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ROADMAP TO THE STARS

 

 

The night sky is filled with wonder and intrigue. You too, can enjoy exploring the 
universe simply by following a few pointers on a 

roadmap

 to the stars. 

First, find the 

Big Dipper

 which is part of the constellation Ursa Major. The Big 

Dipper is usually easy to locate year round in North America due to its proximity 
to the North Star, Polaris. 

Extending directly out from the far side of the Big Dipper's cup is the constellation 
Orion. One of the most exquisite areas of the winter sky, 

Orion

 is distinguished 

by two bright stars, Rigel and Betelgeuse, and Orion's belt which is marked by 
three stars in a row. The 

Orion Nebula

 is located south of the belt and is one of 

the most observed deep-sky objects by amateur astronomers. 

Extending from the "pointer stars" - or end stars - of 
the Big Dipper's cup is Polaris, the closest star to the 
northernmost point of the celestial sphere. Extending 
from Polaris is the 

Great Square

 shared by the 

constellation Pegasus and Andromeda. Within 
Andromeda is the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest 
large galaxy to our solar system at about 2.2 million 
light-years away. 

The 

Summer Triangle

 is a notable region in the sky to 

the left of the handle of the Big Dipper. The triangle is 
made up of three very bright stars: Vega, Deneb and 
Altair. 

By drawing an imaginary line outward from the handle 
of the Big Dipper you reach the southern 
constellation

"Scorpius."

 Scorpius curves to the left 

like the tail of a scorpion in the sky, or like letter "J." 

Amateur astronomers commonly use the phrase 

"Arc 

to Arcturus and spike to Spica"

 to refer to the area 

directly off the arc in the handle of the Big Dipper. 
Follow the 

arc to Arcturus

, the second brightest star in 

the Northern Hemisphere, then 

spike down to Spica

the 16th brightest star in the sky. Now follow the arc in 
the handle of the Big Dipper in the opposite direction 
and you reach another famous arc called 

The Sickle

,  

in the constellation 

Leo. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WARNING! Never use the 
Meade ETX-90EC Astro 
Telescope to look at the Sun! 
Looking at or near the Sun 
will 

cause 

instant

 and

irreversible

 damage to 

your eye. Eye damage is often painless, 
so there is no warning to the observer 
that damage has occurred until it is too 
late. Do not point the telescope or its 
viewfinder at or near the Sun. Do not 
look through the telescope or its 
viewfinder as it is moving. Children 
should always have adult supervision 
while observing.

 

 

Fig. 38: Road Map to the Stars.

 

Содержание ETX-90EC

Страница 1: ...rsects the celestial sphere This point in the sky is located near the North Star Polaris In mapping the surface of the Earth lines of longitude are drawn between the North and South Poles Similarly li...

Страница 2: ...s telescope such as the ETX 90EC this motion is rapid indeed If the motor drive has not been engaged objects centered in the telescope s eyepiece move entirely out of the field of view in 30 to 160 se...

Страница 3: ...d horizontal locks 6 and 10 Fig 1 and rotate the telescope so that it is oriented as shown in Fig 15 Tighten the vertical and horizontal locks In this orientation the telescope s optical tube is lined...

Страница 4: ...ast for millions of years Maria plural for mare are smooth dark areas scattered across the lunar surface These dark areas are large ancient impact basins that were filled with lava from the interior o...

Страница 5: ...ETX 90EC Titan the largest of Saturn s 18 moons can also be seen as a bright star like object near the planet Deep Sky Objects Star charts can be used to locate constellations individual stars and de...

Страница 6: ...0 Format 2 1450mm focal length Camera Body T Mount Sections 1 and 2 of the 64 T Adapter see Fig 19 Format 2 utilizes both sections of the 64 T Adapter threaded together to form a rigid unit as shown i...

Страница 7: ...hould be acceptable If used for astrophotography the meter probably will not provide good results since camera meters are not made to compensate for a dark sky 5 Terrestrial photography through the ET...

Страница 8: ...ndard equipment with the ETX 90EC telescope Use these eyepieces only under extremely steady atmospheric conditions Fig 23 Optional eyepieces yield higher and lower magnifying powers with the telescope...

Страница 9: ...priate to your brand of 35mm camera With the 64 T Adapter and T Mount in place the camera body is rigidly coupled to the telescope s optical system which in effect becomes the camera s lens 880 Table...

Страница 10: ...ght side up but reversed left for right The 932 Prism threads on to the telescope s photo port 17 Fig 1 and presents a correctly oriented image as well as a convenient 45 observing angle An eyepiece o...

Страница 11: ...244 Electric Focuser The 1244 Focuser Fig 33 replaces the manual focuser knob of the ETX 90EC and permits smooth precise electric focusing of the image through a remote handbox supplied with the focus...

Страница 12: ...yet notwithstanding its precision and detail Epoch 2000sk is easy and intuitive to use even by the novice Epoch 2000sk operates the ETX 90EC through a laptop computer in the field using the 497 Autost...

Страница 13: ...turn of the telescope to the Meade factory 5 If the ETX 90EC is used outdoors on a humid night telescope surfaces may accumulate water condensation While such condensation does not normally cause any...

Страница 14: ...not come on or there is no response when pressing the Electronic Controller arrow keys Verify that the computer control panel power switch 1 Fig 4 is in the ON position Verify that the Electronic Cont...

Страница 15: ...ng a land object on a warm day heat waves will distort the image see Terrestrial Observing For clear viewing of objects turn the focus knob 9 Fig 1 slowly since the in focus point of a telescope is pr...

Страница 16: ...gs standard Limiting visual stellar magnitude approx 11 7 Image scale 1 16 inch Maximum practical visual power 325X Optical tube dimensions dia x length 10 4cm x 27 9cm 4 1 x 11 Secondary mirror obstr...

Страница 17: ...is recommended to purchase the 883 Deluxe Field Tripod The tripod head tilts easily to the local latitude angle for quick polar alignment and locks in a 90 position to facilitate Alt Az viewing see OP...

Страница 18: ...ally turn the R A circle 14 Fig 1 to read the R A of the object at the R A pointer 7 Fig 15 3 The R A circle is now calibrated to read the correct R A of any object at which the telescope is pointed T...

Страница 19: ...The Summer Triangle is a notable region in the sky to the left of the handle of the Big Dipper The triangle is made up of three very bright stars Vega Deneb and Altair By drawing an imaginary line ou...

Страница 20: ...ut 4 3 light years or 25 trillion miles This distance is so large that if a scale model were created with the Earth one inch away from the Sun the nearest star would have to be placed over 4 miles awa...

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