1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Celestron Manuals
  4. Telescope
  5. NexStar 80
  6. Instruction manual

Celestron NexStar 80 Instruction Manual

Nexstar slt
Hide thumbs Also See for NexStar 80:
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

See also: Owner's Manual , User Manual
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
6
0
.
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
6
0
.
I
N
S
T
R
U
C
I
N
S
T
R
U
C
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
8
0
.
N
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
8
0
.
N
T
I
O
N
M
A
N
T
I
O
N
M
A
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
1
0
2
.
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
1
0
2
.
N
U
A
L
U
A
L
e
x
S
t
a
r
1
1
4
.
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
1
1
4
.
N
e
x
S
t
a
r
1
3
0
e
x
S
t
a
r
1
3
0

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading

Related Manuals for Celestron NexStar 80

Summary of Contents for Celestron NexStar 80

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    INTRODUCTION ................................4 Warning ..................................4 ASSEMBLY ..................................7 Assembling the NexStar ..............................7 Attaching the Hand Control Holder ..........................8 Attaching the Fork Arm to the Tripod......................... 8 Attaching the Telescope to the Fork Arm ........................8 The Star Diagonal ............................... 8 The Eyepiece................................
  • Page 3 Focusing..................................26 Image Orientation ..............................26 Calculating Magnification............................26 Determining Field of View ............................27 General Observing Hints............................27 CELESTIAL OBSERVING............................28 Observing the Moon ..............................28 Lunar Observing Hints.............................. 28 Observing the Planets..............................28 Planetary Observing Hints ............................28 Observing the Sun..............................

  • Page 4: Introduction

    Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron NexStar telescope! The NexStar ushers in a whole new generation of computer automated technology. Simple and friendly to use, the NexStar is up and running after locating just three bright celestial objects. It’s the perfect combination of power and portability. If you are new to astronomy, you may wish to start off by using the NexStar's built-in Sky Tour feature, which commands the NexStar to find the most interesting objects in the sky and automatically slews to each one.
  • Page 5 The NexStar SLT Refractor Telescope (NexStar 60 Shown) Objective Lens On/Off Switch Fork Arm Focuser Knob Battery Compartment Star Diagonal Hand Control Eyepiece Tripod Star Pointer Finderscope (not shown) Tripod Leg Extension Clamp Dovetailed Mounting Clamp Accessory Tray Telescope Tube...
  • Page 6 NexStar SLT Reflecting Telescope (NexStar 114 Shown) Eyepiece Tripod Leg Extension Clamp Secondary Mirror Accessory Tray Fork Arm On/Off Switch Battery Compartment Collimation Adjustment Knobs Tripod Optical Tube Hand Control Star Pointer Finderscope...

  • Page 7: Assembly

    The NexStar comes partially assembled and can be operational in a matter of minutes. The NexStar is conveniently packaged in one reusable shipping carton that contains the following accessories: • 25mm and 9mm Eyepieces – 1¼" • 1¼" Star Diagonal (NexStar 60, 80 & 102 only) •...

  • Page 8: Attaching The Hand Control Holder

    The NexStar comes with a snap-on hand control holder that conveniently attaches to any of the tripod legs. To attach the hand control holder simply position the holder with the square plastic tab facing up and push against the tripod leg until it snaps in to place. With the tripod properly assembled, the telescope tube and fork arm can easily be attached using the quick release coupling screw located underneath the tripod mounting platform: Place the fork arm base inside the tripod mounting platform.

  • Page 9: The Eyepiece

    If you wish to change the orientation of the star diagonal, loosen the thumbscrew on the eyepiece adapter until the star diagonal rotates freely. Rotate the diagonal to the desired position and tighten the thumbscrew. The eyepiece, is the optical element that magnifies the image focused by the Star Pointer telescope.

  • Page 10: Star Pointer Installation

    The Star Pointer comes equipped with a variable brightness control, two axes alignment control and mounting brackets. Before the Star Pointer is ready to be used, it must be attached to the telescope tube and properly aligned: Slide the Star Pointer onto the dovetail mounting platform on top of the focuser assembly so that the sight tube is facing towards the front of the tube.

  • Page 11: Attaching The Hand Control

    The NexStar SLT hand control has a phone jack type connector at the end of its cord. Plug the phone jack connector into the outlet at the base of the telescope’s fork arm. Push the connector into the outlet until it clicks into place and place the hand control into its holder as described previously in the Assembly section of the manual Auxiliary Port ON/Off Switch...

  • Page 12: Hand Control

    The NexStar SLT's hand controller is designed to give you instant access to all the functions the NexStar has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 4,000 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

    The NexStar Hand Control Info: Displays coordinates and useful information about objects selected from the NexStar database. Tour: Activates the tour mode, which seeks out all the best objects for a given month and automatically slews the NexStar to those objects. Enter: Pressing Enter allows you to select any of the NexStar functions, accept entered parameters and slew the telescope to displayed objects.

  • Page 14: Alignment Procedure

    In order for the NexStar 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.
  • Page 15 Enter the current time for your area. You can enter either the local time (i.e. 8:00), or you can enter military Time - time (i.e. 20:00). Select PM or AM. If military time was entered, the hand control will bypass this step. Choose between Standard time or Daylight Savings time.

  • Page 16: Auto Two-Star Align

    As with Sky Align, Auto Two-Star Align requires you to enter all the necessary time/site information as before. Once this information is entered, NexStar will prompt you to select and point the telescope at one known star in the sky. NexStar now has all the information it needs to automatically choose a second star that will assure the best possible alignment.

  • Page 17: One-Star Align

    Once the second star alignment is completed properly, the display will read Align Successful, and you should hear the tracking motors turn-on and begin to track. One-Star Align requires you to input all the same information as you would for the Two-Star Align procedure. However, instead of slewing to two alignment stars for centering and alignment, the NexStar uses only one star to model the sky based on the information given.

  • Page 18: Nexstar Re-Alignment

    The NexStar has a re-alignment feature which allows you to replace either of the original alignment stars with a new star or celestial object. This can be useful in several situations: • If you are observing over a period of a few hours, you may notice that your original two alignment stars have drifted towards the west considerably.

  • Page 19: Slewing To An Object

    Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control screen, you have two options: • Press the INFO Key. This will give you useful information about the selected object such as magnitude, constellation and fascinating facts about many of the objects. •...

  • Page 20: Direction Buttons

    The NexStar has four direction buttons in the center of the hand control which controls the telescope motion in altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left and right). The telescope can be controlled at nine different speed rates. 1 = 2x 6 = .5º...

  • Page 21: Tracking Rate

    Tracking Rate In addition to being able to move the telescope with the hand control buttons, the NexStar will continually track a celestial object as it moves across the night sky. The tracking rate can be changed depending on what type of object is being observed: This rate compensates for the rotation of the earth by moving the Sidereal telescope at the same rate as the rotation of the earth, but in the opposite...

  • Page 22: Identify

    Identify Identify Mode will search any of the NexStar database catalogs or lists and display the name and offset distances to the nearest matching objects. This feature can serve two purposes. First, it can be used to identify an unknown object in the field of view of your eyepiece.

  • Page 23: Anti-Backlash

    Direction Buttons – The direction a star moves in the eyepiece varies depending on the accessories being used. This can create confusion when guiding on a star using an off-axis guider versus a straight through guide scope. To compensate for this, the direction of the drive control keys can be changed. To reverse the button logic of the hand control, press the MENU button and select Direction Buttons from the Utilities menu.

  • Page 24: Sun Menu

    telescope up from hibernate mode. To wake up the telescope after UNDO has been pressed, select Hibernate from the Utility menu and press ENTER. Do not use the direction buttons to move the telescope while in hibernate mode. Sun Menu For safety purposes the Sun will not be displayed as a database object unless it is first enabled.
  • Page 25 NexStar SLT MENU ALIGNMENT LIST NAMED STAR TRACKING SKY ALIGN NAMED OBJECT ASTERISM MODE Saved Site TOUR ENTER if OK VARIABLE STAR UNDO to Edit ALT-AZ DOUBLE STAR EQ NORTH CCD OBJECTS Center Alignment Object 1 EQ SOUTH ABELL IC CATALOG RATE CALDWELL Center Alignment Object 2...

  • Page 26: Telescope Basics

    A telescope is an instrument that collects and focuses light. The nature of the optical design determines how the light is focused. Some telescopes, known as refractors, use lenses. Other telescopes, known as reflectors, use mirrors. The NexStar 60, 80 and 102 telescopes are refractor telescopes that use an objective lens to collect its light.

  • Page 27: Determining Field Of View

    Multiplying 3.2 by 60 gives a maximum useful magnification of 192 power. Although this is the maximum useful magnification, most observing is done in the range of 20 to 35 power for every inch of aperture which is 64 to 112 times for the NexStar 80 telescope.

  • Page 28: Celestial Observing

    See the "Seeing Conditions" section later in this section. • To increase contrast and bring out detail on the planetary surface, try using Celestron eyepiece filters. Although overlooked by many amateur astronomers, solar observation is both rewarding and fun. However, because the Sun is so bright, special precautions must be taken when observing our star so as not to damage your eyes or your telescope.

  • Page 29: Solar Observing Hints

    For safe solar viewing, use a Celestron solar filter (see Optional Accessories section of manual) that reduces the intensity of the Sun's light, making it safe to view. With a filter you can see sunspots as they move across the solar disk and faculae, which are bright patches seen near the Sun's edge.
  • Page 30 Figure 5-1 Seeing conditions directly affect image quality. These drawing represent a point source (i.e., star) under bad seeing conditions (left) to excellent conditions (right). Most often, seeing conditions produce images that lie some where between these two extremes.

  • Page 31: Telescope Maintenance

    NexStar 114/130 reflector models. If your telescope is out of collimation, the best way to re-collimate it is with a good collimation tool. Celestron offers a Newtonian Collimation Tool (#94183) with detailed instructions that make it an easy chore.

  • Page 32: Optional Accessories

    Adapter, Car Battery (#18769) - Celestron offers the Car Battery Adapter that allows you to run the NexStar drive off an external power source. The adapter attaches to the cigarette lighter of your car, truck, van, or motorcycle.
  • Page 33 Vibration Suppression Pads (#93503) - These pads rest between the ground and tripod feet of your telescope. They reduce the amplitude and vibration time of your telescope when shaken by the wind or an accidental bump. A full description of all Celestron accessories can be found on our web site at www.celestron.com...

  • Page 34: Appendix A - Technical Specifications

    APPENDIX A - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS NexStar 60mm NexStar 80mm NexStar 102mm NexStar 114mm NexStar 130mm Design Refractor Refractor Refractor Reflector Reflector Aperture 60mm 80mm 102mm 114mm 130mm Focal Length 700mm 900mm 660mm 1000mm 650mm F/ratio of the Optical System Optical Coatings Fully Coated Fully Coated Multi Coated...

  • Page 35: Appendix B - Glossary Of Terms

    GLOSSARY OF TERMS Absolute magnitude The apparent magnitude that a star would have if it were observed from a standard distance of 10 parsecs, or 32.6 light-years. The absolute magnitude of the Sun is 4.8. at a distance of 10 parsecs, it would just be visible on Earth on a clear moonless night away from surface light.
  • Page 36 GoTo Term used to refer to a computerized telescope or to the act of slewing (moving) a computerized telescope Jovian Planets Any of the four gas giant planets that are at a greater distance form the sun than the terrestrial planets.
  • Page 37 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. Universe The totality of astronomical things, events, relations and energies capable of being described objectively.

  • Page 38: Appendix C - Rs-232 Connection

    NSOL, the telescope can be controlled using other popular astronomy software programs. For detailed information about controlling NexStar via the RS-232 port, Communication protocols and the RS-232 cable, refer to the NexStar SLT section of the Celestron web site at: http://www.celestron.com.

  • Page 39: Appendix D - Time Zone Maps

    APPENDIX D – MAPS OF TIME ZONES...
  • Page 47 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 48 Celestron 2835 Columbia Street Torrance, CA 90503 Tel. (310) 328-9560 Fax. (310) 212-5835 Web site at http//www.celestron.com Copyright 2005 Celestron All rights reserved. (Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation.) This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rule. Operation is subject to the...

This manual is also suitable for:

Nexstar 130Nexstar 102Nexstar 114Nexstar 60Nexstar slt

Table of Contents