User manual MEADE DS-114AT

[. . . ] Instruction Manual DS-114AT Reflecting Telescope Meade Instruments Corporation Reflecting Telescopes use a concave primary mirror to collect light and form an image. In the Newtonian type of reflector, light is reflected by a small, flat secondary mirror to the side of the main tube for observation of the image. Light is collected by a concave mirror and brought to a focus at F. Secondary Mirror Concave Mirror F Reflecting Telescope Eyepiece CONTENTS WARNING! Never use a Meade® DS-114AT Telescope to look at the Sun!Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye. [. . . ] These methods are included in case the observer prefers to pick out his or her own alignment stars. Two-Star Alt/Az Alignment Two-Star Alignment requires some knowledge of the night sky. Two-Star Alignment is identical to Easy Align (see EASY (TWO-STAR) ALIGN, page 17), except Autostar displays a database of bright stars and two stars are chosen by the observer from this database for alignment. It is recommended that you choose stars with which you are familiar from this database when first trying out this method or the One-Star Alignment method. One-Star Alt/Az Alignment One-Star Alignment also requires some knowledge of the night sky. One-Star Alignment is identical to Easy Align (see EASY (TWO-STAR) ALIGN, page 17), except Autostar displays a database of bright stars and one star is chosen by the observer from this database for alignment. IMPORTANT NOTE: The accuracy of One-Star Alt/Az Alignment, unlike the TwoStar Alignment procedures, depends on how well the observer levels the telescope and how close to North the telescope is pointed when setting the Home Position (Fig. Because the Two-Star Alignment methods use two stars to align upon, they are more precise than One-Star Alignment. 18 Go To Saturn After performing the Easy Align procedure, the motor drive begins operating and the telescope is aligned for a night of viewing. Objects in the eyepiece should maintain their position even though the Earth is rotating beneath the stars. IMPORTANT NOTE: Once aligned, only use GO TO or the Arrow keys to move the telescope. Do not loosen the Alt and Az locks (22 and 19, Fig. 1), or move the base manually, or alignment will be lost. Fig. 21: One of the most beautiful celestial sights, Saturn. This exercise shows how to select a celestial object (Saturn) for viewing from Autostar's database. NOTE: Saturn is not always visible and you may need to choose another object from Autostar's Object database; however, the procedure, as described below, remains the same--just choose a different object in step 3. After the telescope is aligned, "Select Item: Object" displays. "Object: Solar System" displays. "Solar System: Mercury" displays. Keep pressing the Scroll Down key until "Solar System: Saturn" displays. Then "Saturn" and a set of coordinates displays. Note that Saturn's (and other planets') coordinates may change throughout the year. "Saturn: Slewing. . . " displays and the telescope slews until it finds Saturn. You may need to use the Arrow keys to center Saturn precisely in the eyepiece. Autostar then automatically moves the telescope so that it "tracks" Saturn (or whatever other object you may have chosen); i. e. , Saturn remains centered in the eyepiece. 1 2. 5. Take a Guided Tour This example demonstrates using "Tonight's Best" Guided Tour. [. . . ] Deep-Sky Objects Star charts can be used to locate constellations, individual stars and deep-sky objects. Examples of various deep-sky objects are given below: Stars are large gaseous objects that are self-illuminated by nuclear fusion in their core. Because of their vast distances from our solar system, all stars appear as pinpoints of light, irrespective of the size of the telescope used. Open Clusters are loose groupings of young stars, all recently formed from the same diffuse nebula. [. . . ]