Addendum For NexStar GT Hand Control Section Of The Owner's Manual. The following is an addendum to the NexStar GT section of the owner's manual that explains the current operation and added features to your NexStar hand control. Please refer to these pages for specific information regarding telescope alignment and hand control functions. Celestron International Technical Support Dept. 2835 Columbia St. Torrance, CA 90503 310-328-9560 www.celestron.
The Hand Control The NexStar GT's hand controller is designed to give you instant access to all the functions the NexStar has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 4,000 objects, and common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions. Below is a brief description of the individual components of the NexStar GT hand controller: 1. 2. 3.
4. Catalog Keys: The NexStar has a key on the hand control to allow direct access to each of the catalogs in its 4,000+ object database. The NexStar contains the following catalogs in its database: Messier – Complete list of all Messier objects. NGC – Many of the brightest deep sky objects from the Revised New General Catalog. Caldwell – A combination of the best NGC and IC objects. Planets - All 8 planets in our Solar System plus the Moon.
1. Once the NexStar is powered on the display will read NexStar Ready. Press ENTER to begin alignment. The first time that the NexStar is used, it will request information to help identify the model of telescope. Once powered on, the hand control will display the message Select Model. Model Use the Up and Down menu keys (10) to scroll through the different NexStar models. Press ENTER when your NexStar model is displayed on the hand control.
the Star Pointer finder. Once finished slewing, the display will ask you to use the arrow buttons to align the selected star with the red dot in the center of the Star Pointer. If for some reason the chosen star is not visible (perhaps behind a tree or building) you can press UNDO to select and slew to a different star. Once centered in the finder, press ENTER. The display will then instruct you to center the star in the field of view of the eyepiece.
3. The hand control will then ask you to input all the same time and location information as you would for the AutoAlign procedure. Once entered, the NexStar will model the sky based on this information and display Alignment Successful. Successful NexStar Re-Alignment The NexStar has a re-alignment feature which allows you to replace either of the two original alignment stars with a new star or celestial object.
Slewing to an Object Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control screen, you have two options: • Press the INFO Key. This will give you useful information about the selected object such as magnitude, constellation and fascinating facts about many of the objects. The speed at which information scrolls across the hand control display can be changed while the information is being viewed: Press the “1” key repeatedly to speed up the scroll speed.
Rate Button Pressing the RATE key (11) allows you to instantly change the speed rate of the motors from high speed slew rate to precise guiding rate or anywhere in between. Each rate corresponds to a number on the hand controller key pad. The number 9 is the fastest rate (approximately 4º per second, depending on power source) and is used for slewing between objects and locating alignment stars.
Sidereal Time – Displays the Sidereal time for your current time and location. This is useful for knowing the right ascension of celestial objects that are located on the local meridian at that time. Filter Limits – When an alignment is complete, the NexStar automatically knows which celestial objects are above the horizon.
Goto Alt-Az Helpful Hint - Allows you to enter a specific altitude and azimuth position and slew to it. To store a set of coordinates (R.A./Dec) permanently into the NexStar database, save it as a User Defined Object as described above. Utility Features M E NU Scrolling through the MENU options will also provide access to several advanced utility functions such as anti-backlash compensation and slew limits.
N e x S ta r R e a d y M ENU T R ACK IN G M ODE A L T -A Z EQ NO RTH E Q S O UTH OFF R AT E A L IG NM ENT AU T O ALIG N P O IN T T U B E N O R T H & L E V E L CIT Y DAT ABASE Un ited States Ch oose State S ID E R E A L SOLAR LUNAR V IE W T IM E -S IT E S IDE R E AL T IM E FILT E R LIM IT S A L T M A X IN L IS T A L T M IN IN L IS T U T ILIT IE S S E TU P TIM E /S ITE A N TI-B A C K L A S H S L E W L IM ITS D IR E C TIO N B U TTO N S L IG H T C O N TR O L SELECT MODEL R S -2 3 2 U S E R OBJE C T S G O TO S
APPENDIX C – MAPS OF TIME ZONES 12
