Celestron NexStar 5 SE Instruction Manual Download Page 26

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ALT-AZ
EQ NORTH
EQ SOUTH
OFF

MODE

SIDEREAL
SOLAR
LUNAR

RATE

TRACKING

VIEW TIME-SITE

SETUP TIME-SITE
ANTI-BACKLASH
SLEW LIMITS
FILTER LIMITS
DIRECTION BUTTONS
GOTO APPROACH

CORDWRAP

SCOPE SETUP

LIGHT CONTROL
FACTORY SETTING
VERSION
GET AXIS POSITION
GOTO AXIS POSITION
HIBERNATE
SUN MENU
SCROLLING TEXT
CALIBRATE GOTO
SET MOUNT POSITION
WEDGE ALIGN
GPS ON/OFF

UTILITIES

GOTO SKY OBJ
SAVE SKY OBJ
SAVE DB OBJ
ENTER RA & DEC
SAVE LAND OBJ
GOTO LAND OBJ

USER OBJECTS

CAMERA WIZARD
TAKE EXPOSURE
EDIT ENTRIES
SEQUENCE END

CAMERA

GET RA-DEC
GOTO RA-DEC
INDENTIFY
PRECISE GOTO

MENU

Saved Site
ENTER if OK

Center Alignment Object 3

Center Alignment Object 2

Center Alignment Object 1

UNDO to Edit

SKY ALIGN

Saved Site
ENTER if OK

Center Star 2

Center Star 1

Select Star 1

UNDO to Edit

AUTO TWO-STAR ALIGN

Saved Site
ENTER if OK

CENTER STAR 2

SELECT STAR 2

CENTER STAR 1

SELECT STAR 1

UNDO to Edit

TWO-STAR ALIGNMENT

Saved Site
ENTER if OK

Center Star 1

Select Star 1

UNDO to Edit

ONE-STAR ALIGNMENT

Saved Site
ENTER if OK

Center Object

Select Object

UNDO to Edit

SOLAR SYSTEM ALIGN

ALIGNMENT

NAMED STAR
NAMED OBJECT
ASTERISM
TOUR
VARIABLE STAR
DOUBLE STAR
CALDWELL
MESSIER
NGC
SAO
SOLAR SYSTEM
CONSTELLATION

LIST

NexStar SE

NexStar Menu Tree:

The following figure is a menu tree showing the sub-menus associated with the primary command

functions

Summary of Contents for NexStar 5 SE

Page 1: ...INSTRUCTION MANUAL ...

Page 2: ... Star Align 14 Solar System Align 15 IMPROVING POINTING ACCURACY 16 Alignment Stars 16 Sync 17 Undo Sync 17 OBJECT CATALOG 17 Selecting an Object 17 Slewing to an Object 18 Finding Planets 18 Tour Mode 18 Constellation Tour 18 DIRECTION BUTTONS 19 Rate Button 19 SETUP PROCEDURES 19 Tracking Mode 19 Tracking Rate 19 View Time Site 20 User Defined Objects 20 CAMERA 20 Connecting Camera 21 Controllin...

Page 3: ...FIELD OF VIEW 28 GENERAL OBSERVING HINTS 29 THE CELESTIAL COORDINATE SYSTEM 30 MOTION OF THE STARS 31 POLAR ALIGNMENT 32 Photography with the NexStar 33 Finding the North Celestial Pole 34 CELESTIAL OBSERVING 35 OBSERVING THE MOON 35 OBSERVING THE PLANETS 35 OBSERVING THE SUN 35 OBSERVING DEEP SKY OBJECTS 36 SEEING CONDITIONS 36 Transparency 36 Sky Illumination 36 Seeing 36 TELESCOPE MAINTENANCE 3...

Page 4: ...ual before embarking on your journey through the Universe It may take a few observing sessions to become familiar with your NexStar so you should keep this manual handy until you have fully mastered your telescope s operation The NexStar hand control has built in instructions to guide you through all the alignment procedures needed to have the telescope up and running in minutes Use this manual in...

Page 5: ...od 2 Star Pointer Finderscope 8 Accessory Tray Leg Brace 3 Eyepiece 9 Tilt Wedge Plate 4 Star Diagonal 10 ON OFF Switch 5 Focuser Knob 11 Hand Control 6 Battery Compartment 12 Liquid Crystal Display 7 11 10 5 8 6 4 9 NexStar 5 SE 5 ...

Page 6: ...ed in the center of the telescope s base see figure 3 1 To power the NexStar with batteries 1 Remove the battery cover from the center of the base by gently lifting up on the round portion of the cover 2 Insert the batteries into the battery compartment of the base 3 Reattach the battery compartment door by gently pushing down on the cover until it snaps into place 4 Turn on the power to the NexSt...

Page 7: ...n the thumbscrew on the star diagonal and slide the eyepiece out Eyepieces are commonly referred to by focal length and barrel diameter The focal length of each eyepiece is printed on the eyepiece barrel The longer the focal length i e the larger the number the lower the eyepiece power or magnification and the shorter the focal length i e the smaller the number the higher the magnification General...

Page 8: ...d an object This will extend the life of both the battery and the LED Azimuth Control Knob Dovetail Mounting Bracket Mounting Track ON OFF Variable Brightness Control Altitude Control Knob Figure 3 3 The Star Pointer Finderscope with Mounting Bracket Glass Window 2 Locate a bright star or planet and center it in a low power eyepiece in the main telescope 3 With both eyes open look through the glas...

Page 9: ...e tripod 1 Place the bubble level on the top of the tripod tilt plate Make sure that the tilt plate is all the way down and horizontal to the ground 2 Locate the tightening screw on the bottom of each tripod leg 3 Rotate the knob counterclockwise until the inside portion of the tripod leg slides out 4 Extend the center portion of the tripod leg to the desired height making sure that the bubble in ...

Page 10: ...description of the individual components of the NexStar hand controller 1 Liquid Crystal Display LCD Window Has a dual line 16 character display screen that is backlit for comfortable viewing of telescope information and scrolling text 2 Align Instructs the NexStar to use a selected star or object as an alignment position 3 Direction Keys Allows complete control of the NexStar in any direction Use...

Page 11: ...he rate of speed of the motors when the direction buttons are pressed 12 RS 232 Jack Allows you to interface with a computer and control the NexStar remotely H Ha an nd d C Co on nt tr ro ol l O Op pe er ra at ti io on n This section describes the basic hand control procedures needed to operate the NexStar These procedures are grouped into three categories Alignment Setup and Utilities The alignme...

Page 12: ...remembered for future use as well To choose a location city Use the Up and Down scroll keys to choose between City Database and Custom Site City Database will allow you to select the closest city to your observing site from a list of either international or U S location Custom Site allows you to enter the exact longitude and latitude of your observing site Select City Database and press ENTER The ...

Page 13: ...brighter stars In situations like these it is best to try to avoid eyepiece will eliminate much of the en the gears and assure the most accurate alignment possible ith the NexStar set up below to align the telescope 3 ss UNDO to manually 4 n the hand control Use Up and Down ou selected Center the star in the finderscope and press ENTER Finally center the star in the eyepiece and press ALIGN bright...

Page 14: ... may wish to decrease the slew rate of the motors for fine centering This is done by pressing the RATE key 11 on the hand controller then selecting the number that corresponds to the speed you desire 9 fastest 1 slowest 6 NexStar will then ask you to select and center a second alignment star and press the ALIGN key It is best to choose alignment stars that are a good distance away from one another...

Page 15: ...n can be removed from the display by using the same procedure as above To improve the telescope pointing accuracy you can use the Re Align feature as described below E EQ Q N No or rt th h E EQ Q S So ou ut th h A Al li ig gn nm me en nt t EQ North and EQ South Alignments assist the user in aligning the telescope when polar aligned using the tripod s built in equatorial wedge Similar to the Altazi...

Page 16: ...on EQ Solar System Align This alignment method allows you use only one solar system object to equatorially align the telescope for daytime use To align your telescope using a solar system object follow steps 1 through 7 under the EQ Two Star Align section Figure 4 3 The Meridian is an imaginary line in the sky that starts at the North celestial pole and ends at the South celestial pole and passes ...

Page 17: ...e hand control has a key designated for each of the catalogs in its database There are two ways to select objects from the database scrolling through the named object lists and entering object numbers Pressing the LIST key on the hand control will access all objects in the database that have common names or types Each list is broken down into the following categories Named Stars Named Object Doubl...

Page 18: ...un and Moon However the hand control will only display the solar system objects that are above the horizon or within its filter limits To locate the planets press the PLANET key on the hand control The hand control will display all solar system objects that are above the horizon Use the Up and Down keys to select the planet that you wish to observe Press INFO to access information on the displayed...

Page 19: ...that you want to move the telescope While holding that button down press the opposite directional button This will increase the speed to the maximum slew rate S Se et tu up p P Pr ro oc ce ed du ur re es s The NexStar contains many user defined setup functions designed to give the user control over the telescope s many advanced features All of the setup and utility features can be accessed by pres...

Page 20: ...e accessed by selecting GoTo Sky Object Save Land Object The NexStar can also be used as a spotting scope on terrestrial objects Fixed land objects can be stored by saving their altitude and azimuth relative to the location of the telescope at the time of observing Since these objects are relative to the location of the telescope they are only valid for that exact location To save land objects onc...

Page 21: ...buttons to select whether you want the imaging sequence to stop after the final target has been photographed or if you want it to start over from the beginning and repeat the exposure sequence 6 Press Enter if you wish to start the exposure sequence as is or press Undo if you wish to edit the individual object entries Take Exposure The Take Exposures option starts the imaging sequence You can hit ...

Page 22: ...r catalog will no doubt return the star Vega as the star you are observing However by selecting Identify and searching by the Named Object or Messier catalogs the hand control will let you know that the Ring Nebula M57 is approximately 6 from your current position Searching the Double Star catalog will reveal that Epsilon Lyrae is only 1 away from Vega To use the Identify feature Press the Menu bu...

Page 23: ...lew limits prevent the telescope tube from slewing to an object below the horizon The slew limits can be customized depending on your needs For example if you would like to slew to an object that is close to the zenith but you have a camera attached that prevents it from pointing straight up you can set the maximum altitude to 80 or 85 degrees to prevent the tube from ever pointing straight up Fil...

Page 24: ...ompensation values initial date and time longitude latitude along with slew and filter limits will be reset However stored parameters such as user defined objects will remain saved even when Factory Settings is selected The hand control will ask you to press the 0 key before returning to the factory default setting Version Selecting this option will allow you to see the version number of the hand ...

Page 25: ...Calibration takes into account any slight imbalances and changes the final goto distance to compensate Set Mount Position The Set Mount Position menu can be used to recover an alignment in cases where the telescope or tripod has been manually moved For instance you might use this feature if you needed to adjust the level of the tripod by raising or lowering the tripod legs After the mount has been...

Page 26: ...MENU Saved Site ENTER if OK Center Alignment Object 3 Center Alignment Object 2 Center Alignment Object 1 UNDO to Edit SKY ALIGN Saved Site ENTER if OK Center Star 2 Center Star 1 Select Star 1 UNDO to Edit AUTO TWO STAR ALIGN Saved Site ENTER if OK CENTER STAR 2 SELECT STAR 2 CENTER STAR 1 SELECT STAR 1 UNDO to Edit TWO STAR ALIGNMENT Saved Site ENTER if OK Center Star 1 Select Star 1 UNDO to Edi...

Page 27: ... ra ai in n o op pt ti ic ca al l d de es si ig gn n The optics of the NexStar have Starbright XLT coatings enhanced multi layer coatings on the primary and secondary mirrors for increased reflectivity and a fully coated corrector for the finest anti reflection characteristics Inside the optical tube a black tube extends out from the center hole in the primary mirror This is the primary baffle tub...

Page 28: ...of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece used In equation format the formula looks like this Focal Length of Telescope mm Magnification Focal Length of Eyepiece mm Let s say for example you are using the 25mm eyepiece To determine the magnification you simply divide the focal length of your telescope the NexStar 5 has a focal length of 1250mm by the focal length of the eyepiece 25mm Di...

Page 29: ...ing with any optical instrument there are a few things to remember to ensure you get the best possible image Never look through window glass Glass found in household windows is optically imperfect and as a result may vary in thickness from one part of a window to the next This inconsistency can and will affect the ability to focus your telescope In most cases you will not be able to achieve a trul...

Page 30: ...ion or DEC for short Lines of declination are named for their angular distance above and below the celestial equator The lines are broken down into degrees minutes of arc and seconds of arc Declination readings south of the equator carry a minus sign in front of the coordinate and those north of the celestial equator are either blank i e no designation or preceded by a plus sign The celestial equi...

Page 31: ...ver rise and never set You will never see the stars complete one circle because the sunlight during the day washes out the starlight However part of this circular motion of stars in this region of the sky can be seen by setting up a camera on a tripod and opening the shutter for a couple hours The processed film will reveal semicircles that revolve around the pole This description of stellar motio...

Page 32: ...h your NexStar is to angle the tilt plate on top of the tripod so that the fork arm or polar axis is pointed towards the star Polaris For help in locating Polaris refer to the Finding the North Celestial Pole section below To polar align your NexStar 1 Position the telescope tripod so that tilt plate hinge is facing towards north 2 Gently rotate the telescope tube so that it is pointing straight u...

Page 33: ...ures Once the batteries are drained usually after a few minutes the shutter closes whether you were finished with the exposure or not Look for a camera that has a manual shutter when operating in the time exposure mode Olympus Nikon Minolta Pentax Canon and others have made such camera bodies The camera must have interchangeable lenses so you can attach it to the telescope and so you can use a var...

Page 34: ...ard the Little Dipper They point to Polaris see Figure 6 5 The position of the Big Dipper changes during the year and throughout the course of the night see Figure 6 5 When the Big Dipper is low in the sky i e near the horizon it may be difficult to locate During these times look for Cassiopeia see Figure 6 6 Observers in the southern hemisphere are not as fortunate as those in the northern hemisp...

Page 35: ... detail and one if not both of its polar caps You will be able to see the cloud belts of Jupiter and the great Red Spot if it is visible at the time you are observing In addition you will also be able to see the moons of Jupiter as they orbit the giant planet Saturn with its beautiful rings is easily visible at moderate power P Pl la an ne et ta ar ry y O Ob bs se er rv vi in ng g H Hi in nt ts s ...

Page 36: ...o see and reducing contrast on brighter objects Aerosols ejected into the upper atmosphere from volcanic eruptions also affect transparency Ideal conditions are when the night sky is inky black Sky Illumination General sky brightening caused by the Moon aurorae natural airglow and light pollution greatly affect transparency While not a problem for the brighter stars and planets bright skies reduce...

Page 37: ...ove the moisture from the telescope tube To minimize the need to clean your telescope replace all lens covers once you have finished using it Since the rear cell is NOT sealed the cover should be placed over the opening when not in use This will prevent contaminants from entering the optical tube Internal adjustments and cleaning should be done only by the Celestron repair department If your teles...

Page 38: ...eyepiece use an Allen wrench to turn the collimation screw you direction so that the star image is moving towards the center of the field of view ews by the same amount al obstruction is still skewed in the same direction then continue turning the screw s in the same direction If you find that the ring pattern is skewed in a Perfect collimation will yield a s ion delivers the optimal optical p nce...

Page 39: ...cellent refractive properties of these high grade optical elements make the X Cel line especially well suited for high magnification planetary viewing where sharp color free views are most appreciated X Cel eyepieces come in the following focal lengths 2 3mm 5mm 8mm 10mm 12 5mm 18mm 21mm 25mm Ultima Ultima is not really a design but a trade name for our 5 element wide field eyepieces In the 1 1 4 ...

Page 40: ...exposure prime focus phot ap A full de og 93685 c Polarizing Filter Set 93608 The polarizing filter set limits the transmission of light to a specific plane thus increasing contrast between various objects This p PowerTank 18774 12v 7Am hour rechargeable power supply Comes with two 12v output n emergency spotlight AC adapter and cigarette lighter aps are the ideal teaching guide for learning the n...

Page 41: ...El lle e ec c ct t tr r ro o on n ni iic c c S S Sp p pe e ec c ci iif f fi iic c ca a at t ti iio o on n ns s s Input Voltage 12 V DC Nominal Batteries Required 8 AA Alkaline Power Supply Requirements 12 VDC 750 mA Tip positive M M Me e ec c ch h ha a an n ni iic c ca a al ll S S Sp p pe e ec c ci iif f fi iic c ca a at t ti iio o on n ns s s Motor Type Resolution DC Servo motors with encoders bo...

Page 42: ...ystems with y a telescope are called visual binaries or visual m tauri is earest example of a multiple star system it consists of three stars two very similar to d one dim small red star orbiting around one another tor The projection of the Earth s equ y into two equal hemispheres The imaginary projection of Ear Sphere An imaginary sphere surroundin h s center Collimation The act of putting a tele...

Page 43: ...bitrary A reference line in the sky that starts at the North celestial and passes through the zenith If you are facing South the meridian starts from your Southern horizon and passes Messier A French astronomer in the late 1700 s who was primarily looking for comets Comets are hazy diffuse objects and so Messier cataloged ob catalog became the Messier Catalog M1 through M110 Interstellar cloud of ...

Page 44: ...are programs Right Ascensio The angular distance of a celestial object measured in hours minutes and seconds along the Celestial Equator eastward from the Vernal Equinox T The boun Univ objectively Vari eclipsing or obscuring the brightness of the star The period of Waxi Z The point on the Celestial Sphere directly above the observer The zodiac is the portion of the Celestial Sphere that lies with...

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Page 53: ...dling or unauthorized repair Further product malfunction or deterioration due to normal wear is not covered by this warranty CELESTRON DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WHETHER OF MERCHANTABILITY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH HEREIN THE SOLE OBLIGATION OF CELESTRON UNDER THIS LIMITED WARRANTY SHALL BE TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE COVERED PRODUCT IN ACCORDANCE ...

Page 54: ...ice may not cause harmful interference and 2 This d ference received including interference that may cause undesired operations Tel 310 328 9560 Fax 310 212 5835 Web site at http www celestron com Copyright 2006 Celestron All rights reserved ns may ch or obligation ies with Part 15 of ditions 1 This de evice must accept any inter 11036 INST Printed in China 10 00 06 06 ...

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