8
ENTER. Sky Wizard will now display the celestial coordinates
for any telescope position. In our example the display now
reads the coordinates for Mizar since that is where the tele-
scope is currently pointed. The display reads
1324+549.
Swing the telescope around and observe how quickly the
instrument tracks the telescope position. The high resolution
encoders are very sensitive to small motions. Sky Wizard can
track motions as great as 100° per second, which is faster
than you would probably dare move a delicate optical instru-
ment. Sky Wizard locks on to the current position instantly and
provides a steady display of the computed celestial coordinates.
Let’s do some observing. We have a long session ahead if we
want to view all the Messier objects, interesting stars and the
entire list of user catalog objects. Fortunately, Sky Wizard will
make the search quite easy. It’s time to use the powerful data-
base and the smart function called
FIND.
To start, let’s just stay in
RA DEC mode and swing the tele-
scope around to one of our favorites, M37 in the constellation
Auriga. The coordinates are
0552+326. We are currently posi-
tioned on Mizar at 1324+549. Experiment by moving the
telescope around to increase and decrease the two coordi-
nates. Take a couple of minutes to master this action as you
become familiar with the relationship between the telescope
coordinate system and the celestial coordinate system. When
the display reads “
0552+326,” take a look through the eye-
piece. M37 is right there, a nice galactic cluster with red giant
stars, proof that the installation is functioning correctly and
the alignment stars were carefully centered in the eyepiece
during alignment.
using the cataloG
Now that we are pointed at M37 we would like to see the other
Messier object M36, but we forgot to bring our charts and
handbooks. Press MODE and select
CATALOG, then press
ENTER. We are now in the Sky Wizard database. The display
shows
M001 when we enter this mode. Press ENTER to
choose the Messier catalog, then press the UP or DOWN
select buttons to enter the number 036. We set one digit at a
time, much like a digital wrist watch, by changing the value of
the blinking digit.
CATALOG initial setting:
M001
Setting digits to M36:
M036
Press the ENTER button to advance to the next blinking digit
and use the UP or DOWN buttons to increment or decrement
the value. Press ENTER after setting the last digit and the
display will show the coordinates.
M36 coordinates:
0536+341
M36 scrolling description:
M036 MAG 6.0 SIZE=11 AURIGA
OPEN CLUSTER RICH SA=05
We now have the coordinates for M36. There are two ways to
go from here. We can remember the coordinates and switch
to
RA DEC mode to steer the telescope, or use the FIND
mode to give us steering directions to the object from our cur-
rent position. The
FIND mode indicates just how much motion
is required for each axis of rotation.
using the FinD Function
Press the MODE button and select
FIND, using the arrow but-
tons to scroll through the choices. The instrument remembers
the object “
M036” as the last item selected, and shows the
steering distances in degrees from our current position.
FIND
shows 6.4
17
, indicating that M36 lies 17° South and
6.4° West of our current position. When the object is centered
the distances displayed will be zero.
FIND directions: 6.4
17
Object centered: 0•0 0•0
While in
FIND mode with M36 centered, press the ENTER
button again to see the name of the object which is of course
M36. This observing session is off to a good start.
