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AutoStar II Handbox
GoTo Saturn
This exercise demonstrates how to select a celestial object, the
planet Saturn, for viewing from AutoStar II’s Solar System library.
Objects in the eyepiece should maintain their position even
though the Earth is rotating beneath the stars. In other words,
the telescope tracks the chosen objects.
Note:
Saturn is not visible the entire year; you may need to choose
another object from any of AutoStar II’s many object libraries;
however, the procedure, as described below, remains the same.
1 After the telescope is aligned, press Number key
“5/SS”.
2. “Solar System: Mercury” displays. Keep pressing
the Scroll Down key until “Solar System: Saturn”
displays.
3. Press ENTER. “Calculating” displays. Then
“Saturn” and a set of coordinates displays. Note
that Saturn’s (and other planets’) coordinates
change throughout the year.
4. Press GO TO. “Saturn: Slewing...” displays
and the telescope slews until it fi nds Saturn.
You may need to use the Arrow keys to center
Saturn precisely in the eyepiece. AutoStar II
then automatically moves the telescope so that
it “tracks” Saturn (or whatever other object you
may have chosen); i.e., Saturn remains centered
in the eyepiece.
Using the Guided Tour
The Guided Tour feature is an easy and fun method of exploring
AutoStar II’s GoTo capabilities. This example demonstrates using
“Tonight’s Best” Guided Tour.
1. After observing Saturn, keep pressing mode until
“Select Item: Object” displays again.
2. Press the Scroll Down key twice. “Select Item:
Guided Tour” displays.
3. Press ENTER. “Guided Tour: Tonight’s Best”
displays. Press ENTER.
Note: If you wish to try out other Guided Tours, press the
Scroll Down key to scroll through other tour choices. When
the tour you wish to select displays, press ENTER
.
4. “Tonight’s Best: Searching...” displays. After
calculating, “Tonight’s Best: Jupiter” displays.
Note: Different objects may be displayed on a tour list on
any given night.
Press RET/GUIDE (Number key “7”) to select this menu directly
from Autostar II’s keypad. This “Hot Key” provides the ability to
control the StarLock system easily and directly from any place
within the Autostar menus. From this key, you can:
• Turn StarLock guiding on and off. Enable and disable
StarLock High Precision Pointing
• Monitor StarLock corrections
• Set Different Guide Speeds
Key to StarLock Indicator Lamps
On the back surface of the StarLock assembly, between the two
(2) receptacles is a single red LED indicator lamp. Below is a
guide showing what the lamp blink patterns are indicating:
•
No illumination:
StarLock is turned off, does not
have power or is idle awaiting commands.
•
Blinking:
StarLock is searching for a suitable guide star
(either for guiding or HPP centering).
•
Solid:
StarLock has located and locked onto a
guide
star.
Focusers
If you are using a secondary focuser, be sure that the focus lock is
tightened once you have achieved focus. Crayford-style focusers
are secured via pressure on a rolling pin. Too much force and the
scope will not focus, to little and the focuser tube can shift as
you scope tracks around the sky, especially with a heavy camera
hanging off the end.
Cameras
Be sure your camera is securely attached to the telescope.
Inserting the camera in a draw tube and tightening a single
captive screw is a recipe for image shift. Draw tubes should have
at least two and preferably three captive screws so the camera
cannot shift when the scope moves about the sky.
