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16
OBSERVING
Observing by Moving the Telescope Manually
If you wish to observe a distant land object, such as a mountain top or a bird, you can
observe by merely pointing the telescope and looking through the eyepiece.
1. Loosen the telescope’s horizontal lock (
9, Fig. 1) and vertical lock (6, Fig. 1).
2. Move your telescope to observe distant street signs, mountains, trees and other
structures. Use your viewfinder to help sight-in on an object.
3. Center the object in the viewfinder’s crosshairs and then in the telescope
eyepiece. When the object is centered in your eyepiece, remember to re-tighten
the horizontal and vertical locks.
4. Practice focusing objects using the focus knob (
8, Fig. 1).
5. Once you get a feel for how your telescope moves and focuses, try to view
something more challenging, like a bird or a distant moving train.
You can also observe stars and objects in the night sky using this method, but note
that objects begin to slowly drift across the eyepiece field. This motion is caused by
the rotation of the Earth. As you become familiar with the Autostar handbox operation,
you can counteract the drift using the automatic tracking feature (see
TO TRACK AN
OBJECT AUTOMATICALLY, page 17) or by using Autostar's GO TO capabilities (see
GO TO SATURN, page 20).
Terrestrial Observing
ETX telescopes are excellent high-resolution terrestrial (land) telescopes. Viewing
terrestrial objects requires looking along the Earth's surface through heat waves.
These heat waves often cause degradation of image quality. Lower power eyepieces,
like the 26mm, magnify these heat waves less than higher power eyepieces (such as
a 9mm eyepiece). Therefore, lower power eyepieces provide a steadier, higher qual-
ity image. If the image is fuzzy or ill-defined, reduce to a lower power eyepiece, where
the heat waves do not have such an effect on image quality. Observing in early morn-
ing hours, before the ground has built up internal heat, produces better viewing
conditions than during late afternoon hours.
Observing Using Autostar Arrow Keys
You may observe land and astronomical objects using Autostar's Arrow keys to move
the telescope.
1. Tighten the horizontal and vertical locks (
9 and 6, Fig. 1).
2. Make sure that Autostar’s coiled cord is connected to the computer control
panel’s HBX port (
C, Fig. 2).
3. Flip the Power Switch (
A, Fig. 2) on the computer control panel to the ON
position. A copyright message lights on Autostar’s LCD display, followed by a
warning not to look at the Sun. Press the Autostar key prompted by the message
when you are done reading. See page 9 to 11 for more information about
Autostar’s keys.
4. A “Getting Started” message displays. Press ENTER to skip this message.
5. Keep pressing the ENTER key until "Country/State" displays. (Ignore the
prompts requesting "Date" and "Time" for now—these functions will be explained
later).
6. When “Country/States” displays, press either one of the SCROLL KEYS to cycle
through the choices on the list. When your state or country appears on the list, press
ENTER.
7. “Cities” displays. Using the SCROLL KEYS, cycle through the list of cities and press
ENTER when your city or the city closest to your observing site displays.
8. Finally “Telescope Models” displays. Using the SCROLL KEYS, cycle through the
list of telescope models and press ENTER when your model displays.
9. The display now displays "Setup: Align." .
You can now use the ARROW KEYS to slew (move) the telescope up, down, right or
left. Practice using the ARROW KEYS to center objects in the eyepiece.
To change the speed at which the telescope moves (known as the “slew” speed),
press a NUMBER KEY from 1 through 9. 1 is the slowest speed and 9 is the fastest.
See
SLEW SPEEDS on the following page.
NEVER point
the telescope
directly at or
near the Sun at
any time! Observing the
Sun, even for the smallest
fraction of a second, will
result in instant and
irreversible eye damage,
as well as physical
damage to the telescope
itself.
Do not look through the
telescope's eyepiece or
viewfinder while it is rap-
idly moving. Children
should always have adult
supervision while
observing.
Note:
Viewing conditions vary
widely from night-to-night
and site-to-site.Turbulence
in the air, even on an
apparently clear night, can
distort images. Low-power
eyepieces, such as the
26mm supplied with your
telescope, are better suited
to resolving images in poor
viewing conditions.
Important Note:
Autostar requests the
Country/State, City and
Telescope Model
information only the first
time
Autostar is activated.
Subsequently, Autostar
uses the location and
model number you have
chosen.
If you wish to change this
information, use the
"Telescope Model" and
"Site" options in the Setup
menu. See pages 28, 29
and 31 for more
information.