IntelliScope Computerized Object Location

tive to color in faint light. Still, there is something very special about seeing an astronomical object in real time, with your own eyes — “live,” if not in living color.

Note About Astrophotography

SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonians are designed for visual, not photographic use. Their mounts are not equatorial-type designs and are not motor driven, so they are not suitable for long-exposure astrophotography. Also, the telescopes’ optics have been optimized for visual, rather than photographic, use.

With that in mind, however, it is possible to do some simple astrophotography with a SkyQuest IntelliScope. With the use of afocal photography techniques (where the camera is sim- ply put right up to the eyepiece to take a picture) and digital cameras, it is possible to take pictures of bright objects. Cer- tain photographic aids, such as the Orion SteadyPix afocal adapter, can help in taking photos by the afocal, or eyepiece projection, method.

6.IntelliScope Computerized Object Location

Perhaps the most exciting feature of the SkyQuest XT Intel- liScope is the IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator (controller). When plugged into the IntelliScope port on the telescope’s base, the IntelliScope controller enables the user to point the telescope quickly and effortlessly to more than 14,000 celestial objects with the push of a button. After a sim- ple two-star alignment procedure, you just select an object to view from the intuitive keypad, then read the guide arrows on the controller’s illuminated liquid crystal display and move the telescope in the corresponding direction. In seconds the object will be waiting in the telescope’s field of view, ready to observe. It’s that simple!

The controller provides a whole new level of convenience and capability, as you’re able to locate and view more objects in an evening than you ever could before.

The IntelliScope controller works by communicating electroni- cally with a pair of high-resolution, 9,216-step digital encod- ers that allow highly precise positioning of the telescope to coordinates programmed into the IntelliScope controller’s

database for each object. Since the telescope is not depen- dent on motors for movement, you can move the telescope to your target much more quickly (and quietly!) than motorized telescopes can — and without guzzling all those batteries in the process.

The IntelliScope database includes:

•7,840 objects from the Revised New General Catalog

•5,386 objects from the Index Catalog

•110 objects from the Messier Catalog

•837 selected stars (mostly double, multiple, and variable stars)

•8 planets

•99 user-programmable objects

With the user-friendly IntelliScope controller, there are many ways to locate an object. If you know its catalog number (NGC or Messier number, for instance), you can enter it using the illuminated keypad buttons. Or you can press one of the object-category buttons (Cluster, Nebula, Galaxy, etc.) to access a list of objects by type. For a tour of the best objects visible in a given month, you just press the Tour button. Anoth- er great feature of the IntelliScope is the ability to identify an “unknown” object in the field of view — just press the ID but- ton. You can even add up to 99 objects of your own choosing to the IntelliScope controller’s database.

The backlit, two-line liquid crystal display on the controller shows you the object’s catalog number, its common name if it has one, the constellation in which it resides, its right ascen- sion and declination coordinates, the object type, magnitude, angular size, as well as a brief description in scrolling text.

The two guide arrows and associated “navigation numbers” tell you in what direction to move the telescope to pinpoint an object’s location. As the telescope approaches the object’s location, the numbers get progressively smaller. When the navigation numbers reach 0, the telescope will be pointed right at the object! You just look into the eyepiece and enjoy the view!

The features, functionality, and alignment procedure of the IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator are cov- ered in detail in the separate instruction manual for that component.