Meade ETX125 Instruction Manual - Page 20

AUTOSTAR OPERATION Object Event Guided Tours Glossary Utilities Setup Fig. 27a: Menus set in a loop. Setup Align Date Time Daylight Saving Telescope Targets etc. Fig. 27b: Menu options display on the second line. Use the Scroll keys to move up or down through the list of options. Press ENTER to select the desired option. 20 SETUP MENU Automatic alignment permits all telescope operations with only minimal setup. Select Item: Setup Select Item: Object OBJECT MENU Want to see Mars? The Orion nebula? The Andromeda galaxy? Select from over 30,000 objects and press GO TO to move the telescope automatically to an object. Select Item: Event UTILITIES MENU Calculate eyepiece magnifications; set timer alerts; create your own landmark survey. The Universe of Autostar EVENT MENU Display the time of past, present and future astronomical events, such as Moon phases or meteor showers. Select Item: Utilities Select Item: Guided Tour GLOSSARY What is an elliptical galaxy? How far away is the Sun? Expand your knowledge of astronomy by displaying terms and definitions, and other information. Select Item: Glossary GUIDED TOUR Autostar escorts you on a tour of tonight's best celestial objects at your viewing location. Fig. 26: The AutoStar Universe: The six primary categories listed in the Select menu. It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop (Fig. 27a). This means that pressing the Scroll Down key cycles down through all the available options within a given category, then returns to the first option. The Scroll Up key cycles up through the options in the opposite order. Note that this capability is a quick way to get to an option that is near the bottom of the list. The following example demonstrates this capability. Example: To navigate to the "Select Item: Setup" menu option when the "Select Item: Object" menu is displayed: 1. Press the Scroll Down key five times or the Scroll Up key once. The screen in Fig. 27b shows two lines of information in the AutoStar display. The top line shows the current menu level. The second line displays an option which may be selected. Some options are submenus that offer more choices. The Scroll keys move up and down within the list of available options, showing one option at a time. When an option is displayed on the second line, press the ENTER key to choose that option. Press the MODE key to return back to the last menu. This can be useful to exit a menu or if the wrong menu option is chosen. Important Note: No matter how many levels into AutoStar are traveled, each press of the MODE key moves up a level, until the top level, "Select Item," is reached. Once Select Item displays, press MODE to return to the topmost level, "Select Item: Object." AutoStar Navigation Exercise To demonstrate how the AutoStar menu structure works, the following exercise calculates Sunset time so an evening observing session can be planned. Note To perform an accurate calculation, AutoStar MUST be properly initialized with the location of the observing site. See INITIALIZING AUTOSTAR, page 19, before proceeding with this exercise. To Calculate Sunset time: 1. Press the MODE key several times, until "Select Item: Object" is displayed. 2. Press the Scroll Down key once to display the "Event" option in the "Select Item" menu.