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Object Menu

Almost all observing with Autostar is performed using the Object menu category. (

NOTE:

Exceptions include Guided Tour and Landmark Survey.)

See

GO TO SATURN

, page 19, for an

example of observing using the Object menu. Also see

TAKE A GUIDED TOUR

, page 20.

Many Autostar menu categories contain databases. An Autostar

database

is a list of viewable

objects, such as stars, planets, comets, nebulae, and so forth. When one of these objects is
selected from a database, Autostar moves your telescope (if properly aligned) and points it at
the selected object.

The Object Menu options include:

Solar System

is a database of the eight planets (Earth is not included) in order out from the

Sun, followed by the Moon, asteroids, and comets.

Constellation

is a database of all 88 Northern and Southern Hemisphere constellations. When

this menu option is chosen and a constellation name appears on the first line of the screen,
press GO TO once to change the second line to the name of the brightest star in the constel-
lation. Press GO TO a second time to slew the telescope to that star. Use the Scroll keys to
cycle through the list of stars in the constellation, from brightest to dimmest.

Deep Sky

is a database of objects outside our Solar System such as nebulae, star clusters,

galaxies, and quasars.

Star

is a database of stars listed in different categories such as named, double, variable, or

nearby.

Satellite

is a database of Earth-orbiting objects such as the International Space Station, the

Hubble Space Telescope, Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, and geosynchronous
orbit satellites.

User Objects

allows the user to define and store in memory deep-sky objects of specific inter-

est that are not currently in the Autostar database. See "Appendix B" for more information.

Landmarks

stores the location of terrestrial points of interest in the permanent Autostar data-

base.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

To use the Landmark function, the telescope must be located

and aligned exactly as when the landmark was added to the database.

Select

: To select a Landmark already in the database (see

ADD

below), choose the

"Select" option and scroll through the list. Press ENTER to select a Landmark, then press
GO TO and the telescope slews to the object.

Add

: To add a Landmark, choose the "Add" option. Enter a name for the Landmark. Locate

and center the Landmark in the eyepiece, then press ENTER.

Identify

is an exciting feature for an observer who wants to scan the night sky and start explor-

ing. After the telescope has been properly aligned, use the Autostar Arrow keys to move about
in the sky. Then follow this procedure:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Only use the Arrow keys to move the telescope during the

Identify procedure. Do not loosen the telescope locks or move the base or align-
ment is lost.

When a desired object is visible in the eyepiece, keep pressing MODE until the “Select
Item: Object” menu is displayed. Press ENTER to select this menu.

Scroll through the Object menu options until the “Object: Identify” screen appears.

Press ENTER. Autostar searches the database for the identity of the object being
observed.

If the telescope is not directly on an Autostar database object, the nearest database object
is located and displayed on the screen. Press GO TO and the telescope slews to that
object.