Quick-Align
Quick-Align uses all the date and time information entered at startup to align the telescope. However, instead of slewing to two alignment stars for centering and alignment, the CGE bypasses this step and simply models the sky based on the information given. This will allow you to roughly slew to the coordinates of bright objects like the moon and planets and gives the CGE the information needed to track objects in altazimuth in any part of the sky. Quick-Align is not meant to be used to accurately locate small or faint deep-sky objects or to track objects accurately for photography.
To use Quick-Align, simply select Quick Align from the alignment options and press ENTER. The CGE will automatically use the entered date/time parameters to align itself with the sky and display Alignment Successful.
Note: Once a Quick-Align has been done, you can use the Re-alignment feature (see next page) to improve your telescopes pointing accuracy.
Last Alignment
The CGE Last Alignment method will automatically recall the last saved mount switch positions, longitude and latitude along with the current date and time given from the real time clock, to continue using the alignment that was saved when the telescope was last powered down. This is a useful feature should your telescope accidentally lose power or be powered down.
Note: Just like with Quick-Align, you can use the Re-alignment feature (see next page) to improve your telescopes pointing accuracy after using the Last Alignment method. To maintain a more accurate alignment over a series of observing sessions, use the Hibernate feature described later in this chapter.
CGE Re-Alignment
The CGE has a re-alignment feature which allows you to replace either of the two original alignment stars with a new star or celestial object. This can be useful in several situations:
•If you are observing over a period of a few hours, you may notice that your original two alignment stars have drifted towards the west considerably. (Remember that the stars are moving at a rate of 15º every hour). Aligning on a new star that is in the eastern part of the sky will improve your pointing accuracy, especially on objects in that part of the sky.
•If you have aligned your telescope using the Quick-Align method, you can use re-alignto align to two actual objects in the sky. This will improve the pointing accuracy of your telescope without having to re-enter addition information.
To replace an existing alignment star with a new alignment star:
1.Select the desired star (or object) from the database and slew to it.
2.Carefully center the object in the eyepiece.
3.Once centered, press the UNDO button until you are at the main menu.
4.With CGE Ready displayed, press the ALIGN key on the hand control.
5.The display will then ask you which alignment star you want to replace. Use the UP and Down scroll keys to select the alignment star to be replaced. It is usually best to replace the star closest to the new object. This will space out your alignment stars across the sky.
6.Press ALIGN to make the change.
