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Tracking Rate - In addition to being able to move the telescope with the hand control buttons, the NexStar
will continually track a celestial object as it moves across the night sky. The tracking rate can
be changed depending on what type of object is being observed:
Sidereal
This rate compensates for the rotation of the earth by moving the
telescope at the same rate as the rotation of the earth, but in the
opposite direction. When tracking in Alt-Az mode, the telescope must
make corrections in both altitude and azimuth.
Lunar
Used for tracking the moon when observing the lunar landscape.
Solar
Used for tracking the Sun when solar observing using a proper solar
filter.
View Time-Site - View Time-Site will display the last saved time and longitude/latitude entered in the hand
control.
User Defined Objects - The NexStar can store up to 50 different user defined objects in its memory. The objects
can be daytime land objects or an interesting celestial object that you discover that is not
included in the regular database. There are several ways to save an object to memory
depending on what type of object it is:
Save Sky Object: The NexStar stores celestial objects to its database by saving its right ascension and
declination in the sky. This way the same object can be found each time the telescope is
aligned. Once a desired object is centered in the eyepiece, simply scroll to the "
Save
Sky Obj"
command and press ENTER. The display will ask you to enter a number
between 1-25 to identify the object. Press ENTER again to save this object to the
database.
Save Database (Db)
Object:
This feature allows you to create your own custom tour of database objects by allowing
you to record the current position of the telescope and save the name of the object by
selecting it from any one of the database catalogs. These objects then can be 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, once again
center the desired object in the eyepiece. Scroll down to the "
Save Land Obj"
command and press ENTER. The display will ask you to enter a number between 1-25
to identify the object. Press ENTER again to save this object to the database.
Enter R.A. - Dec: You can also store a specific set of coordinates for an object just by entering the R.A.
and declination for that object. Scroll to the "
Enter RA-DEC " command and press
ENTER. The display will then ask you to enter first the R.A. and then the declination of
the desired object.
GoTo Object: To go to any of the user defined objects stored in the database, scroll down to either
GoTo Sky Obj or Goto Land Obj and enter the number of the object you wish to
select and press ENTER. NexStar will automatically retrieve and display the
coordinates before slewing to the object.
To replace the contents of any of the user defined objects, simply save a new object using one of the existing
identification numbers; NexStar will replace the previous user defined object with the current one.
Get R.A./DEC. - Displays the right ascension and declination for the current position of the telescope.
Goto R.A./ DEC. - Allows you to input a specific R.A. and declination and slew to it.
