User manual MEADE DS-114AT

[. . . ] Instruction Manual DS-114AT Reflecting Telescope Meade Instruments Corporation Reflecting Telescopes use a concave primary mirror to collect light and form an image. In the Newtonian type of reflector, light is reflected by a small, flat secondary mirror to the side of the main tube for observation of the image. Light is collected by a concave mirror and brought to a focus at F. Secondary Mirror Concave Mirror F Reflecting Telescope Eyepiece CONTENTS WARNING! Never use a Meade® DS-114AT Telescope to look at the Sun!Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye. [. . . ] "Saturn: Slewing. . . " displays and the telescope slews until it finds Saturn. You may need to use the Arrow keys to center Saturn precisely in the eyepiece. Autostar 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. 1 2. 5. Take a Guided Tour This example demonstrates using "Tonight's Best" Guided Tour. After observing Saturn, press MODE twice so that "Select Item: Object" displays again. NOTE: If you wish to try out other Guided Tours, press the Scroll Down key to scroll through other tour choices. NOTE: Different objects may be displayed on a tour list on any given night. Press and hold down MODE for two seconds to exit the Guided Tour menu. 5. Which One's the Alignment Star? If Autostar has chosen an alignment star with which you are unfamiliar, how can you be sure if the star in your eyepiece is really the alignment star?The rule of thumb is that an alignment star is usually the brightest star in that area of the sky. When you view an alignment star in an eyepiece, it stands out dramatically from the rest of the stars in that portion of the sky. If you have an obstruction, such as a tree or a building blocking your view of the alignment star, or if you have any doubts at all about the star that has been chosen, no problem. Just press the Scroll Down key and Autostar will find another star to align upon. 6. 19 BASIC AUTOSTAR OPERATION SETUP MENU Quick, easy alignment permits all telescope operations with only a 2-minute setup. Select Item: Setup UTILITIES MENU Calculate eyepiece magnifications; set timer alerts; create your own landmark survey. Expand your knowledge of astronomy by displaying terms and definitions, and other information. Select from over 1400 database objects and press GO TO to move the telescope automatically to an object. Select Item: Event EVENT MENU Display the time of past, present, and future astronomical events, such as Moon phases or meteor showers. Select Item: Guided Tour GUIDED TOUR Autostar escorts you on a tour of tonight's best celestial objects at your viewing location. MEADE The Universe of Autostar Select Item: Glossary Fig. 22: The Autostar Universe: The six primary categories listed in the Select Item menu of Autostar. It is important to understand that menu selections are set in a loop (Fig. 2) cycles down through all the available options within a given category, then returns to the first option. Note that this capability is a quick way to get to an option that is near the bottom of the list. The following example demonstrates this capability. Object Event Guided Tours Glossary Utilities Setup Example: To navigate to the "Select Item: Setup" menu option when the "Select Item: Object" menu is displayed: 1. The second line displays an option which may be selected within that menu level. [. . . ] The planet appears as a disk with dark lines stretching across the surface. Four of Jupiter's 16 moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) can be seen as "star-like" points of light when using even the lowest magnification (Fig. Saturn is nine times the diameter of Earth and appears as a small, round disk with rings extending out from either side (Fig. Saturn's rings are composed of billions of ice particles ranging in size from a speck of dust to the size of a house. [. . . ]