Celestron 114LCM Computerized Telescope LCM Series Manual (English) - Page 11
Tips for Using Sky Align, Auto Two-Star Align, Two Star Alignment
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3. Use the arrow buttons on the hand control to slew (move) information is entered, the hand control will prompt you to the telescope towards any bright celestial object in the sky. select and point the telescope at one known star in the sky. Align the object with the red dot of the finderscope and The LCM now has all the information it needs to automatically press ENTER. choose a second star that will assure the best possible 4. If the finderscope has been properly aligned with the telescope tube, the alignment star should now be visible inside the field of view of the eyepiece. The hand control will ask that you center the bright alignment star in the center of alignment. Once selected, the telescope will automatically slew to that second alignment star to complete the alignment. With the LCM set up outside with all accessories attached and the tripod leveled, follow the steps below to align the telescope: the eyepiece and press the ALIGN button. This will accept 1. Once the LCM is powered on, Press ENTER to the star as the first alignment position. (There is no need to begin alignment. adjust the slewing rate of the motors after each alignment step. The LCM automatically selects the best slewing rate for aligning objects in both the finderscope and the eyepiece). 5. For the second alignment object, choose a bright star or planet as far as possible from the first alignment object. Once again use the arrow button to center the object in the finderscope and press ENTER. Then once centered in the eyepiece press the ALIGN button. 2. Use the Up and Down scroll keys (10) to select Auto Two-Star Align and press ENTER. 3. The hand control will display the last time and location information that was entered into the hand control. Use the Up and Down buttons to scroll through the information. Press ENTER to accept the current information or press UNDO to manually edit the information (see Sky Align section for detailed instruction on entering time/site information). 6. Repeat the process for the third alignment star. When the telescope has been aligned to the final stars, the display will read "Match Confirmed." Press UNDO to display the names of the three bright objects you aligned to, or press ENTER to accept these three objects for alignment. You are now ready to find your first object. 4. The display will now prompt you to select a bright star from the displayed list on the hand control. Use Up and Down buttons (6 and 9 on the keypad) to scroll to the desired star and then press ENTER. 5. Use the arrow buttons to slew the telescope to the star you selected. Center the star in the finderscope and press Tips for Using Sky Align Remember the following alignment guidelines to make using Sky Align as simple and accurate as possible. • Be sure to level the tripod before you begin alignment. The time/site information along with a level tripod will help the telescope better predict the available bright stars and planets that are above the horizon. • Remember to select alignment stars that are as far apart in the sky as possible. For best results make sure that the third alignment star does not lie in a straight line between the first two stars. This may result in a ENTER. Finally, center the star in the eyepiece and press ALIGN. 6. Based on this information, the LCM will automatically display the most suitable second alignment star that is above the horizon. Press ENTER to automatically slew the telescope to the displayed star. If for some reason you do not wish to select this star (perhaps it is behind a tree or building), you can either: • Press the UNDO button to display the next most suitable star for alignment. • Use the UP and DOWN scroll buttons to manually select any star you wish from the entire list of available stars. failed alignment. Once finished slewing, the display will ask you to use the • Don't worry about confusing planets for stars when selecting alignment objects. SkyAlign works with the four brightest planets (Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars) as well as the Moon. In addition to the planets, the hand control has over 80 bright alignment stars to choose from (down to 2.5 magnitude). • Rarely SkyAlign will not be able to determine what arrow buttons to align the selected star with the red dot of the finderscope. Once centered in the finder, press ENTER. The display will then instruct you to center the star in the field of view of the eyepiece. When the star is centered, press ALIGN to accept this star as your second alignment star. When the telescope has been aligned to both stars the display will read Align Success, and you are now ready to find your first object. three alignment objects were centered. This sometime happens when a bright planet or the Moon passes near one of the brighter stars. In situations like these, it is best to try to avoid aligning to either object if possible. • Be sure to center the objects with the same final movements as the direction of the GoTo Approach. For example, if the scope normally finishes a GoTo with Two Star Alignment With the two-star alignment method, the LCM requires the user to know the positions of two bright stars in order to accurately align the telescope with the sky and begin finding objects. Here is an overview of the two-star alignment procedure: 1. Once the LCM is powered on, use the Up and Down scroll keys (10) to select Two-Star Align, and press ENTER. the front of the scope moving right and up, you should center all three alignment objects in the eyepiece using 2. Press ENTER to accept the time/site information displayed on the display, or press UNDO to enter new information. the right and up arrow buttons (the up/down arrows 3. The SELECT STAR 1 message will appear in the top row of reverse at slew rates of 6 or lower). Approaching the star the display. Use the Up and Down scroll keys (10) to select from this direction when looking through the eyepiece the star you wish to use for the first alignment star. will eliminate much of the backlash between the gears Press ENTER. and assure the most accurate alignment possible. 4. The LCM then asks you to center in the eyepiece the 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 alignment star you selected. Use the direction arrow buttons to slew the telescope to the alignment star and carefully center the star in the finderscope. Press ENTER when centered. 9