Meade NGC-Series Telescope User Manual


 
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1. After observing Saturn, press MODE twice so that "Select Item: Object" displays
again.
2. Press UP/DOWN until "Select Item: Guided Tour" displays.
3. Press ENTER. "Guided Tour: Tonight’s Best" displays. Press ENTER.
NOTE: If you wish to try out other Guided Tours, press UP/DOWN to
scroll through other tour choices. When the tour you wish to select dis-
plays, press ENTER.
4. "Tonight’s Best: Searching..." displays. After calculating, "Tonight’s Best: Jupiter"
displays.
NOTE: Different objects may be displayed on a tour list on any given night.
Use the method described in the last section, GO TO SATURN, to find Jupiter or
any other object displayed on the Guided Tour list. After selecting an item from
the list by pressing ENTER, press UP/DOWN to display information about the
object.
5. Press MODE to return to the Tour list. Press UP/DOWN to scroll through the list.
Press ENTER when you find the next object you wish to observe.
6. Use MODE to leave the Guided Tour menu.
Observing Considerations
Try to pick an observing site away from street and house lights and car headlights.
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 eyestrain.
Try not to use a standard flashlight. Experienced observers use red LED flashlights
or tape red cellophane over their flashlights to use 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. Do not shine a flashlight
into the telescope while someone is observing!
Dress warmly. It gets chilly when you’re sitting for prolonged periods, even on
warm 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 a 25mm or 26mm eyepiece to view terrestrial objects and wider areas of
space, such as open star clusters. Use optional higher power eyepieces, such as
a 12.5mm eyepiece (see OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES, page 19, for more details),
when you wish to view something up close, such as craters on the Moon or the
rings of Saturn.
TIPS for Beginners
Surf the Web
One of the most exciting resources for astronomy is the internet. The internet is full of web-
sites with new images, discoveries, and the latest astronomical information. You can find
websites for almost any topic relating to astronomy on the internet. Check out Meade’s
website for the latest product and technical information. You’ll find our website at:
http://www.meade.com/
Here are some other sites you might find interesting:
Sky & Telescope:
http://www.Sky and Telescope.com
Astronomy:
http://www.astronomy.com
• Astronomy Picture of the Day:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.goc/apod
• Heavens Above (satellite observing information):
http://www.heavens-above.com
• Photographic Atlas of the Moon:
http://www.lpi.ursa.edu/research/lunar_orbiter
• Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pictures.html