Meade DS-2000 instruction manual Event Menu

WARNING! Never use a Meade DS-

2000 Telescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irre- versible damage to your eye. Eye dam- age is often painless, so there is no warn- ing to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too late. Do not point the telescope or its viewfinder at or near the Sun. Do not look through the tele- scope or its viewfind- er as it is moving. Children should always have adult supervision while observing.

Landmarks stores the location of terrestrial points of interest in the permanent Autostar data- base.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To use the Landmark function, the telescope must be located and aligned exactly as when the landmark was added to the database.

■Select: To select a Landmark already in the database (see ADD below), choose the "Select" option and scroll through the list. Press ENTER to select a Landmark, then press GO TO and the telescope slews to the object.

■Add: To add a Landmark, choose the "Add" option. Enter a name for the Landmark. Locate and center the Landmark in the eyepiece, then press ENTER.

Identify is an exciting feature for an observer who wants to scan the night sky and start explor- ing. After the telescope has been properly aligned, use the Autostar Arrow keys to move about in the sky. Then follow this procedure:

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only use the Arrow keys to move the telescope during the Identify procedure. Do not loosen the telescope locks or move the base or align- ment is lost.

1.When a desired object is visible in the eyepiece, keep pressing MODE until the “Select Item: Object” menu is displayed. Press ENTER to select this menu.

2.Scroll through the Object menu options until the “Object: Identify” screen appears.

3.Press ENTER. Autostar searches the database for the identity of the object being observed.

4.If the telescope is not directly on an Autostar database object, the nearest database object is located and displayed on the screen. Press GO TO and the telescope slews to that object.

Event Menu

The Event menu provides access to dates and times of astronomical events. The Event data- base includes:

Sunrise and Sunset calculates the time that the Sun rises or sets on the current date. Find rise and set times for other dates by entering a new date into the “Setup: Date” menu. See DATE, page 26.

Moonrise and Moonset calculates the time that the Moon rises or sets on the current date. Find rise and set times for other dates by entering a new date into the “Setup: Date” menu. See DATE, page 26.

Moon Phases displays the date and time of the next Full, New, 1st Quarter, and 3rd Quarter Moon.

Meteor Showers provides information on upcoming meteor showers, such as the Perseids, the Leonids, etc. Also lists the dates of the showers and when they reach maximum.

NOTE: Meteors are fast moving objects that cover large areas of the sky and are usually best observed with the naked eye.

Solar Eclipse lists upcoming Solar Eclipses, including the date and type (total, annular, or par- tial) of eclipse, and the location and time of the first and last contacts of the Moon's shadow. Use the Scroll Up and Down keys to display the available data. Remember, never use a tele- scope to look at the Sun! See “WARNING!” to the left.

Lunar Eclipse lists upcoming Lunar Eclipses, including the date and type (total, partial, penumbral) of eclipse. Use the Scroll Up and Down keys to display the available data.

Min. (Minimum) of Algol is the minimum brightness of the dramatic eclipsing binary star sys- tem, Algol. It is relatively close at a distance of 100 light years. Every 2.8 days during a 10-hour period, Algol undergoes a major change in apparent magnitude as one of the two stars pass- es behind the other. The combined magnitude of the two stars thus dips from +2.1 to a mini- mum of +3.4 halfway through the eclipse as the second star is hidden. Autostar calculates min- imum magnitude time at mid-eclipse.

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