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3 . Launch Celestron SkyPortal on your device and select
"Connect . " Arrows will appear on your screen for UP/
DOWN and LEFT/RIGHT . These motions are referred to
as altitude and azimuth, respectively .
4 . Use the arrows to move your telescope . A slider will adjust
the motor speed . Start by pointing at distant terrestrial
objects . Locate something with your StarPointer first,
then look at the object using the 40 mm eyepiece . Switch
to the 13 mm eyepiece, and notice how it increases the
magnification and decreases the field of view . When you
change eyepieces, you may have to readjust the focus
slightly to get the sharpest image . Now that you are famil-
iar with your telescope, you are ready to begin observing
the night sky!
Aligning the NexStar Evolution
with Celestron SkyPortal
Your telescope must be aligned before it can accurately point
to celestial objects in the sky . Once aligned, your telescope
will automatically locate any celestial object you select on
your screen! The telescope also automatically tracks objects
in the sky as the Earth rotates . This keeps objects centered
in the eyepiece, and makes it easy to share views with family
and friends .
SkyPortal's default alignment uses Celestron's SkyAlign™
technology which only requires centering any three bright
stars in the sky, without having to know their names . And
since your smart device already accounts for date, time and
location, there is no need for GPS or to input information
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about your observing site . All you have to do is center and
align 3 bright stars seen in the sky .
SkyPortal's advanced mount-modeling provides improved
pointing accuracy compared to standard computerized hand
control systems for telescopes . This level of pointing accura-
cy was previously only available when used with a dedicated
PC running specialized software .
1 . Set up your telescope as you did during the day . Make
sure your star diagonal and 40 mm eyepiece are installed .
Set the tripod to a comfortable height and level it . Turn the
telescope on .
2 . Connect to the "SkyQLink-xx" WiFi network . Open the
SkyPortal app . Select the telescope icon at on your
screen, then press "Connect and Align" .
3 . Use the arrows on your screen to move the telescope to
any bright star in the sky .
4 . Center the object in your StarPointer and tap Enter . Now
that the object is centered in the finder, the motor speed
will slow down so that you may make gradual adjustments
to center it in the eyepiece .
5 . Center the star in your eyepiece and tap Align . This aligns
your first star .
6 . Choose another bright star, in a different part of the sky . Move
the telescope to the second star and repeat steps 3-5 .
7 . Repeat this process for a third star in another part of the
sky . Upon completing the third alignment star, your tele-
scope will be aligned . You are now ready to observe!
Helpful Hint: You can align your telescope during the day
by aligning to any visible celestial object. Tap the Settings
icon, then tap Telescope Setup and Control, and select "Align
Using Manual Align. " Now position the telescope to an object
visible during the day – such as the Sun (only with a proper
full aperture solar filter!), the Moon, or Venus. After one
object is aligned, tap "Done" to complete the alignment. Your
telescope's pointing accuracy will not be as precise as with
a typical three point alignment. However, this alignment is
suitable for daytime observing and tracking objects.
Pointing to Objects in SkyPortal
and other Telescope Functions
GoTo
Now that your NexStar Evolution is aligned, SkyPortal will
guide you through the most interesting objects to look at
using its interactive planetarium . Your screen displays a
detailed star map, which automatically adjusts as you move
around . Select the compass icon on your screen and the star
map will sync with the sky . Hold your device up to the sky, and
you will easily be able to identify bright stars, constellations,
planets and deep space objects outside of our Solar System .
SkyPortal will point your telescope at any of these objects .
Simply tap the object on your screen, and select "GoTo . "
You can also select the search icon to enter an object name,
such as "Orion Nebula", "Jupiter", or "Pleiades . " Objects may
also be entered by their catalog designation, such as M42,
M45, NGC 2244, etc .
Another way to find objects of interest is to tap the Search
icon and select from "Tonight's Best . " Select an object from
the list, then tap GoTo .
Connect vs Connect and Align
In SkyPortal's telescope control screen, you can either
"Connect" or "Connect and Align . " Selecting "Connect" will
resume the previous alignment . If the telescope is used for
the first time, the "Connect" option will only give you the ability
to move the telescope but it will not yet point to objects
without performing an alignment .
Connect is useful if you keep the telescope set up and close
the app, or walk out of WiFi range, then return to the tele-
scope later to resume the alignment .
Connect and Align will start a new alignment . The default
uses SkyAlign™ which requires centering any three bright
stars in the sky .
Note: Any time "Connect and Align" is tapped, the previous
alignment will be erased and you must start a new alignment
to accurately point to objects.
Disconnect
Disconnects the app only from the telescope . The WiFi can
remain connected to your smart device, even if you are dis-
connected in the app . If the telescope remains on, you can
reconnect by tapping "Connect" and resume your previous
alignment .
Motor Speed Rate Slider Bar
Drag the slider bar to change the slew speed of your
telescope . The two faster speeds on the right move the
telescope so the up/down and left/right orientation matches
what you see in the StarPointer . The two slower speeds on
the left move the telescope so the up/down and left/right
orientation matches what you see in the eyepiece .
Lock and Unlock
When connecting to the telescope, the crosshairs on your
screen are aligned to the telescope . When you move the
telescope with the on-screen direction arrows, the crosshairs
remain locked in the center of the screen, causing the sky to
scroll by on your display . Select "Unlock" to let the crosshairs
move without scrolling the sky . When unlocked, the cross-
hairs can move off the screen . At any time, you can manually
scroll the screen or select "Lock" to re-center the crosshairs .
If you want to explore another region of sky before pointing
your telescope, you can scroll away from the current position
on your screen at any time, which automatically unlocks
the crosshair position . Selecting the Compass icon to sync
the display with the sky will also automatically unlock the
crosshairs .
Align
Align allows you to add another alignment point to your Sky-
Align or Manual align model . The three stars used in SkyAlign
or manual align generally provide good accuracy across the
sky . Adding alignment stars will further improve the GoTo
accuracy . SkyPortal implements advanced mount modeling,
which can accommodate up to 10 additional alignment stars .
Tap a star on your screen, then tap GoTo . If the star is not
centered in your eyepiece, tap Align, then follow the prompts
to center your star in the eyepiece and align on it .
SkyPortal Telescope Setup and
Control Menu
NexStar Evolution contains several telescope control fea-
tures, such as backlash, and L .E .D . brightness control . The
Telescope Setup and Control Menu can be accessed in two
different ways . Tap the Settings icon, then tap Scope Setup .
Or, when connected to the telescope, simply tap the settings
icon located to the left of the speed rate slider bar .
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