Celestron Advanced VX 8 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope Advanced VX Manual - Page 17

• To slew to the object displayed, press ENTER. • To see the next tour object, press the DOWN key. Identify Button Pressing the IDENTIFY button will search the mount's database catalogs and display the name and angular distances to the nearest matching objects from the telescope's current location. This feature can serve two purposes. First, it can be used to identify an unknown object in the field of view of your eyepiece. Additionally, Identify Mode can be used to find other celestial objects that are close to the objects you are currently observing. For example, if your telescope is pointed at the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, choosing Identify will no doubt return the star Vega as the star you are observing. However, the Identify feature will also search its NGC and Solar System databases and display any planets or Deep Sky objects that are close by. In this example, the Ring Nebula (M57) would display as being approximately 6° away. The brightness and proximity of the objects displayed can be defined by the user using the Identify Filter under Telescope Setup. Direction Buttons The hand control has four direction buttons in the center of the hand control which control 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 2 = 4x 3 = 8x 4 = 16x 5 = 32x 6 = .3° / sec 7 = 1° / sec 8 = 2° / sec 9 = 4° / sec Motor Speed Button Pressing the MOTOR SPEED button (12) allows you to instantly change the speed rate of the motors from high speed slew rate to precise guiding rate or anywhere in between. Each rate corresponds to a number on the hand controller key pad. The number 9 is the fastest rate (approximately 4° per second, depending on power source) and is used for slewing between objects and locating alignment stars. The number 1 on the hand control is the slowest rate (2x sidereal) and can be used for accurate centering of objects in the eyepiece. To change the speed rate of the motors: • Press the MOTOR SPEED key on the hand control. The LCD will display the current speed rate. • P ress the number on the hand control that corresponds to the desired speed. The hand control has a "double button" feature that allows you to instantly speed up the motors without having to choose a speed rate. To use this feature, simply press the arrow button that corresponds to the direction that you want to move the telescope. While holding that button down, press the opposite directional button. This will increase the speed to the maximum slew rate. When using the UP and DOWN buttons on the hand control, the slower slew rates (6 and lower) move the motors in the opposite direction than the faster slew rates (7- 9). This is done so that an object will move in the appropriate direction when looking into the eyepiece (i.e., pressing the up arrow button will move the star upwards in the field of view of the eyepiece). However, if any of the slower slew rates (rate 6 and below) are used to center an object in the starpointer, you may need to press the opposite directional button to make the telescope move in the correct direction. Help Button In future firmware updates, this button will offer troubleshooting tips. For your convenience, it currently functions as a shortcut to the Messier Catalog. Menu Button The Advanced VX mount contains many user-defined setup functions designed to give the user control over the telescopes many features. All of the setup and utility features can be accessed by pressing the MENU key and scrolling through the options below. Tracking Menu Tracking Mode - This allows you to change the way the telescope tracks depending on the type of mount being used to support the telescope. The telescope has three different tracking modes: • EQ North - Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned in the Northern Hemisphere. • EQ South - Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned in the Southern Hemisphere. • Off - When using the telescope for terrestrial (land) observation, the tracking can be turned off so that the telescope never moves. Tracking Rate - In addition to being able to move the telescope with the hand control buttons, your telescope 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: • Sidereal - This rate compensates for the rotation of the Earth by moving the telescope at the same rate as the rotation of the Earth, but in the opposite direction. When the telescope is polar aligned, this can be accomplished by moving the telescope in right ascension only. • Lunar - Used for tracking the Moon when observing the lunar landscape. • Solar - Used for tracking the Sun when solar observing with the proper filter. I 17