INSTRUCTION MANUAL NexStar 60 . NexStar 80 . NexStar 102 . NexStar 114 .
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 Warning .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ASSEMBLY ....................................................................................................................................
Focusing.................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Image Orientation ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 Calculating Magnification.........................................................................................................................................
Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron NexStar telescope! The NexStar ushers in a whole new generation of computer automated technology. Simple and friendly to use, the NexStar is up and running after locating just three bright celestial objects. It’s the perfect combination of power and portability.
1 14 13 12 11 2 3 10 4 9 8 7 5 6 = The NexStar SLT Refractor Telescope (NexStar 60 Shown) 1 Objective Lens 8 On/Off Switch 2 Fork Arm 9 Focuser Knob 3 Battery Compartment 10 Star Diagonal 4 Hand Control 11 Eyepiece 5 Tripod 12 Star Pointer Finderscope (not shown) 6 Tripod Leg Extension Clamp 13 Dovetailed Mounting Clamp 7 Accessory Tray 14 Telescope Tube 5
1 12 2 11 3 4 10 9 5 8 6 7 NexStar SLT Reflecting Telescope (NexStar 114 Shown) 1 Eyepiece 7 Tripod Leg Extension Clamp 2 Secondary Mirror 8 Accessory Tray 3 Fork Arm 9 On/Off Switch 4 Battery Compartment 10 Collimation Adjustment Knobs 5 Tripod 11 Optical Tube 6 Hand Control 12 Star Pointer Finderscope 6
The NexStar comes partially assembled and can be operational in a matter of minutes.
Attaching the Hand Control Holder The NexStar comes with a snap-on hand control holder that conveniently attaches to any of the tripod legs. To attach the hand control holder simply position the holder with the square plastic tab facing up and push against the tripod leg until it snaps in to place.
If you wish to change the orientation of the star diagonal, loosen the thumbscrew on the eyepiece adapter until the star diagonal rotates freely. Rotate the diagonal to the desired position and tighten the thumbscrew. The Eyepiece The eyepiece, is the optical element that magnifies the image focused by the telescope. The eyepiece fits either directly into the focuser (114mm and 130mm models) or into the star diagonal (60, 80, or 102mm models).
The Star Pointer comes equipped with a variable brightness control, two axes alignment control and mounting brackets. Before the Star Pointer is ready to be used, it must be attached to the telescope tube and properly aligned: Azimuth Adjustment Screw (Adjustment knob located on opposite side) On / OFF / Brightness Switch Glass Window Battery Altitude Adjustment Knob Mounting Screw Dovetail Mounting Bracket Figure 2-8 – The StarPointer Finderscope with Mounting Bracket Star Pointer Installation 1.
Attaching the Hand Control The NexStar SLT hand control has a phone jack type connector at the end of its cord. Plug the phone jack connector into the outlet at the base of the telescope’s fork arm.
The Hand Control The NexStar SLT's hand controller is designed to give you instant access to all the functions the NexStar has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 4,000 objects, and common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions. Below is a brief description of the individual components of the NexStar SLT hand controller: 1. 2. 3. 4.
1 7 2 8 3 9 10 4 5 11 6 12 Figu ure 3-1 The NexStar Hand Control 5. 6. Info: Displays coordinates and useful information about objects selected from the NexStar database. Tour: Activates the tour mode, which seeks out all the best objects for a given month and automatically slews the NexStar to those objects. 7. Enter: Pressing Enter allows you to select any of the NexStar functions, accept entered parameters and slew the telescope to displayed objects. 8.
Alignment Procedure In order for the NexStar to accurately point to objects in the sky, it must first be aligned to known positions (stars) in the sky. With this information, the telescope can create a model of the sky, which it uses to locate any object with known coordinates. There are many ways to align the NexStar with the sky depending on what information the user is able to provide: SkyAlign uses your current date, time and city to create an accurate model of the sky.
Time - Helpful Hints Enter the current time for your area. You can enter either the local time (i.e. 8:00), or you can enter military time (i.e. 20:00). Select PM or AM. If military time was entered, the hand control will bypass this step. Choose between Standard time or Daylight Savings time. Use the Up and Down scroll buttons (10) to toggle between options. Select the time zone that you are observing from. Again, use the Up and Down buttons (10) to scroll through the choices.
Auto Two-Star Align As with Sky Align, Auto Two-Star Align requires you to enter all the necessary time/site information as before. Once this information is entered, NexStar will prompt you to select and point the telescope at one known star in the sky. The NexStar now has all the information it needs to automatically choose a second star that will assure the best possible alignment. Once selected the telescope will automatically slew to that second alignment star to complete the alignment.
Once the second star alignment is completed properly, the display will read Align Successful, and you should hear the tracking motors turn-on and begin to track. One-Star Align One-Star Align requires you to input all the same information as you would for the Two-Star Align procedure. However, instead of slewing to two alignment stars for centering and alignment, the NexStar uses only one star to model the sky based on the information given.
NexStar Re-Alignment The NexStar has a re-alignment feature which allows you to replace either of the original alignment stars with a new star or celestial object. This can be useful in several situations: • • If you are observing over a period of a few hours, you may notice that your original two alignment stars have drifted towards the west considerably. (Remember that the stars are moving at a rate of 15º every hour).
Slewing to an Object Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control screen, you have two options: • Press the INFO Key. This will give you useful information about the selected object such as magnitude, constellation and fascinating facts about many of the objects. • Press the ENTER Key. This will automatically slew the telescope to the coordinates of the object.
Direction Buttons The NexStar has four direction buttons in the center of the hand control which controls the telescope motion in altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left and right). The telescope can be controlled at nine different speed rates. 1 2 3 4 5 = = = = = 2x 4x 8x 16x 32x 6 7 8 9 = = = = .
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 Lunar Solar 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.
Identify Identify Mode will search any of the NexStar database catalogs or lists and display the name and offset distances to the nearest matching objects. This feature can serve two purposes. First, it can be used to identify an unknown object in the field of view of your eyepiece. Additionally, Identify Mode can be used to find other celestial objects that are close to the objects you are currently observing.
Direction Buttons –The direction a star moves in the eyepiece varies depending on the accessories being used. This can create confusion when guiding on a star using an off-axis guider versus a straight through guide scope. To compensate for this, the direction of the drive control keys can be changed. To reverse the button logic of the hand control, press the MENU button and select Direction Buttons from the Utilities menu.
telescope up from hibernate mode. To wake up the telescope after UNDO has been pressed, select Hibernate from the Utility menu and press ENTER. Do not use the direction buttons to move the telescope while in hibernate mode. Sun Menu For safety purposes the Sun will not be displayed as a database object unless it is first enabled. The enable the Sun, go to the Sun Menu and press ENTER.
NexStar SLT MENU TRACKING MODE ALT-AZ EQ NORTH EQ SOUTH OFF RATE SIDEREAL SOLAR LUNAR VIEW TIME-SITE SCOPE SETUP SETUP TIME-SITE ANTI-BACKLASH SLEW LIMITS FILTER LIMITS DIRECTION BUTTONS GOTO APPROACH CORDWRAP UTILITIES GPS ON/OFF LIGHT CONTROL FACTORY SETTING VERSION GET ALT-AZ GOTO ALT-AZ HIBERNATE SUN MENU SCROLLING MENU USER OBJECTS GOTO SKY OBJ SAVE SKY OBJ SAVE DB OBJ ENTER RA & DEC SAVE LAND OBJ GOTO LAND OBJ GET RA-DEC GOTO RA-DEC INDENTIFY SELECT CATALOG ALIGNMENT LIST SKY ALIGN Saved Site ENTER
A telescope is an instrument that collects and focuses light. The nature of the optical design determines how the light is focused. Some telescopes, known as refractors, use lenses. Other telescopes, known as reflectors, use mirrors. The NexStar 60, 80 and 102 telescopes are refractor telescopes that use an objective lens to collect its light. The NexStar 114 and 130 are reflecting telescopes with a primary and secondary mirror to gather and focus light.
Although the power is variable, each instrument under average skies has a limit to the highest useful magnification. The general rule is that 60 power can be used for every inch of aperture. For example, the NexStar 80 is 3.2” (80mm) in diameter. Multiplying 3.2 by 60 gives a maximum useful magnification of 192 power. Although this is the maximum useful magnification, most observing is done in the range of 20 to 35 power for every inch of aperture which is 64 to 112 times for the NexStar 80 telescope.
With your telescope set up, you are ready to use it for observing. This section covers visual observing hints for both solar system and deep sky objects as well as general observing conditions which will affect your ability to observe. Observing the Moon Often, it is tempting to look at the Moon when it is full. At this time, the face we see is fully illuminated and its light can be overpowering. In addition, little or no contrast can be seen during this phase.
For safe solar viewing, use a Celestron solar filter (see Optional Accessories section of manual) that reduces the intensity of the Sun's light, making it safe to view. With a filter you can see sunspots as they move across the solar disk and faculae, which are bright patches seen near the Sun's edge. Solar Observing Hints • The best time to observe the Sun is in the early morning or late afternoon when the air is cooler.
Figure 5-1 Seeing conditions directly affect image quality. These drawing represent a point source (i.e., star) under bad seeing conditions (left) to excellent conditions (right). Most often, seeing conditions produce images that lie some where between these two extremes.
While your NexStar telescope requires little maintenance, there are a few things to remember that will ensure your telescope performs at its best. Care and Cleaning of the Optics Occasionally, dust and/or moisture may build up on the lens of your telescope. Special care should be taken when cleaning any instrument so as not to damage the optics. If dust has built up on the optics, remove it with a brush (made of camel’s hair) or a can of pressurized air.
You will find that additional accessories enhance your viewing pleasure and expand the usefulness of your telescope. For ease of reference, all the accessories are listed in alphabetical order. Adapter, Car Battery (#18769) Celestron offers the Car Battery Adapter that allows you to run the NexStar drive off an external power source. The adapter attaches to the cigarette lighter of your car, truck, van, or motorcycle. Barlow lens, OMNI 1.
Filter, Solar - The AstroSolar® filter is a safe and durable filter that covers the front opening of the telescope. View sunspots and other solar features using this double-sided metal coated filter for uniform density and good color balance across the entire field. The Sun offers constant changes and will keep your observing interesting and fun. PowerTank (#18774) – 12v 7Amp hour rechargeable power supply. Comes with two 12v output cigarette outlets, built-in red flash light , Halogen emergency spotlight.
APPENDIX A - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS O S O Spppeeeccciiifffiiicccaaatttiiiooonnn Oppptttiiicccaaalll S Design Aperture Focal Length F/ratio of the Optical System Optical Coatings Highest Useful Magnification Resolution: Rayleigh Criterion Dawes Limit Light Gathering Power Field of View: Standard Eyepiece Linear Field of View (at 1000 yds) Eyepiece Magnification: Optical Tube Length NexStar 60mm Refractor 60mm 700mm 12 Fully Coated 175x 2.31 arc seconds 1.93 arc seconds 73x unaided eye 1.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS AAbsolute magnitude Airy disk Alt-Azimuth Mounting Altitude Aperture Apparent Magnitude Arc minute Arc second Asterism Asteroid Astrology Astronomical unit (AU) Aurora Azimuth BBinary Stars CCelestial Equator Celestial pole Celestial Sphere Collimation DDeclination (DEC) EEcliptic Equatorial mount FFocal length The apparent magnitude that a star would have if it were observed from a standard distance of 10 parsecs, or 32.6 light-years. The absolute magnitude of the Sun is 4.8.
G GoTo JJovian Planets KKuiper Belt LLight-Year (ly) MMagnitude Meridian Messier NNebula North Celestial Pole Nova OOpen Cluster PParallax Parfocal Parsec Point Source RReflector Resolution Right Ascension: (RA) SSidereal Rate Term used to refer to a computerized telescope or to the act of slewing (moving) a computerized telescope Any of the four gas giant planets that are at a greater distance form the sun than the terrestrial planets.
telescope at this rate. The rate is 15 arc seconds per second or 15 degrees per hour. TTerminator UUniverse VVariable Star WWaning Moon The boundary line between the light and dark portion of the moon or a planet. The totality of astronomical things, events, relations and energies capable of being described objectively. A star whose brightness varies over time due to either inherent properties of the star or something eclipsing or obscuring the brightness of the star.
Appendix C - RS-232 Connection Using the included NSOL software you can control your NexStar telescope with a computer via the RS-232 port located on the computerized hand control and using the RS-232 cable (#93920). For information about using NSOL to control your telescope, refer to the instruction sheet that came with the CD and the help files located on the disk. In addition to NSOL, the telescope can be controlled using other popular astronomy software programs.
APPENDIX D – MAPS OF TIME ZONES 39
CELESTRON TWO YEAR WARRANTY A. Celestron warrants this telescope to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years. Celestron will repair or replace such product or part thereof which, upon inspection by Celestron, is found to be defective in materials or workmanship. As a condition to the obligation of Celestron to repair or replace such product, the product must be returned to Celestron together with proof-of-purchase satisfactory to Celestron. B.
Celestron 2835 Columbia Street Torrance, CA 90503 Tel. (310) 328-9560 Fax. (310) 212-5835 Web site at http//www.celestron.com Copyright 2005 Celestron All rights reserved. (Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation.) This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rule.