BASIC AUTOSTAR OPERATION
SETUP MENU
Quick, easy alignment permits all telescope
operations with only a
Select Item:
Setup
UTILITIES MENU Calculate eyepiece magnifications;
set timer alerts; create your own landmark survey.
Select Item:
Utilities
GLOSSARY
What is an elliptical galaxy? How far away is the Sun? Expand your knowledge of astronomy by displaying terms
and definitions, and other information.
Select Item: |
Object |
MEADE |
The Universe of |
Autostar |
Select Item: |
Glossary |
OBJECT MENU
Want to see Mars? The Orion nebula? The Andromeda galaxy? Select from
over 1400 database objects and press GO TO to move the telescope
automatically to an object.
Select Item:
Event
EVENT MENU Display the time of past, present, and future astronomical events, such as Moon phases or meteor showers.
Select Item:
Guided Tour
GUIDED TOUR Autostar escorts you
on a tour of tonight's best celestial objects
at your viewing location.
Object
Event
Guided Tours
Glossary
Utilities
Setup
Fig. 20: Menus set in a loop.
Select Item |
Object |
Solar System |
Fig. 21: Autostar levels.
Fig. 19: The Autostar Universe: The six primary categories listed in the Select Item menu of Autostar.
It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop (Fig. 20). This means that pressing the Scroll Down key (7, Fig. 2) cycles down through all the available options within a given category, then returns to the first option. The Scroll Up key (6, Fig. 2) cycles up through the options in the opposite order. Note that this capability is a quick way to get to an option that is near the bottom of the list. The following example demonstrates this capability.
Example:
To navigate to the “Select Item: Setup” menu option when the “Select Item: Object” menu is displayed:
1.Press the Scroll Down key four times or the Scroll Up key once.
Autostar displays two lines of information. The top line shows the current menu level. The sec- ond line displays an option which may be selected within that menu level. Some options are choices that select the next menu level down. The Scroll keys move up and down within the list of available options, showing one option at a time.
When the desired option is displayed on the second line, press the ENTER key to choose that option and move down one menu level.
Press the MODE key to leave a level (e.g., the wrong menu option is chosen).
IMPORTANT NOTE: No matter how many levels into Autostar are traveled, each press of the MODE key moves up a level, until the top level, "Select Item," is reached. Once in the Select Item level, press MODE to return to the topmost level, "Select Item: Object."
Autostar Navigation Exercise
To demonstrate how the Autostar menu structure works, the following exercise calculates Sunset time so an evening observing session can be planned.
NOTE: To perform an accurate calculation, Autostar must be properly initialized with the current date, time, and location of the observing site. To enter the current date, time, and location information of your observing site, see INITIALIZING AUTOSTAR, page 17, before proceeding with this exercise.
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