Autumn and Vernal Equinox calculates the time and date of the fall or spring equinox of the current year.
Winter and Summer Solstice calculates the time and date of the winter or summer solstice of the current year.
Glossary Menu
The Glossary menu provides an alphabetical listing of definitions and descriptions for common astronomical terms and Autostar functions. Access directly through the Glossary menu or through hypertext words embedded in Autostar. A hypertext word is any word in [brackets], usually found when using the Autostar Help function or when reading a scrolling message such as a description of a planet or star. Press ENTER whenever a hypertext word is on screen and Autostar goes to the glossary entry for that word.
To access directly from the Glossary menu, use the Scroll keys to scroll through the alphabet. Press ENTER on the desired letter. Scroll to the desired entry and then press ENTER to read the description.
Utilities Menu
The Utilities menu provides access to several extra features within Autostar, including a count- down timer and an alarm. The Utilities functions include:
Timer selects a countdown timer. This feature is useful for functions such as astrophotography and tracking satellites. See OBSERVING SATELLITES, page 37. To use the Timer, press ENTER, then choose “Set” or “Start/Stop."
■Set: Enter the time to be counted down, in hours, minutes, and seconds, then press
ENTER.
■Start/Stop: Activates the timer set previ- ously. Use the Scroll keys to toggle between ON and OFF. When ON is dis- played, press ENTER to activate the timer. When the timer runs out, four beeps sound and the timer is deactivated.
Alarm selects a time for an alarm signal as a reminder. To use the Alarm, press ENTER, then choose "Set" or "Start/Stop."
■Set: Enter the time of day for the alarm to sound, in hours, minutes, and seconds, then press ENTER.
■Start/Stop: Activates the alarm set pre- viously. Use the Scroll keys to toggle between ON and OFF. When ON is dis- played, press ENTER to activate the alarm. When the alarm time arrives, Autostar beeps. Press ENTER to deacti- vate the alarm.
Observing Considerations
•Try to pick an observing site away from street and house lights, and car head- lights. While this is not always possible, the darker the site, the better.
•Give your eyes about ten minutes to adjust to the darkness before observing. Give your eyes a rest from observing every ten or fifteen minutes to relieve eye- strain.
•Try not to use a standard flashlight. Seasoned observers use red LED flash- lights or tape red cellophane over their flashlights for setup and map reading so they don’t have to continually readjust their eyes to the darkness. Be careful not to shine bright lights if there are other observers in the area. Never shine a flash- light into a telescope while someone is observing!
•Dress warmly. It gets chilly when you’re sitting for prolonged periods, even on some summer nights.
Eyepiece Calc calculates information about an eyepiece for the specific telescope to which Autostar is connected.
■Field of View: Scroll through a list of available eyepieces. When an eyepiece is selected, the field of view is calculat- ed.
■Magnification: Scroll through a list of available eyepieces. When an eyepiece is selected, the magnification is calculated.
•Practice setting up your equipment during the day or in a lighted area to become familiar with it before going to a dark site.
•Use your 25mm eyepiece to view terrestri- al objects and wider areas of space, such as open star clusters. Use your higher power eyepieces when you wish to view something up close, such as craters on the Moon or the rings of Saturn.
•Know your observing site. If you’re going to try out an unfamiliar site, check it out in the daylight for obstructions and pitfalls.
25
