Specifications

14 I
which accounts for flexure and other mechanical
inaccuracies to provide the best possible pointing
accuracy.
SOLAR SYSTEM ALIGN
Solar System Align provides good tracking and
GoTo performance by using solar system objects
(the Sun, Moon and planets) to align the telescope
with the sky. Solar System Align is a great way to
align your telescope for daytime viewing as well as
a quick way to align the telescope for night time
observing. Since the StarSense camera cannot
detect celestial objects during the day, Solar System
Align is done using the eyepiece.
WARNING
• Place cap over the camera lens! Since you may
wish to use the Sun for your alignment, remember
to place the cap over the camera lens to protect
the imaging sensor.
• Never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye
or with a telescope (unless you have the proper
solar filter). Permanent and irreversible eye damage
may occur.
1. Press the ALIGN button.
2. Use the UP/DOWN scroll keys to select Solar
System Align from the alignment options and
press ENTER.
3. Move the telescope to its home position or
switch position. Alt-Az mounts should have the
telescope pointing at the horizon. Equatorial
mounts should be positioned to the index marks.
Telescopes with switch postions will automatically
move to the home switch positions.
4. Use the UP/DOWN scroll keys to select the
Solar System object you wish to align and
press ENTER.
The hand control will only display the solar system
objects that are above the horizon for the day and
time selected.
5. Following the prompts on the hand control, center
the object in your eyepiece. Use the direction
arrow buttons to slew the telescope to the
alignment object. A finderscope or Star Pointer
will help locate the object.
6. Press ENTER when the object is in the
eyepiece’s field of view. Then, center the
object in the eyepiece and press ALIGN.
Once in position, StarSense will model the sky
based on this information and display Alignment
Complete.
Tips for Using Solar System Align
Once the telescope is aligned using Solar System
Align, you have the option of adding additional
alignment objects (either other planets or stars
from the Named Star Catalog) to improve pointing
accuracy. To add an alignment object:
1. Select the desired object from the Named Star
or Solar System database and slew to it.
2. Press the ALIGN button on the hand control.
3. The display will ask if you want to add an alignment
object or replace the existing one.
4. Select ADD to add the additional alignment
object. If an additional object has already been
added, then you have the option of replacing one
of the existing objects with the new object.
5. Carefully center the object in the eyepiece using
the UP and RIGHT buttons for final centering.
6. Press ALIGN to add the alignment object.
OTHER ALIGN FUNCTIONS
Save / Load Alignment: Allows you to save
your alignment for future use or load a previous
StarSense alignment.