library available, it will
never require updated software for precession of the stars or
planetary orbital changes.
There are three primary ways to use the Object Library. You
can directly access the library by using the M, STAR, or CNGC
keys (see THE LX200 KEYPAD HAND CONTROLLER, page 14) and
entering a specific catalog number, the START FIND option can
be used to logically find objects in organized strips of the sky
that can be custom tailored to only show the objects you wish
to see with a selection of object types, size brightness, etc., or
you can scan the sky and have the Object Library tell you what
is in the field of view in the eyepiece by using the FIELD option.
Below is a description of the four OBJECT LIBRARY menu files
and file options:
To access the OBJECT LIBRARY menu file, move the arrow to
the OBJECT LIBRARY display by pressing the PREV or NEXT
key while in the TELESCOPE/OBJECT LIBRARY mode and
press the ENTER key. Now you can access the four menu
selections within the OBJECT LIBRARY by moving the arrow to
the desired menu selection by using the PREV or NEXT keys
and doing the following steps.
OBJECT INFO: Press the ENTER key to read the type,
1.
brightness, size, and quality. Press ENTER again to read
the coordinates. Press ENTER once more to determine
how far off the telescope is pointing from the entered
object (this is displayed in LCD bars, each bar is ten
degrees, or if it is on the object, no bars). This same
information can also be accessed at any time by pressing
the ENTER key for any object entered by the M, STAR, or
CNGC keys. Press MODE to exit to the main menu file.
START FIND: The START FIND option resources the
2.
CNGC objects within the Object Library and begins a
logical search starting wherever the telescope is
positioned when activated. To cover the entire visible sky
it will make 31 strip divisions about 12° wide, moving from
West to East, from the North Pole to the South Pole, then
South to North. Once it has found all of the CNGC objects
it will repeat its sequence until new objects are visible.
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Press the ENTER key and the hand control will display the
first object in its finding sequence. This first object is
selected by the LX200, based off of where the instrument
is pointing in the sky when you entered START FIND. To
point your LX200 to the object displayed, press the GO TO
key and it will slew to the object.
While in the START FIND option, you can either choose
the next object in line or skip it as you wish. In order to find
the next object in sequence, press the NEXT key, and the
display will show the new CNGC object. If you do not wish
to view this object, press NEXT again. If you wish to return
to a previously viewed object, press the PREV key until
the desired catalog number is displayed and press the GO
TO key. If you have set some limitations in the
PARAMETERS option, it will only find those objects within
your chosen confines.
If you find that the object is not well centered in the
eyepiece after executing a GO TO (due to poor leveling,
improper time input, or errors in site location), center the
object; then press and hold the ENTER key until the
display reads "Coordinates Matched." This feature in
essence synchronizes the LX200 for an area of the sky, so
that the next object (if the leveling, time input, or site
location information is not corrected) will be better
centered, provided it is not too far away from the object
that you matched coordinates to.
To exit the START FIND menu selection (and cease its
operation) to the main menu, press MODE.
FIELD: Press the ENTER key to identify objects in the
3.
field of view of the telescope. The LX200 will display the
object centered in the eyepiece field, and how many other
NGC objects are in the field at the same time (defined by
the RADIUS parameter setting) as shown in Display 28:
Display 28
Press the ENTER button to reveal information about the
object as shown in Display 29:
Display 29
Display 29 is interpreted; COMPUTERIZED NEW
GENERAL CATALOG Object #4438, VERY GOOD,
GALAXY, MAGNITUDE 10.1, SIZE 9.3' (in arc minutes).
Press ENTER again to read the coordinate location of the
object (notice the * legend next to RA coordinate number,
it indicates the catalog coordinates of the object, not
necessarily where the telescope is pointing) as shown in
Display 30:
Display 30
Press ENTER once more to see physically how far your
telescope will have to move to acquire the object entered.
The display will show LED bars, each bar represents ten
degrees of movement as shown in Display 31:
Display 31
If you are centered on the object already, such as if you
are in the FIELD menu selection, or if you have already
made a GO TO command in one of the other methods for
finding an object, the above display will be blank.
To review any of the data of an object, continue to press
ENTER until the desired field appears. You can use these
commands at any time that you have an object entered in
the keypad, while directly entering in specific objects by
pressing the M, STAR, or CNGC keys, in the START FIND
Objects: 5
Center: CNGC 4438
CNGC 4438 VG GAL
MAG 10.1 SZ 9.3'
RA = 12:27.2*
DEC = +13'03
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