Which One's The Alignment Star; Two-Star Alt/Az Alignment; One-Star Alt/Az Alignment; Go To Saturn - Meade Autostar 494 Instruction Manual

WHICH ONE'S THE ALIGNMENT STAR?

If Autostar has chosen an alignment star that you are unfa-
miliar with, how can you be sure if the star in your eyepiece
is really the alignment star?
The rule of thumb is that an alignment star is usually the
brightest star in that area of the sky. When you view an
alignment star in an eyepiece, it will standout dramatically
from the rest of the stars in that portion of the sky.
If you have an obstruction, such as a tree or a building
blocking your view of the alignment star, or if you have any
doubts at all about the star that has been chosen, no prob-
lem. Just press the Scroll Down key and Autostar finds
another star to align upon.

TWO-STAR ALT/AZ ALIGNMENT

Another method of alignment, Two-Star Alignment,
requires some knowledge of the night sky. Autostar pro-
vides a database of bright stars and allows the observer to
choose two stars from the database for alignment.
1. Perform steps 1 through 8 as described in the "EASY
TWO-STAR ALIGNMENT," page 14.
2 . Autostar displays a database of stars for the observer
to choose from. Use the Scroll keys to scroll to a star
that you wish to align upon. Select a star that you can
easily locate in the night sky.
3. Press ENTER. The telescope slews to the star for
alignment. Use the Arrow keys to move the telescope
until the star is visible and centered in the eyepiece.
4. Press ENTER. Repeat procedure for the second align-
ment star. The telescope is aligned and you are now
ready to use Autostar's GO TO capabilities for a night
of observing.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not use Polaris as an
alignment star. Choose stars for alignment that
are as far apart as pos

ONE-STAR ALT/AZ ALIGNMENT

One-Star Alignment also requires some knowledge of the
night sky. Autostar provides a database of bright stars.
One-Star Alignment is identical to Two-Star Alt/Az:
Alignment (see "TWO-STAR ALT/AZ ALIGNMENT," above),
except only one star from this database is chosen by the
observer for alignment.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The accuracy of One-Star
Alt/Az Alignment, unlike the Two-Star Alignment
procedures, depends on how well the observer
levels the telescope and how close to North the
telescope is pointed when setting the Home
Position (Fig. 12). Because the Two-Star
Alignments use two stars to align upon, they are
more precise than One-Star Alignment.

GO TO SATURN

After alignment, the motor drive begins operating and the
telescope is ready for a night of viewing. Objects in the eye-
piece should maintain their position (i.e., the telescope
tracks the object) even though the Earth is rotating beneath
the stars.
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sible.