Aligning the LT Series
As the Earth rotates beneath the night sky, the stars appear to move from East to West. The speed at which the stars move is called the sidereal rate. You can setup your telescope to move at the sidereal rate so that it automatically tracks the stars and other objects in the night sky. If the telescope is not tracking an astronomical object, the object will drift out of the eyepiece field of view. The tracking function automatically keeps an object more or less centered in the telescope’s eyepiece.
To automatically track and locate objects in the night sky, the LT Series must first be aligned on the sky. It is best to set up the telescope in twilight or before sunset the first time you use the LT Series. Setup the telescope in a large open area where you can see lots of the night sky. Make sure the ground is stable and approximately level. It is best to setup the scope away from bright nighttime lighting. Bright lights will spoil your night vision and impede you ability to see the sky.
The LT Series Home Position
Once the LT Series is fully assembled, you will first need to initialize AutoStar, set the telescope into the home position, and perform the Easy Alignment in order for the LT Series to successfully locate celestial objects. The home position for the LT Series is with the telescope optical tube level and pointed in the direction of either True North or Magnetic North. See Figure 6. Either North direction can be used and the LT Series will prompt you to which North direction the optical tube is pointing before beginning an alignment. Once the telescope is fully assembled and outside under the night sky, follow the steps below to correctly place the telescope into the home position.
Magnetic North Home Position
1.Using the up/down arrow keys (pg. 19, Fig. 5, 5) on the AutoStar controller, move the telescope so that the optical tube is approximately level. Place the included bubble level/compass into the diagonal prism and use the AutoStar left/right arrow keys (pg. 19, Fig. 5, 5) to move the telescope so the optical tube is lined up with the compass needle. The telescope will then be pointing in the direction of Magnetic North.
2.Now use the up/down arrow keys on the AutoStar controller to level the optical tube using bubble level feature to precisely level the optical tube.
3.The telescope is now in the Magnetic North Home Position.
True North Home Position
1.Using the up/down arrow keys (pg. 19, Fig. 5, 5) on the AutoStar controller, move the telescope so that the optical tube is approximately level. Now use the left/right arrow keys (pg. 19, Fig. 5, 5) to move the telescope so the optical tube is pointing in the direction of True North (the north star Polaris).
2.Now use the up/down arrow keys on the AutoStar controller to level the optical tube. The included bubble level/compass can be place into the diagonal prism and has a built in bubble level feature that will aide in leveling the optical tube if needed.
3.The telescope is now in the True North Home Position.
North |
Telescope |
Tube is level |
Figure 6: Alt/Az Home Position
Compass needle is pointing to Magnetic North
Bubble is centered
Figure 7: Bubble Level/Compass
AutoStarLIGNING#497THE LTHANDBOXSERIES
INDEX |
| 9 |
| ||
|