Meade MAX-ACF instruction manual Observing Satellites, Identify

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Observing Satellites

In this procedure, you will prepare your telescope to observe a satellite pass.

1.Navigate to the "Object: Satellite" menu option and press ENTER.

2.Use the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of satellites.

3.Select a satellite from the list and press ENTER.

4."Calculating...." and then "Tracking..." displays. If the satellite is going to make a pass, "Located" displays.

5.Use the Scroll keys to display data about the pass: aos—acquisition of signal and los—loss of signal. If you subtract the aos from the los, you can calculate how long the satellite will be visible. Location information also displays.

6."Alarm" displays after the location information. Press ENTER and Autostar II automatically sets the alarm to sound a minute before the satellite's scheduled appearance. You may return to regular observations until the alarm goes off.

7.When the alarm goes off, return to the Satellite menu and press a Scroll key until the desired satellite is on the top line of the display.

8.Press GO TO. Autostar II slews the telescope to where the satellite should appear. The motor drive stops and a countdown is displayed.

NOTE: If the scheduled appearance position of the satellite is obstructed (i.e., by a building, tree, or hill), press ENTER and Autostar II starts to move the telescope along the expected satellite track. When the track clears the obstruction, press ENTER again to pause the telescope, then continue with this procedure.

9.With about 20 seconds left on the countdown timer, start watching through the telescope viewfinder for the satellite to enter the field of view.

10.When the satellite enters the viewfinder field of view, press ENTER. The tele- scope starts to track with the satellite.

11.Use the Autostar II Arrow keys to center the object in the viewfinder, then look through the eyepiece to view the object.

Satellite orbits change and new satellites (including the Space Shuttle) are launched. Visit the Meade website (www.meade.com) approximately once a month to get updated information and instructions on how to download this data to Autostar II. If orbital parameters are more than one month old, the satellite pass may not happen at the time predicted by Autostar II. Downloading requires the USB cable supplied with your telescope.

Note: Satellite observing is an exciting challenge. Most satellites are in low orbit, travelling at approximately 17,500 mph. When visible, they move quickly across the sky and are only in the field of view for a few minutes, requiring Autostar II to slew the telescope rapidly. Best viewing is near Sunrise or Sunset when the sky is still dark. Viewing in the middle of the night can be problematic because a satellite may pass overhead, but not be visible as it is in the Earth's shadow.

Identify

This procedure allows you to use Autostar II to identify objects you have found in the night sky using the Arrow keys. If the object is not in Autostar II's database, Autostar

IIdisplays information about an object in its database that is closest to the one you queried about.

Important Note: For this function to operate properly, you must first ini- tialize and align Autostar II. If you physically move the telescope after ini- tialization, this function will fail to operate properly.

In this procedure, you will center an object you wish to have identified by Autostar II in the telescope eyepiece and use the "Identify" menu to find out information about the object or the nearest object to it in the Autostar II database.

1.Center the object you wish to have identified in the telescope's eyepiece.

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Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the

 

Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.

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Contents MEADE.COM Page Contents Telescope Features Components of MAXPedestal Wedge Assembly Pedestal AssemblyRA Assembly Right Ascension Housing AssemblyDEC Assembly Declination Housing AssemblyCOUNTER- Weights CounterweightsTripod MAX TripodOptical Tube Assembly MaleTHE OTARA Assembly Control Panel Saddle Control Panel Control Panels and PortsLibrary # of Objects Autostar II FeaturesTour the Cosmos with Just the Push of a Button Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving Tripod Assembly Pedestal Assembly and Adjusting Latitude PositionLatitude Adjustment If you need to set for low range or high rangeRA Assembly Assembly Requires TWO People to LiftDEC Saddle Assembly Attach Counterweight Assembly 21 B Attach LOW Latitude Counterweights Attach Optical Tube to the DEC SaddleWhen end Electrical Connections Align the Viewfinder with the OTATo Balance the RA Assembly Home Position and Balancing the OTAThis Procedure Balance the DEC AxisAlign the Viewfinder Mounting and Focusing the Viewfinder for the First TimeGetting Started Focusing the Telescope To select a previously defined focus preset To sync on a focus presetSlew Speeds To exit the focus operation at any timeAligning for the First Time To prepare your telescope for Automatic AlignmentTest your Collimation How to Drift Align Max Northern HemisphereCollimation Follow these steps for collimation of the optical system OTA align bolt. Misaligned 1, 2, AlignedCalibrate Home Parking the ScopeTo Calculate Sunset time Basic AutostarAutostar II Navigation Exercise Example of Locating a menu Navigating AutostarAutostar IIs Menus Object Menu To slew the telescope to catalog objectsUtilities Menu Event MenuGlossary Menu Enter Setup Menu Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving Setup Menu Daylight SAVING, above Hot Button Menus To Edit a Site Adding Observing SitesTo Add a Site to the user-defined site list Creating User Objects To GO to a user-entered objectObserving Satellites IdentifyBrowse Displayed information ExampleAlternate Polar Alignments Initialize AutostarTwo-Star Polar Alignment Easy Polar AlignmentPeriodic Error Correction Update Menu OptionTrain Menu Option Erase Menu OptionOptional Accessories Meade Series 4000 EyepiecesRear cells of Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain models Deep Sky Imager Maintenance Telescope Specifications Meade Consumer Solutions Advanced Autostar II System SpecificationsAutostar II Handbox Specifications Appendix a Latitude Chart Latitude Chart for Major Cities of the WorldCity State/Prov./Country Latitude City Country LatitudeTo observe the Apollo 15 landing site using the Moon option Appendix B the MoonTraining IntroductionOperation Update Permanently Mounted ScopesOther Menus Options Save As and Load OffAppendix D How to Read the Latitude Scale Page Meade Limited Warranty
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