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Autumn and Vernal Equinox calculates the time and date of the fall or spring equinox of the
current year.
Winter and Summer Solstice calculates the time and date of the winter or summer solstice of
the current year.
Glossary Menu
The Glossary menu provides an alphabetical listing of definitions and descriptions for common
astronomical terms and Autostar functions. Access directly through the Glossary menu or
through hypertext words embedded in Autostar. A hypertext word is any word in [brackets],
usually found when using the Autostar Help function or when reading a scrolling message such
as a description of a planet or star. Press ENTER whenever a hypertext word is on screen and
Autostar goes to the glossary entry for that word.
To access directly from the Glossary menu, use the Scroll keys to scroll through the alphabet.
Press ENTER on the desired letter. Scroll to the desired entry and then press ENTER to read
the description.
Utilities Menu
The Utilities menu provides access to several extra features within Autostar, including a count-
down timer and an alarm. The Utilities functions include:
Timer selects a countdown timer. This feature is useful for functions such as astrophotography
and tracking satellites. See
OBSERVING SATELLITES, page 37. To use the Timer, press ENTER,
then choose “Set” or “Start/Stop."
■
Set: Enter the time to be counted down, in
hours, minutes, and seconds, then press
ENTER.
■ Start/Stop: Activates the timer set previ-
ously. Use the Scroll keys to toggle
between ON and OFF. When ON is dis-
played, press ENTER to activate the
timer. When the timer runs out, four
beeps sound and the timer is deactivated.
Alarm selects a time for an alarm signal as a
reminder. To use the Alarm, press ENTER,
then choose "Set" or "Start/Stop."
■
Set: Enter the time of day for the alarm to
sound, in hours, minutes, and seconds,
then press ENTER.
■ Start/Stop: Activates the alarm set pre-
viously. Use the Scroll keys to toggle
between ON and OFF. When ON is dis-
played, press ENTER to activate the
alarm. When the alarm time arrives,
Autostar beeps. Press ENTER to deacti-
vate the alarm.
Eyepiece Calc calculates information about
an eyepiece for the specific telescope to
which Autostar is connected.
■ Field of View: Scroll through a list of
available eyepieces. When an eyepiece
is selected, the field of view is calculat-
ed.
■ Magnification: Scroll through a list of
available eyepieces. When an eyepiece is
selected, the magnification is calculated.
DS-2000 TIPS
Observing Considerations
• Try to pick an observing site away from
street and house lights, and car head-
lights. While this is not always possible,
the darker the site, the better.
• Give your eyes about ten minutes to
adjust to the darkness before observing.
Give your eyes a rest from observing
every ten or fifteen minutes to relieve eye-
strain.
• Try not to use a standard flashlight.
Seasoned observers use red LED flash-
lights or tape red cellophane over their
flashlights for setup and map reading so
they don’t have to continually readjust
their eyes to the darkness. Be careful not
to shine bright lights if there are other
observers in the area. Never shine a flash-
light into a telescope while someone is
observing!
• Dress warmly. It gets chilly when you’re
sitting for prolonged periods, even on
some summer nights.
• Practice setting up your equipment during
the day or in a lighted area to become
familiar with it before going to a dark site.
• Use your 25mm eyepiece to view terrestri-
al objects and wider areas of space, such
as open star clusters. Use your higher
power eyepieces when you wish to view
something up close, such as craters on
the Moon or the rings of Saturn.
• Know your observing site. If you’re going
to try out an unfamiliar site, check it out in
the daylight for obstructions and pitfalls.