Meade LX90 instruction manual Star Charts

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1.Obtain a rough polar alignment as described earlier. Place the illuminated reticle eyepiece (or eyepiece/Barlow combination) into the eyepiece holder of the telescope.

2.Point the telescope, with the motor drive running, at a moderately bright star near where the meridian (the North-South line passing through your local zenith) and the celestial equator intersect. For best results, the star should be located within ±30 minutes in R.A. of the meridian and within ±5° of the celestial equator (see “CELESTIAL COORDINATES,” page 47). Pointing the telescope at a star that is straight up, with the Declination set to 0°, will point the telescope in the right direction.

3.Note the extent of the star’s drift in Declination (disregard drift in Right Ascension):

a.If the star drifts South (or down), the telescope’s polar axis is pointing too far East.

b.If the star drifts North (or up), the telescope’s polar axis is pointing too far West.

4.Move the wedge in azimuth (horizontally) to effect the appropriate change in polar alignment. Reposition the telescope’s East-West polar axis orientation until there is no further North-South drift by the star. Track the star for a period of time to be certain that its Declination drift has ceased.

5.Next, point the telescope at another moderately bright star near the Eastern horizon, but still near the celestial equator. For best results, the star should be about 20° or 30° above the Eastern horizon and within ± 5° of the celestial equator.

6.Again note the extent of the star’s drift in Declination:

a.If the star drifts South, (or down) the telescope’s polar axis is pointing too low.

b.If the star drifts North, (or up) the telescope’s polar axis is pointing too high.

7.Use the altitude adjust control on the wedge to make appropriate changes in altitude, based on your observations above. Again, track the star for a period of time to be certain that Declination drift has ceased.

The above procedure results in very accurate polar alignment, and minimizes the need for tracking corrections during astrophotography.

LX90 TIPS

Star Charts

Even with the Autostar 30,000 object library, star charts and planispheres are still useful for a variety of reasons. In particular, they are a great aid in plan- ning a night of celestial viewing.

A wide variety of star charts are available in books, in magazines, on the inter- net and on CD Roms. Meade offers Epoch 2000sk™ and other star locator software. Contact your Meade dealer or Meade's Customer Service depart- ment for more information.

Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines print star charts each month for up-to-the-minute maps of the heavens.

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Contents LX90 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain Optical System Contents QUICK-START Guide ON/OFF E D Telescope FeaturesPage To Attach the Handbox Holder Tour the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Autostar FeaturesTopmost screen Select Item Object Page Getting Started How to Attach the Tripod to the Telescope AssemblyPrecautionary notes for the tripod How to Assemble Your TelescopeChoosing an Eyepiece Using SmartFinderAligning the Viewfinder Aligning SmartFinderTerrestrial Observing Observing Using AutoStars Arrow KeysObserving Observing By Moving the Telescope ManuallyObserve the Moon Slew SpeedsInitializing AutoStar for the First Time Astronomical ObservingTo Track an Object Automatically Moving Through AutoStar’s MenusWhile it does so Observe a Star using the Automatic Tracking FeatureHow to perform the Automatic Alignment procedure Automatic AlignmentGo To Saturn Using the Guided TourAutoStar Navigation Exercise Basic Autostar OperationEntering Data into AutoStar Navigating AutoStarTo Calculate Sunset time Select Item Object AUTOSTAR’S MenusObject Menu Menus and Menu OptionsEvent Menu Glossary MenuUtilities Menu Observing Considerations Setup Menu Time Zone Shift Menu Daylight SAVING, To Edit a Site Advanced Autostar FeaturesAdding Observing Sites To Add a Site to the user-defined site listUsing AutoStar to Find Objects Not in the Database To GO to a user-entered object Observing SatellitesTour Modes How to Create Your Own Guided TourCommand Line What you will needTitle Writing a TourPick END To Select a landmark from the database LandmarksDownloading Tours To Add a landmark to the databaseTo check on the available amount of memory in AutoStar IdentifyAdvanced Alt/Az Alignment To perform a Landmark SurveyBrowse Two-Star Alt/Az AlignmentOne-Star Alt/Az Alignment Photography with the LX90 Few tips on photography with the LX90Photography with a Digital Camera Meade Deep Sky Imager Photography with Meade’s AutoStar SuiteUltra Wide Angle 8-elements Optional AccessoriesEyepiece Power 2x Barlow Super Plössl 4-elements Super Wide Angle 6-elements#62 T-Adapter Collimation MaintenancePage Meade Customer Service Inspecting the OpticsGauging the Movement of the Telescope LX90 Specifications AutoStar SpecificationsAutoStar Dimensions Celestial Coordinates Polar AlignmentEasy Polar Alignment Setting CirclesLocating the Celestial Pole AutoStar Polar AlignmentEquatorial Wedge Lining Up with the Celestial PolePrecise Polar Alignment Star Charts City State/Country Latitude Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the WorldCity State/Prov./Country Latitude City Country LatitudeAppendix C Training the Drive To replace the battery Appendix D Changing the LNT Module BatteryAutoStar Glossary Objects in SpaceMoon Deep-Sky Objects PlanetsPage Page Page Meade Limited Warranty
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