Object Menu; To Observe A Satellite - Meade Autostar 494 Instruction Manual

OBJECT MENU

Almost all observing with Autostar is performed using the
Object menu category. (NOTE: Exceptions include Guided
Tour and Landmark Survey.) See "GO TO SATURN," page
16, for an example of observing using the Object menu. Also
see "USING THE GUIDED TOUR," page 17.
Many Autostar menu categories contain databases. An
Autostar database is a list of viewable objects, such as
stars, planets, comets, nebulae and so forth. When one of
these objects is selected, Autostar moves your telescope (if
properly aligned) and points it at the selected object.
The Object Menu options include:
Solar System is a database of the eight planets (Earth is
not included) in order out from the Sun, followed by the
Moon, asteroids, and comets.
Constellation is a database of all 88 Northern and
Southern Hemisphere constellations. When this menu
option is chosen and a constellation name appears on the
first line of the screen, press GO TO once to change the
second line to the name of the brightest star in the constel-
lation. Press GO TO a second time to slew the telescope to
that star. Use the Scroll keys to cycle through the list of stars
in the constellation, from brightest to dimmest.
Deep Sky is a database of objects outside our Solar
System such as nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, and
quasars.
Star is a database of stars listed in different categories such
as named, double, variable, or nearby.
Satellite is a database of Earth-orbiting objects such as the
International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope,
Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, and geosyn-
chronous orbit satellites.

To Observe a Satellite:

1. Choose a satellite from the Select menu, then press
ENTER. Autostar scans its database to find if that satel-
lite is expected to pass overhead within the next 6
hours.
2. If a satellite is expected, use the Scroll keys to access
a list of data about the pass, including acquisition time,
location, etc.
3. At the end of the list is "Alarm." Press ENTER and
Autostar automatically sets the alarm to sound several
minutes before the scheduled appearance. You may
return to regular observations until the alarm goes off.
4. When the alarm goes off, return to the Satellite menu
and press a Scroll key until the desired satellite is on
the top line of the display.
5 Press GO TO. Autostar slews the telescope to where
the satellite should appear. The motor drive stops and a
countdown starts.
NOTE: If the scheduled appearance position
of the satellite is obstructed (i.e., by a building,
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