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INSTRUCTION MANUAL

1. Variable Stars Select list of the brightest variable stars with the shortest period of changing magnitude Asterisms A unique list of some of the most recognizable star patterns in the sky D CELESTRON Figure 3 2 The NexStar GT Hand Control 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 Enter Pressing Enter allows you to select any of the NexStar functions accept entered parameters and slew the telescope to displayed objects Undo Undo will take you out of the current menu and display the previous level of the menu path Press Undo repeatedly to get back to a main menu or use it to erase data entered by mistake 16 1 Menu Displays the many setup and utilities functions such as tracking rate and user defined objects and many others 2 Scroll Keys Used to scroll up and down within any of the menu lists A double arrow symbol on the right side of the LCD indicates that the scroll keys can be used to view additional information 3 Rate Instantly changes the rate of speed of the motors when the direction buttons are pressed 4 RS 232 Jack Allows use with a computer and software programs for point and click slewing capability Hand Control Operation This section describes the basic hand control procedures needed to operate
2. A unit of angular size equal to 1 3 600 of a degree or 1 60 of an arc minute A small unofficial grouping of stars in the night sky A small rocky body that orbits a star The pseudoscientific belief that the positions of stars and planets exert an influence on human affairs astrology has nothing in common with astronomy The distance between the Earth and the Sun It is equal to 149 597 900 km usually rounded off to 150 000 000 km The emission of light when charged particles from the solar wind slams into and excites atoms and molecules in a planet s upper atmosphere The angular distance of an object eastwards along the horizon measured from due north between the astronomical meridian the vertical line passing through the center of the sky and the north and south points on the horizon and the vertical line containing the celestial body whose position is to be measured Binary Double stars are pairs of stars that because of their mutual gravitational attraction orbit around a common center of mass If a group of three or more stars revolve around one another it is called a multiple system It is believed that approximately 50 percent of all stars belong to binary or multiple systems Systems with individual components that can be seen separately by a telescope are called visual binaries or visual multiples The nearest star to our solar system Alpha Centauri is actually our nearest example of a multiple star system it consis
3. NexStar INSTRUCTION MANUAL NexStar 60 NexStar 80 NexStar 76 NexStar 102 NexStar 114 NexStar 130 TABLE OF CONTENTS Assembling the NexStar sss Attaching the Telescope Tube to the Mount Attaching the Telescope to the Tripod The Star Diagonal sse ves The EYepPIE E aici caveats A Ne EE The Star Pointer Finderscope Stat Pointer Installation idet peto a no Star Pointer Operation eee eee t ao eee ned de eee ag osea do e euer s do dena eo co deae dada do eb DA abel dada HAND CONTROL ids Attaching the Hand tee eer eei E ON Powering the NexStar zoe soto re tee POE ee deus EET The Hand Control m Hand Control Operation PER M Alignment Procedure eist Sei beo ede pe ee ede diee tb de deb HEU ee e ady eg de be de Auto Align m Two Star Alignment eebe ed deen de dee e Quick TRZE NexStar Re Alignment Object Catalog Selecting an Object Slewing to an Object Tour Mode Direction Buttons Rate Button Set Up Procedures Tracking Mode Tracking Rate View Time Site Sidereal Time sas Filter EMS tas e no User Defined Objects st Gel RAJDEG HA NN dA A EE a LL Get Alt Az SEE Goto R A Dec A Goto ATt Az sg ceno Ann ADI ERHOBEN ccena r hl Cede Utility Features eter
4. Below is a brief description of the individual components of the NexStar GT hand controller 1 Liquid Crystal Display LCD Window Has a dual line 16 character display screen that is backlit for comfortable viewing of telescope information and scrolling text 2 Align Instructs the NexStar to use a selected star or object as an alignment position 3 Direction Keys Allows complete control of the NexStar in any direction Use the direction keys to center objects in the StarPointer finderscope and eyepiece 4 Catalog Keys The NexStar has a key on the hand control to allow direct access to each of the catalogs in its 4 000 object database The NexStar contains the following catalogs in its database Messier Complete list of all Messier objects NGC Many of the brightest deep sky objects from the Revised New General Catalog 15 Caldwell combination of the best NGC and IC objects Planets All 8 planets in our Solar System plus the Moon Stars compiled list of the brightest stars from the SAO catalog List For quick access all of the best and most popular objects in the NexStar database have been broken down into lists based on their type and or common name Named Stars Common name listing of the brightest stars in the sky Named Objects Alphabetical listing of over 50 of the most popular deep sky objects Double Stars Alphabetical listing of the most visually stunning double triple and quadruple stars in the sky
5. However stored parameters such as user defined objects will remain saved even after the model has been changed 24 TRACKING MODE ALT AZ EQ NORTH EQ SOUTH OFF RATE SIDEREAL SOLAR LUNAR VIEW TIME SITE SIDEREAL TIME FILTER LIMITS ALTMAX IN LIST ALTMIN IN LIST UTILITIES SETUP TIME SITE ANTI BACKLASH SLEW LIMITS DIRECTION BUTTONS LIGHT CONTROL SELECT MODEL RS 232 USER OBJECTS GOTO SKY OBJ SAVE SKY OBJ ENTER RA amp DEC GOTO LAND OBJ SAVE LAND OBJ GET ALT AZ GOTO ALT AZ GET RA DEC GOTO RA DEC NexStar Ready ALIGNMENT NAMED STAR NAMED OBJECT ASTERISMS TOUR VARIABLE STAR DOUBLE STAR AUTO ALIGN POINT TUBE NORTH amp LEVEL CITY DATABASE United States SOLAR SYSTEM SAO Choose State Choose City Enter Time Enter Date International Choose Country Choose City CUSTOM SITE Enter Long Lat Enter Time Enter Date TWO STAR ALIGNMENT LEVEL TUBE SELECT STAR 1 CENTER STAR 1 SELECT STAR 2 CENTER STAR 2 QUICK ALIGN POINT TUBE NORTH amp LEVEL SELECT LOCATION ENTER TIME ENTER DATE NexStar Menu Tree The following figure is a menu tree showing the sub menus associated with the primary command functions 25 CELESTRON Telescope Basics 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 kno
6. In addition little or no contrast can be seen during this phase One of the best times to observe the Moon is during its partial phases around the time of first or third quarter Long shadows reveal a great amount of detail on the lunar surface At low power you will be able to see most of the lunar disk at one time Change to higher power magnification to focus in on a smaller area Choose the lunar tracking rate from the NexStar s GT models MENU tracking rate options to keep the moon centered in the eyepiece even at high magnifications Lunar Observing Hints e To increase contrast and bring out detail on the lunar surface use eyepiece filters A yellow filter works well at improving contrast while a neutral density or polarizing filter will reduce overall surface brightness and glare Observing the Planets Other fascinating targets include the five naked eye planets You can see Venus go through its lunar like phases Mars can reveal a host of surface detail and one if not both of its polar caps You will be able to see the cloud belts of Jupiter and the great Red Spot if it is visible at the time you are observing In addition you will also be able to see the moons of Jupiter as they orbit the giant planet Saturn with its beautiful rings is easily visible at moderate power Planetary Observing Hints e Remember that atmospheric conditions are usually the limiting factor on how much planetary detail will be visible So
7. 033 Objects 34 GLOSSARY OF TERMS A Absolute magnitude Airy disk Alt Azimuth Mounting Altitude Aperture Apparent Magnitude Arc minute Arc second Asterism Asteroid Astrology Astronomical unit AU Aurora Azimuth B Binary Stars C Celestial Equator Celestial pole Celestial Sphere Collimation D Declination DEC E Ecliptic Equatorial mount F Focal 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 at a distance of 10 parsecs it would just be visible on Earth on a clear moonless night away from surface light The apparent size of a star s disk produced even by a perfect optical system Since the star can never be focused perfectly 84 per cent of the light will concentrate into a single disk and 16 per cent into a system of surrounding rings A telescope mounting using two independent rotation axes allowing movement of the instrument in Altitude and Azimuth In astronomy the altitude of a celestial object is its Angular Distance above or below the celestial horizon The diameter of a telescope s primary lens or mirror the larger the aperture the greater the telescope s light gathering power A measure of the relative brightness of a star or other celestial object as perceived by an observer on Earth A unit of angular size equal to 1 60 of a degree
8. 64 to 112 times for the NexStar 80 telescope Determining Field of View Determining the field of view is important if you want to get an idea of the angular size of the object you are observing To calculate the actual field of view divide the apparent field of the eyepiece supplied by the eyepiece manufacturer by the magnification In equation format the formula looks like this Apparent Field of Eyepiece True Field Magnification As you can see before determining the field of view you must calculate the magnification Using the example in the previous section we can determine the field of view using the same 25mm eyepiece The 25mm eyepiece has an apparent field of view of 56 Divide the 56 by the magnification which is 40 power This yields an actual field of view of 1 49 To convert degrees to feet at 1 000 yards which is more useful for terrestrial observing simply multiply by 52 5 Continuing with our example multiply the angular field 1 4 by 52 5 This produces a linear field width of 73 5 feet at a distance of one thousand yards The apparent field of each eyepiece that Celestron manufactures is found in the Celestron Accessory Catalog 493685 General Observing Hints When working with any optical instrument there are a few things to remember to ensure you get the best possible image 9 Never look through window glass Glass found in household windows is optically imperfect and as a result may vary in thickne
9. LOST PROFITS GENERAL SPECIAL INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHICH MAY RESULT FROM BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY OR ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY CELESTRON PRODUCT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED AND WHICH CANNOT BE DISCLAIMED SHALL BE LIMITED IN DURATION TO A TERM OF TWO YEARS FROM THE DATE OF ORIGINAL RETAIL PURCHASE Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages or limitation on how long an implied warranty lasts so the above limitations and exclusions may not apply to you This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state Celestron reserves the right to modify or discontinue without prior notice to you any model or style telescope If warranty problems arise or if you need assistance in using your telescope contact Celestron Customer Service Department 2835 Columbia Street Torrance CA 90503 Tel 310 328 9560 Fax 310 212 5835 Monday Friday 8AM 4PM PST This warranty supersedes all other product warranties NOTE This warranty is valid to U S A and Canadian customers who have purchased this product from an Authorized Celestron Dealer in the U S A or Canada Warranty outside the U S A and Canada is valid only to customers who purchased froma Celestron Distributor or Authorized Celestron Dealer in the specific country and please contact them for any warranty service Q CELESTRON Celestron 283
10. Models Only The star diagonal diverts the light at a right angle from the light path of the telescope For astronomical observing this allows you to observe in positions that are more comfortable than if you were to look straight through To attach the star diagonal 1 Turn the thumbscrew on the eyepiece adapter at the end of the focuser barrel until it no longer extends into i e obstructs the inner diameter of the focus barrel Remove the protective dust cap from the focuser barrel 11 2 Slide the chrome portion of the star diagonal into the eyepiece adapter Eyepiece Star Pointer 3 Tighten the thumbscrew on the eyepiece adapter to hold the star diagonal in 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 or ocular is the optical element that magnifies the image focused by the telescope The eyepiece fits either directly into the focuser 76mm 114mm and 130mm models or into the star diagonal 60mm 80mm and 102mm models To install the eyepiece Figure 2 4 Visual accessories for NexStar 60 80 and For NexStar 60 80 and 102 models 102 models 1 Loosen the thumbscrew on the star diagonal so it does not obstruct the inner diameter of the eyepiece end of the diagonal Remove the protective dust cap from the star diagon
11. The first time that the NexStar is used it will request information to help identify the model of telescope Once powered on the hand control will display the message Sel ect Model Use the Up and Down menu keys 10 to scroll through the different NexStar models Press ENTER when your NexStar model is displayed on the hand control see table 2 1 This information will be retained for future use and will not be displayed again If for some reason the incorrect model was selected or you wish to use your hand control on a different NexStar model the Select Model utility feature allows you to re select the proper NexStar model from the displayed list see Select Model later in this section If you have this model Select the following Model NexStar 60 76 or 102 GT NexStar 60 GT NexStar 80 GT NexStar 80 GT NexStar 114 or 130 GT NexStar 114 GT Table 2 1 2 Use the Up and Down scroll keys to select AutoAlign if it is not already displayed and press ENTER 3 The telescope will then ask you to use the direction keys 3 to level the telescope tube and point the front of the telescope towards north North can be found by finding the direction of the North Star Polaris or by using a compass You do not need to point at the North Star only the north horizon Alignment only needs to be approximate however a close alignment will make the auto alignment more accurate Once the telescope is in the north and level position pres
12. 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 Sidereal Time Displays the Sidereal time for your current time and location This is useful for knowing the right ascension of celestial objects that are located on the local meridian at that time Filter Limits When an alignment is complete the NexStar automatically knows which celestial objects are above the horizon As a result when scrolling through the database lists or selecting the Tour function the NexStar hand control will display only those objects that are known to be above the horizon when you are observing You can customize the object database by selecting altitude limits that are appropriate for your location and situation For example if you are observing from a mountainous location where the horizon is partially obscured you can set your minimum altitude limit to
13. of focus star images are very diffuse making them difficult to see If you turn the focus knob too quickly you can go right through focus without seeing the image To avoid this problem your first astronomical target should be a bright object like the Moon or a planet so that the image is visible even when out of focus Calculating Magnification You can change the power of your telescope just by changing the eyepiece ocular To determine the magnification of your telescope simply divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece used In equation format the formula looks like this Focal Length of Telescope mm Magnification Focal Length of Eyepiece mm Let s say for example you are using the 25mm eyepiece To determine the magnification you simply divide the focal length of your telescope for example the NexStar 114 has a focal length of 1000mm by the focal length of the eyepiece 25mm Dividing 1000 by 25 yields a magnification of 40 power 26 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
14. the NexStar These procedures are grouped into three categories Alignment Setup and Utilities The alignment section deals with the initial telescope alignment as well as finding objects in the sky the setup section discusses changing parameters such as tracking mode and tracking rate finally the last section reviews all of the utility functions such as adjusting the telescopes slew limits and backlash compensation Alignment Procedure In order for the NexStar to accurately point to objects in the sky it must first be aligned with two 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 Auto Align Auto Align is the easiest way to get your NexStar aligned and ready to observe Even if you do not know a single star in the sky the NexStar will align itself by guiding the user through the alignment procedure by asking for basic information like the date time and location The NexStar will then automatically choose two stars for alignment and roughly center the stars in the field of view of the Star Pointer Before the telescope is ready to be aligned it should be set up in an outside location with all accessories eyepiece diagonal and Star Pointer attached and lens cover removed as described in the Assembly section of the manual 1 Once the NexStar is powered on the display will read NexStar Ready Press ENTER to begin alignment
15. 5 Columbia Street Torrance CA 90503 Tel 310 328 9560 Fax 310 212 5835 Web site at http www celestron com Copyright 2004 Celestron AII rights reserved Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rule Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 This device may not cause harmful interference and 2 This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operations 02 04 Printed in China 10 00
16. C cR P b ro pn a HU ete RO E Un Ee t Ei o ened po de te e co dee Figs Steup Time Site och LE EE Slew Limits dct berba at dee d te Ute o dee doe Ue be e te d t eb ade er te Direction Buttons Light Control Select Model TELESCOPE BASICS Focusing Image Orientation Calculating Magnification Determining Field of View General Observing Hints CELESTIAL OBSERVING Observing the Moon Lunar Observing Hints me Observing the Planets EAD Planetary Observing Hirits eR RR e ee e Sacks DR t etna DA Ed Obserymg th SUTic eg Debe o ede i i pe EO e E e CD n os Eo e e de i er be sd DE Solar Observing Hints Observing Deep Kabes Dee DH RAI ERN UR Eeer 29 Seeing OTTENUTO 29 Transparency 29 Sky TMi reat issn EE NISUS I AI I eas 29 TELESCOPE MAINTENANCE 34 Care and Cleaning of the Optics Collimation sess APPENDIX D TIME ZONE MAP SKY MAPS EE CELESTRON Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron NexStar 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 two alignment stars It s the perfect combination of power and portability If you are new to astronomy you may wish to start off by using the NexStar s built in Sky Tour feature which comma
17. CIFICATIONS Optical Specification NexStar 114mm NexStar 130mm Design Aperture Focal Length F ratio of the Optical System 12 5_ 15 Joa 19 185 J Objective Coatings Highest Useful Magnification Resolution Rayleigh Criterion 2 31 arc seconds 73 arc seconds 1 36 arc seconds 1 82 arc seconds 1 21 arc seconds 1 06 arc seconds Linear Field of View at 1000 71 feet 131 feet 66 feet 105 feet yds Eyepiece Magnification 35x 20mm 6x 25mm 20x 25mm 28x 25mm 40x 25mm 26x 25mm 70x 10mm 40x 10mm 50x 10mm 70x 10mm 100x 10mm 65x 10mm 175x 4mm 27 inches Electronic Specifications Input Voltage 12 V DC Nominal Maximum 18 V DC Max Minimum 8 V DC Min 12 VDC 750 mA Tip positive Mechanical Specifications Motor Type DC Servo motors with encoders both axes Resolution 26 arc sec Slew speeds Nine slew speeds 4 sec 2 sec 1 sec 5 sec 32x 16x 8x 4x 2x Hand Control Double line 16 character Liquid Crystal Display 19 fiber optic backlit LED buttons Fork Arm Cast aluminum Software Specifications Software Precision 16 bit 20 arc sec calculations Ports RS 232 communication port on hand control Tracking Rates Sidereal Solar and Lunar Tracking Modes Alt Az EQ North amp EQ South Alignment Procedures AutoAlign 2 Star Alignment Quick Align Database 25 user defined programmable object Enhanced information on over 100 objects Total Object Database 4
18. GMT Sun 12 00 TAN Q4 CLA m m Gough atone M Coordinated Universal Time UTC 40 January February Sky Triangulum e Perseus Aries C rater e R Hydra p Sirius R D D Canis Major March April Sky S Cassiopela Navi d 5 za ON E ve May June Sky D gt Corona D OE A 3 18 OP e vue Serpens Ophiuchus auis Libra July August Sky 1 Polaris Navi Andromeda Cassiopeia i Bootes Arciurus Corona Borealis e Serpens e A caput Ke I v Albireo Dephina O 5 3 Ophiuchus j Aquarius s S September October Sky November December Sky e Draco Triangulum e co r d 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 The Proper Return Authorization Number must be obtained from Celestron in advance of return Call Celestron at 310 328 9560 to receive the number to be displayed on the outside of your shipping container All returns m
19. Then input the necessary date and time information as instructed by the hand control Press ENTER after each entry See Hand Control section of the manual for detailed alignment procedures StarPointer Finderscope Alignment Star Catalog Keys Object List Button TOUR Button Press the TOUR button on the hand control The hand control will display a list of objects that are visible for the date and location entered Press INFO to read information about the object displayed Press the DOWN seroll key to display the next object Press ENTER to slew to go to the displayed object The NexStar will automatically choose an alignment star and slew the telescope close to that star Once there the display will ask you to use the arrow buttons to aim the Star Pointer at the star If the star is not visible perhaps behind a tree press UNDO to select a new star Next focus and center the star in the eyepiece and press ALIGN Repeat these steps for the second star alignment When complete display will read Alignment Successful The NexStar 60GT Refractor Telescope Objective Lens 6 Focuser Knob Fork Arm 7 Star Diagonal Accessory Tray w hand control holder 8 Eyepiece Hand Control 9 Star Pointer Finderscope Tripod 10 Optical Tube The NexStar 80 102GT Refractor Telescope Objective Lens 6 Focuser Knob Fork Arm 7 Star Diagonal Accessory Tray w hand contr
20. al gives detailed information regarding each step as well as needed reference material and helpful hints guaranteed to make your observing experience as simple and pleasurable as possible Your NexStar telescope is designed to give you years of fun and rewarding observations However there are a few things to consider before using your telescope that will ensure your safety and protect your equipment Warning U 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 result U Never use your telescope to project an image of the sun onto any surface Internal heat build up can damage the telescope and any accessories attached to it U Never use an eyepiece solar filter or a Herschel wedge Internal heat build up inside the telescope can cause these devices to crack or break allowing unfiltered sunlight to pass through to the eye U Never leave the telescope unsupervised either when children are present or adults who may not be familiar with the correct operating procedures of your telescope CELESTRON Quick Setup Fork Arm Base Tripod Head A Remove the NexStar from its packaging Spread the tripod legs apart until the center leg brace is fully extended and attach the accessory tray B Extend the tripod legs to the desired height C Set the telescope fork arm base into the tripod head and thread the coupling screw into the
21. al s barrel Eyepiece Adapter Star Diagonal 2 Slide the chrome portion of the low power 25mm eyepiece 20mm for the NexStar 60 model into the star diagonal 3 Tighten the thumbscrew to hold the eyepiece in place To remove the eyepiece loosen the thumbscrew on the star diagonal and slide the eyepiece out For NexStar 76 114 and 130 models SE EJ Eyepiece 1 Loosen the thumb screw on the eyepiece adapter at the end of the focuser barrel and remove the protective dust cap from the focuser barrel 2 Slide the chrome portion of the low power 25mm eyepiece into the eyepiece adapter 3 Tighten the thumbscrew to hold the eyepiece in place To remove the eyepiece loosen the thumbscrew on the eyepiece barrel and slide the eyepiece out Eyepieces are commonly referred to by focal length and barrel diameter The focal length of each eyepiece is printed on the eyepiece barrel The longer the focal length Figure 2 5 Visual accessories for the NexStar i e the larger the number the lower the eyepiece power or magnification and the shorter the focal length i e the smaller the number the higher the magnification Generally you will use low to moderate power when viewing For more information on how to determine power see the section on Calculating Magnification Barrel diameter is the diameter of the barrel that slides into the star diagonal or focuser The NexStar uses eyepieces with a standard 1 1 4 barrel diameter F
22. ally best to replace the star closest to the new object This will space out your alignment stars across the sky 7 Press ALIGN to make the change Object Catalog Selecting an Object Now that the telescope is properly aligned you can choose an object from any of the catalogs in the NexStar s database The hand control has a key designated for each of the catalogs in its database There are two ways to select objects from the database scrolling through the named object lists and entering object numbers e Pressing the LIST key on the hand control will access all objects in the database that have common names or types Each list is broken down into the following categories Named Stars Named Object Double Stars Variable Stars and Asterisms Selecting any one of these options will display an alpha numeric listing of the objects under that list Pressing the Up and Down keys 10 allows you to scroll through the catalog to the desired object e Pressing any of the catalog keys M CALD NGC or STAR will display a blinking cursor below the name of the catalog chosen Use the numeric key pad to enter the number of any object within these standardized catalogs For example to find the Orion Nebula press the M key and enter 042 e Pressing the PLANET button will allow you to use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to scroll through and select the eight planets as well as the moon To download a list of all the stars contained in the STAR Catalog wit
23. anual for more information on setting the filter limits Caution Never slew the telescope when someone is looking into the eyepiece The telescope can move at fast slew speeds and may hit an observer in the eye Object information can be obtained without having to do a star alignment After the telescope is powered on pressing any of the catalog keys allows you to scroll through object lists or enter catalog numbers and view the information about the object as described above 20 Tour Mode The NexStar includes a tour feature which automatically allows the user to choose from a list of interesting objects based on the date and time in which you are observing The automatic tour will display only those objects that are within your set filter limits To activate the Tour mode press the TOUR key 6 on the hand control The NexStar will display the best objects to observe that are currently in the sky e To see information and data about the displayed object press the INFO key e To slew to the object displayed press ENTER e To see the next tour object press the Down key 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 Nine available slew speeds Pressing the RATE key 11 allows you to instantly change the speed rate of the motors fr
24. as giant planets that are at a greater distance form the sun than the terrestrial planets A region beyond the orbit of Neptune extending to about 1000 AU which is a source of many short period comets A light year is the distance light traverses in a vacuum in one year at the speed of 299 792 km sec With 31 557 600 seconds in a year the light year equals a distance of 9 46 X 1 trillion km 5 87 X 1 trillion mi Magnitude is a measure of the brightness of a celestial body The brightest stars are assigned magnitude 1 and those increasingly fainter from 2 down to magnitude 5 The faintest star that can be seen without a telescope is about magnitude 6 Each magnitude step corresponds to a ratio of 2 5 in brightness Thus a star of magnitude 1 is 2 5 times brighter than a star of magnitude 2 and 100 times brighter than a magnitude 5 star The brightest star Sirius has an apparent magnitude of 1 6 the full moon is 12 7 and the Sun s brightness expressed on a magnitude scale is 26 78 The zero point of the apparent magnitude scale is arbitrary A reference line in the sky that starts at the North celestial pole and ends at the South celestial pole and passes through the zenith If you are facing South the meridian starts from your Southern horizon and passes directly overhead to the North celestial pole A French astronomer in the late 1700 s who was primarily looking for comets Comets are hazy diffuse objects and so Messier cataloged obje
25. avoid observing the planets when they are low on the horizon or when they are directly over a source of radiating heat such as a rooftop or chimney See the Seeing Conditions section later in this section e To increase contrast and bring out detail on the planetary surface try using Celestron eyepiece filters Observing the Sun Although overlooked by many amateur astronomers solar observation is both rewarding and fun However because the Sun is so bright special precautions must be taken when observing our star so as not to damage your eyes or your telescope Never project an image of the Sun through the telescope Tremendous heat build up may result inside the optical tube This can damage the telescope and or any accessories attached to the telescope 28 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 H The best time to observe the Sun is in the early morning or late afternoon when the air is cooler To center the Sun without looking into the eyepiece watch the shadow of the telescope tube until it forms a circular shadow H To ensure accurate tracking on GT models be sure to select solar tracking rate Observing Deep Sky Objects Deep sky objec
26. bjects This is used primarily for terrestrial lunar and planetary observing PowerTank 18774 12v 7Amp hour rechargeable power supply Comes with two 12v output cigarette outlets built in red flash light Halogen emergency spotlight AC adapter and cigarette lighter adapter included RS 232 Cable 93920 Allows your NexStar telescope to be controlled using a laptop computer or PC Once connected the NexStar can be controlled using popular astronomy software programs Sky Maps 93722 Celestron Sky Maps are the ideal teaching guide for learning the night sky You wouldn t set off on a road trip without a road map and you don t need to try to navigate the night sky without a map either Even if you already know your way around the major constellations these maps can help you locate all kinds of fascinating objects T adapter 93625 A T Adapter allows you to attach your 35mm SLR camera to the prime focus of your telescope Universal 14 T Adapter Fits drop in style any type of telescope that uses a 17 focuser or visual back Vibration Suppression Pads 93503 These pads rest between the ground and tripod feet of your telescope They reduce the amplitude and vibration time of your telescope when shaken by the wind or an accidental bump A full description of all Celestron accessories can be found in the Celestron Accessory Catalog 493685 or visit our web site at www celestron com 33 APPENDIX A TECHNICAL SPE
27. bottom of the base Star Pointer Star Diagonal A Attach the included accessories Loosen the thumb screw at the end of the focuser and remove the protective plastic cap Insert the diagonal 60mm and 80mm models only and low power eyepiece 25mm or 20mm into the barrel of the focuser B Remove the front lens cover from the end of the telescope C Attach the Star Pointer finderscope and remove the plastic cover over the battery and turn on the Star Pointer by rotating the dial on the side For instructions on aligning the Star Pointer see the Assembly section of the manual Hand Control Outlet Battery Pack Outlet Install 8 AA batteries into the battery pack Plug in the hand control and the battery pack into the outlets on the fork arm base The first time the NexStar is powered on the display will read Select Model Use the Up and Down scroll buttons to select your NexStar model from the list and press ENTER When the display reads NexStar Ready press ENTER to AutoAlign the NexStar The hand control display will ask you to move the telescope tube so that it is level with the ground and facing the north horizon Use the direction arrow buttons on the hand control to position the telescope north and level See Astronomy Basics for help on finding north Direction Buttons Up and Down Scroll Buttons Use the Up and Down scroll buttons and choose from the city database the closest city to your present location
28. canic eruptions also affect transparency Ideal conditions are when the night sky is inky black Sky Illumination General sky brightening caused by the Moon aurorae natural airglow and light pollution greatly affect transparency While not a problem for the brighter stars and planets bright skies reduce the contrast of extended nebulae making them difficult if not impossible to see To maximize your observing limit deep sky viewing to moonless nights far from the light polluted skies found around major urban areas LPR filters enhance deep sky viewing from light polluted areas by blocking unwanted light while transmitting light from certain deep sky objects You can on the other hand observe planets and stars from light polluted areas or when the Moon is out Seeing Seeing conditions refers to the stability of the atmosphere and directly affects the amount of fine detail seen in extended objects The air in our atmosphere acts as a lens which bends and distorts incoming light rays The amount of bending depends on air density Varying temperature layers have different densities and therefore bend light differently Light rays from the same object arrive slightly displaced creating an imperfect or smeared image These atmospheric disturbances vary from time to time and place to place The size of the air parcels compared to your aperture determines the seeing quality Under good seeing conditions fine detail is visible on the brighter plane
29. ces with this fully multi coated low profile Barlow lens Carrying Case Soft NexStar 60 80 302160 Lightweight yet durable this nylon case is ideal for transporting your NexStar telescope The shoulder and back straps provide hands free convenience to make carrying your telescope anywhere even easier 302160 Erect Image Diagonal 94112 A This accessory is an Amici prism arrangement that allows you to look into a refractor telescope at a 45 angle with images that are oriented properly upright and correct from left to right It is useful for daytime terrestrial viewing Eyepieces Like telescopes eyepieces come in a variety of designs Each design has its own advantages and disadvantages For the 1 1 4 barrel diameter there are four different eyepiece designs available e OMNI Pl ssl Pl ssl eyepieces have a 4 element lens designed for low to high power observing The Pl ssls offer razor sharp views across the entire field even at the edges In the 1 1 4 barrel diameter they are available in the following focal lengths 4mm 6mm 9mm 12 5mm 15mm 20mm 25mm 32mm and 40mm e X Cel This 6 element design allows each X Cel Eyepiece to have 20mm of eye relief 55 field of view and more than 25mm of lens aperture even with the 2 3mm In order to maintain razor sharp color corrected images across its 50 field of view extra low dispersion glass is used for the most highly curved optical elements The excellent refrac
30. cts that were not comets to help his search This catalog became the Messier Catalog M1 through M110 Interstellar cloud of gas and dust Also refers to any celestial object that has a cloudy appearance The point in the Northern hemisphere around which all the stars appear to rotate This is caused by the fact that the Earth is rotating on an axis that passes through the North and South celestial poles The star Polaris lies less than a degree from this point and is therefore referred to as the Pole Star Although Latin for new it denotes a star that suddenly becomes explosively bright at the end of its life cycle One of the groupings of stars that are concentrated along the plane of the Milky Way Most have an asymmetrical appearance and are loosely assembled They contain from a dozen to many hundreds of stars Parallax is the difference in the apparent position of an object against a background when viewed by an observer from two different locations These positions and the actual position of the object form a triangle from which the apex angle the parallax and the distance of the object can be determined if the length of the baseline between the observing positions is known and the angular direction of the object from each position at the ends of the baseline has been measured The traditional method in astronomy of determining the distance to a celestial object is to measure its parallax Refers to a group of eyepieces that all require
31. displayed list and press ENTER Time 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 U Select PM or AM If military time was entered the hand control will bypass this step Q Choose between Standard time or Daylight Savings time Use the Up and Down scroll buttons 10 to toggle between options Q Select the time zone that you are observing from Again use the Up and Down buttons 10 to scroll through the choices For time zone information refer to the Time Zone map in the appendix of this manual Date Enter the month day and year of your observing session The display will read mm dd yy e Ifthe wrong information has been input into the hand control the UNDO button will act as a backspace allowing the user to re enter information e The next time that your NexStar is auto aligned the hand control will automatically display the last location either a city or longitude latitude that was entered Press ENTER to accept these parameters if they still apply Pressing the UNDO button will allow you to go back and select a new city location or longitude latitude Based on this information the NexStar will automatically select a bright star that is above the horizon and slew towards it At this point the telescope is only roughly aligned so the alignment star should only be close to the field of view of the Star Pointer finder Once finished slewing t
32. ell of the tube Turn each collimation knobs one at telescope as seen through the focuser of the a time until the reflected image of your eye in the secondary mirror is centered in the NexStar 76 114 or 130 reflector models primary mirror Once the telescope is collimated tighten the Phillips head screws until you feel a slight resistance Do not over tighten the screw If your telescope is out of collimation the best way to re collimate it is with a good collimation tool Celestron offers a Newtonian Collimation Tool 294183 with detailed instructions that make it an easy chore Collimation Screws Support Screws Figure 6 2 Collimation adjustment screws for both the NexStar 76 left and NexStar 114 130 right O CELESTRON Optional Accessories 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 AC 18773 Allows DC battery powered telescopes to be converted for use with 120 volt AC power The adapter attaches to any standard wall outlet 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 25 93326 Double the magnification of any of your Celestron eyepie
33. h SAO number cross references logon to our web site at www celestron com Slewing to an Object Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control screen you have two options e 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 The speed at which information scrolls across the hand control display can be changed while the information is being viewed Press the 1 key repeatedly to speed up the scroll speed Press the 4 key repeatedly to slow down the scroll speed Press the 7 key to freeze and unfreeze the information on the display e Press the ENTER Key This will automatically slew the telescope to the coordinates of the object While the telescope is slewing to the object the user can still access many of the hand control functions such as displaying information about the object If you slew to an object that is below the horizon NexStar will notify you by displaying a message reminding you that you have selected an object outside of your slew limits see Slew Limits in the Utility Features section of the manual Press UNDO to go back and select a new object Press ENTER to ignore the message and continue the slew The NexStar hand control will only display objects that are below the horizon if the Filter Limits are set below 0 in altitude See Filter Limits in the Utility Feature section of the m
34. he display will ask you to use the arrow buttons to align the selected star with the red dot in the center of the Star Pointer If for some reason the chosen star is not visible perhaps behind a tree or building you can press UNDO to select and slew to a different star Once centered in the finder press ENTER The display will then instruct you to center the star in the field of view of the eyepiece When the star is centered press ALIGN to accept this star as your first alignment star There is no need to adjust the slewing rate of the motors after each alignment step The NexStar automatically selects the best slewing rate for aligning objects in both the Star Pointer and the eyepiece After the first alignment star has been entered the NexStar will automatically slew to a second alignment star and have you repeat the same procedure for that star When the telescope has been aligned to both stars the display will read Al i gnment Successful and you are now ready to find your first object If the wrong star was centered and aligned to the NexStar display will read Al i gn Failed Press UNDO to begin the alignment procedure again Ifyou are not sure if the correct star was centered always remember that the alignment star will be the brightest star nearest the field of view of the finder There may be other fainter stars visible that are closer to the center of the Star Pointer but the actual alignment star will be obviously brighter than any othe
35. hol mixed with distilled water The solution should be 60 isopropyl alcohol and 40 distilled water Or liquid dish soap diluted with water a couple of drops per one quart of water can be used To minimize the need to clean your telescope replace all lens covers once you have finished using it This will prevent contaminants from entering the optical tube Collimation For NexStar 76 114 and 130 The optical performance of your NexStar telescope is directly related to its collimation that is the alignment of its optical system Your NexStar was collimated at the factory after it was completely assembled However if the telescope is dropped or jarred severely during transport it may have to be collimated The NexStar 60 80 and 102 are refractor type telescopes that have fix optical systems that should not come out of collimation The NexStar 76 114 and 130 however has three collimation screws that can be used to adjust the alignment of the primary mirror To check if your telescope is in collimation refer to figure 6 1 If you look into the eyepiece adapter without an eyepiece at the top of the focuser this is what you should see If the reflection of your eye is off center then collimation is necessary Adjustments to the collimation of the telescope can be made by turning the collimation adjustment knobs located at the rear of the optical tube see figure 6 2 First loosen the ERSTE ROR AA three Phillips head screws on the rear c
36. inner portion of each leg down 6 to 8 inches Tray underneath Accessory Tray 3 Tighten the tripod locking bolts to hold each leg in place Figure 2 2 The Accessory Tray Hand Control Holder Attaching the Telescope Tube to the Mount NexStar 76 GT only While most NexStar models come pre assembled with the optical tube already attached to the fork arm base the optical tube for the NexStar 76GT must first be placed inside the tube ring 1 Manually rotate the tube ring so that its locking screw is located on the top part of the tube ring 2 Remove the locking screw and open the outer half of the tube ring downward 3 Place the center of the telescope tube into the tube ring so that the E curved portion of the fork arm curves towards the rear of the Tube Ring telescope tube see Fig 2 3 Locking Serew Attaching the Telescope to the Tripod With the tripod properly assembled the telescope tube and fork arm can TM easily be attached using the quick release coupling screw located underneath Fig 2 3 Tube orientation for NexStar 76GT the tripod mounting platform 1 Hold the telescope tube assembly by the fork arm and place the fork arm base inside the tripod mounting platform See Figure 2 1 2 Thread the coupling screw into the hole at the bottom of the fork arm base and hand tighten Your NexStar is fully assembled and is ready to attach the accessories The Star Diagonal For NexStar 60 80 amp 102
37. lays the relative altitude and azimuth 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 Goto Alt Az Allows you to enter a specific altitude and azimuth position and slew to it To store a set of coordinates R A Dec permanently into the NexStar database save it as a User Defined Object as described above Utility Features Scrolling through the MENU options will also provide access to several advanced utility functions such as anti backlash compensation and slew limits SETUP TIME SITE ANTI BACKLASH AZM POSITIVE AZM NEGATIVE ALT POSITIVE ALT NEGATIVE SLEW LIMITS SLEW ALT MAX SLEW ALT MIN DIRECTION BUTTONS AZM BUTTONS ALT BUTTONS LIGHT CONTROL DISPLAY OFF DISPLAY ON KEY PAD OFF KEY PAD ON SELECT MODEL Setup Time Site Allows the user to customize the NexStar display by changing time and location parameters such as time zone and daylight savings Anti backlash All mechanical gears have a certain amount of backlash or play between the gears This play is evident by how long it takes for a star to move in the eyepiece when the hand control arrow buttons are pressed especially when 23 changing directions The NexStar s anti backlash features allows the user to compensate for backlash by inputting a value which quickly rewinds the motors just enough to eliminate the play between gears The amount of compensation needed depend
38. ment star and press the ALIGN key It is best to choose alignment stars that are a good distance away from one another Stars that are at least 40 to 60 apart from each other will give you a more accurate alignment than stars that are close to each other Once the second star alignment is completed properly the display will read Alignment Successful and you will hear the tracking motors turn on and begin to track Quick Align Quick Align allows you to input all the same information as you would for the AutoAlign procedure However instead of slewing to two alignment stars for centering and alignment the NexStar bypasses this step and simply models the sky based on the information given This will allow you to roughly slew to the coordinates of bright objects like the moon and planets and gives the NexStar the information needed to track objects in altazimuth in any part of the sky Quick Align is not meant to be used to accurately locate small or faint deep sky objects or to track objects accurately for photography Note Once a Quick Align has been done you can use the Re alignment feature see below to improve your telescopes pointing and tracking accuracy To use Quick Align l 2 3 Select Quick Align from the alignment options Use the arrow buttons to level the tube and position the telescope tube towards north and press ENTER The hand control will then ask you to input all the same time and location information as you would fo
39. n 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 Use the Up Down arrow keys 10 to select either the Azimuth buttons left and right or Altitude buttons up and down and press ENTER Pressing ENTER again will reverse the direction of the hand control buttons from their current state Direction Buttons will only change the eyepiece rates rate 1 6 and will not affect the slew rates rate 7 9 Light Control This feature allows you to turn off both the red key pad light and LCD display for daytime use to conserve power and to help preserve your night vision Select Model The first time the NexStar is powered on the hand control display allows you to select your NexStar from a list of different models If for some reason the incorrect model was selected or you wish to use your hand control on a different NexStar model the Select Model utility feature allows you to re select the proper NexStar model from the displayed list Once the correct NexStar model has been selected the power needs to be restarted before beginning the alignment procedure The Select Model feature will return the hand control to its original factory settings Parameters such as backlash compensation values along with slew and filter limits will be reset
40. n three major sections the optical tube fork arm and the tripod These sections can be attached in seconds using the quick release coupling screw located under the tripod mounting platform Remove all of the accessories from their individual boxes Remember to save all of the containers so that they can be used to transport the telescope Before attaching the visual accessories the telescope tube should be mounted to its tripod First install the accessory tray onto the tripod legs Optical Tube NexStar 60GT Shown Mounting Platform Fork Arm Base Coupling Screw Figure 2 1 1 Remove the tripod from the box and spread the legs apart until the center leg brace is fully extended 10 2 Locate the accessory tray and place it on top of the tripod center support brace in between the tripod legs see figure 2 2 3 Insert the locking bolt from underneath the tripod support brace and thread it into the hole in the center of the accessory tray Do not over tighten The accessory tray has a built on hand control holder protruding from the side The back of the hand control has an opening that slides over the clip on the inside of the holder It is a good idea to adjust the height of the tripod before attaching the fork arm and tube Minor adjustments can be made later To adjust the height of the tripod legs 1 Loosen the tripod leg locking bolt located on the side of each leg Accessory Locking Bolt 2 Slide the
41. nds the NexStar to find the most interesting objects in the sky and automatically slews to each one Or if you are an experienced amateur you will appreciate the comprehensive database of over 4 000 objects including customized lists of all the best deep sky objects bright double stars and variable stars No matter at what level you are starting out the NexStar will unfold for you and your friends all the wonders of the Universe Some of the many standard features of the NexStar include e Incredible 4 second slew speed e Fully enclosed motors and optical encoders for position location e Computerized hand controller with 4 000 object database e Storage for programmable user defined objects and e Many other high performance features The NexStar s deluxe features combined with Celestron s legendary optical standards give amateur astronomers one of the most sophisticated and easy to use telescopes available on the market today Take time to read through this manual before embarking on your journey through the Universe It may take a few observing sessions to become familiar with your NexStar so you should keep this manual handy until you have fully mastered your telescope s operation The NexStar hand control has built in instructions to guide you through all the alignment procedures needed to have the telescope up and running in minutes Use this manual in conjunction with the on screen instructions provided by the hand control The manu
42. nts 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 The period of the moon s cycle between full and new when its illuminated portion is decreasing The period of the moon s cycle between new and full when its illuminated portion is increasing The point on the Celestial Sphere directly above the observer The zodiac is the portion of the Celestial Sphere that lies within 8 degrees on either side of the Ecliptic The apparent paths of the Sun the Moon and the planets with the exception of some portions of the path of Pluto lie within this band Twelve divisions or signs each 30 degrees in width comprise the zodiac These signs coincided with the zodiacal constellations about 2 000 years ago Because of the Precession of the Earth s axis the Vernal Equinox has moved westward by about 30 degrees since that time the signs have moved with it and thus no longer coincide with the constellations 37 Appendix C RS 232 Connection You can control your NexStar telescope with a computer via the PC port on the hand control and using an optional RS 232 cable see Optional Accessories section of manual Once connected the NexStar can be controlled using popular astronomy software programs Communication Protocol The NexStar telescopes communicate at 9600 bits sec No pari
43. ocusing To focus your telescope simply turn either of the focus knobs at the eyepiece end of the optical tube see figures 2 4 and 2 5 Turn the focus knob until the image is sharp Once sharp turn the knob towards you to focus on an object that is closer than the one you are currently observing Turn the knob away from you to focus on a more distant object than the one you are currently observing 12 The Star Pointer Finderscope The Star Pointer is the quickest and easiest way to point your telescope exactly at a desired object in the sky It s like having a laser pointer that you can shine directly onto the night sky The Star Pointer is a zero magnification pointing tool that uses a coated glass window to superimpose the image of a small red dot onto the night sky While keeping both eyes open when looking through the Star Pointer simply move your telescope until the red dot seen through the Star Pointer merges with the object as seen with your unaided eye The red dot is produced by a light emitting diode LED it is not a laser beam and will not damage the glass window or your eye 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 Sight Tube xD ON OFF Brightness Control Azimuth Adjustment Control Dovetail Tightening Screws Altitude Adjustment C
44. ol holder 8 Eyepiece Hand Control 9 Star Pointer Finderscope Tripod 10 Tube Ring NexStar 76 114 130GT Reflecting Telescope Lens Cover 6 Hand Control Optical Tube 7 Collimation Adjustment Knobs NexStar 114 amp 130 only Fork Arm 8 Tube Ring Tripod 9 Eyepiece Accessory Tray w hand control holder 10 Star Pointer Finderscope CELESTRON Assembly The NexStar comes partially assembled and can be operational in a matter of minutes The NexStar is conveniently packaged in one reusable shipping carton that contains the following accessories NexStar 60 GT NexStar 80 102 GT NexStar 76 114 130 GT 20mm 10mm 4mm Eyepieces 25mm 10mm Eyepieces 25mm Eyepiece 14 1 174 14 Star Diagonal 14 Star Diagonal 10mm Eyepiece 174 Star Pointer Finderscope and Star Pointer Finderscope and Star Pointer Finderscope and Mounting Bracket Mounting Bracket Mounting Bracket Deluxe Accessory Tray Deluxe Accessory Tray Deluxe Accessory Tray Battery Pack Battery Pack Battery Pack The Sky M Level 1 Astronomy The Sky M Level 1 Astronomy The Sky M Level 1 Astronomy Software Software Software Telescope Control Software Telescope Control Software Telescope Control Software NexStar Hand Control w Object NexStar Hand Control w NexStar Hand Control w Database Object Database Object Database Assembling the NexStar Your NexStar comes i
45. om high speed slew rate to precise guiding rate or anywhere in between Each rate corresponds to a number on the hand controller key pad The number 9 is the fastest rate approximately 4 per second depending on power source and is used for slewing between objects and locating alignment stars The number 1 on the hand control is the slowest rate 2x sidereal and can be used for accurate centering of objects in the eyepiece To change the speed rate of the motors Rate Button Pressthe RATE key on the hand control The LCD will display the current speed rate e Press the number on the hand control that corresponds to the desired speed The hand control has a double button feature that allows you to instantly speed up the motors without having to choose a speed rate To use this feature simply press the arrow button that corresponds to the direction that you want to move the telescope While holding that button down press the opposite directional button This will increase the speed to the maximum slew rate When using the Up and Down buttons on the NexStar 60 80 or 102 the slower slew rates 6 and lower move the motors in the opposite direction than the faster slew rates 7 9 This is done so that an object will move in the appropriate direction when looking into the eyepiece i e pressing the up arrow button will move the star upwards in the field of view of the eyepiece However if any of the slower slew rates rate 6 and below are
46. ontrol Mounting Holes for 114 models Figure 2 5 The Star Pointer Finderscope with Bracket Star Pointer Installation For NexStar 60 model 1 Slide the Star Pointer onto the dovetail mounting platform on top of the focuser assembly so that the sight tube is facing towards the front of the tube 2 Tighten the two dovetail mounting screws to fasten the Star Pointer in place For NexStar 80 and 102 model 1 Slide the Star Pointer bracket into the dovetail mounting platform on top of the focuser assembly 2 Orient the Star Pointer so that the sight tube is facing towards the front of the tube 13 3 Secure the Star Pointer bracket by tightening the thumb screw on the mounting platform For NexStar 76 114 and 130 models 1 Remove the nuts from the studs where the Star Pointer will mount 2 Mount the Star Pointer bracket by placing the bracket over the studs protruding from the tube and tightening it down with the supplied nuts Orient the Star Pointer so that the sight tube is facing towards the front of the tube Star Pointer Operation The star pointer is powered by a long life 3 volt lithium battery CR2032 located underneath the front portion of the Star Pointer Like all finderscopes the Star Pointer must be properly aligned with the main telescope before it can be used This is a simple process using the azimuth and altitude control knobs located on the side and bottom of the Star Pointer The alignment proced
47. p for normal flashlight operation Very compact size and handy key chain Filter Light Pollution Reduction LPR 94126A These filters are designed to enhance your views of deep sky astronomical objects when viewed from urban areas LPR Filters selectively reduce the transmission of certain wavelengths of light specifically those produced by artificial lights This includes mercury and high and low pressure sodium vapor lights In addition they also block unwanted natural light sky glow caused by neutral oxygen emission in our atmosphere Filter Moon 94119 A Celestron s Moon Filter is an economical eyepiece filter for reducing the brightness of the moon and improving contrast so greater detail can be observed on the lunar surface The clear aperture is 21mm and the transmission is about 1896 Filter Solar The AstroSolar amp 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 Celestron offers filters for the NexStar 60 80 494135 NexStar 76 94133 NexStar 114 494134 and NexStar 130 494139 LPR Filter 94126A Polarizing Filter Set 93608 The polarizing filter set limits the transmission of light to a specific plane thus increasing contrast between various o
48. r star in the area When centering the alignment stars in the eyepiece use the up arrow button and the right arrow button on the hand control Centering the star from this direction will eliminate much of the backlash between the gears and assure the most accurate alignment possible 18 Two Star Alignment With the two star alignment method the NexStar requires the user to know the positions of only two bright stars in order to accurately align the telescope with the sky and begin finding objects Here is an overview of the two star alignment procedure l 2 Once the NexStar is powered on use the Up and Down scroll keys to select Two Star Align and press ENTER The NexStar display will ask you to move the telescope tube until it is horizontal to the ground To do this use the direction keys 3 to move the telescope until it is roughly level with the ground Press ENTER The SELECT STAR 1 message will appear in the top row of the display Use the Up and Down scroll keys 10 to select the star you wish to use for the first alignment star Press ENTER NexStar then asks you to center in the eyepiece the alignment star you selected Use the direction buttons to slew the telescope to the alignment star and carefully center the star in the eyepiece Once the alignment star is centered in the field of view of the eyepiece press the ALIGN key 2 to accept this position NexStar will then ask you to select and center a second align
49. r the AutoAlign procedure Once entered the NexStar will model the sky based on this information and display Al i gnment Successful NexStar Re Alignment The NexStar has a re alignment feature which allows you to replace either of the two original alignment stars with a new star or celestial object This can be useful in several situations e 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 15 every hour Aligning on a new star that is in the eastern part of the sky will improve your pointing accuracy especially on objects in that part of the sky e Ifyou have aligned your telescope using the Quick Align method you can use re align to align to two actual objects in the sky This will improve the pointing accuracy of your telescope without having to re enter addition information To replace an existing alignment star with a new alignment star mp ES Select the desired star or object from the database and slew to it Carefully center the object in the eyepiece Once centered press the UNDO button until you are at the main menu With NexStar Ready displayed press the ALIGN key on the hand control 19 5 The display will then ask you which alignment star you want to replace 6 Use the UP and Down scroll keys to select the alignment star to be replaced and press ENTER It is usu
50. read 20 This will make sure that the hand control only displays objects that are higher in altitude than 20 If you want to explore the entire object database set the maximum altitude limit to 90 and the minimum limit to 90 This will display every object in the database lists regardless of whether it is visible in the sky from your location or not RS 232 The NexStar has a RS 232 port located on the bottom of the hand control that allows it to communicate with many popular astronomy computer programs Before attempting to create a link with a computer select the RS 232 option and press Enter 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 22 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 Land Object The NexStar can also be used as a spotting scope on ter
51. restrial 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 UTILITIES Get RA DEC Displays the right ascension and declination for the current position of the telescope Get Alt Az Disp
52. s ENTER 4 The hand control display will then ask for the following information Location The NexStar will display a list of cities to choose from Choose the city from the database that is closest to your current observing site The city you choose will be remembered in the hand controls memory so that it will be automatically displayed the next time an alignment is done Alternatively if you know the exact longitude and latitude of your observing site it can be entered directly into the hand control and remembered for future use as well To choose a location city 17 Observing Tips Q Use the Up and Down scroll keys to choose between City Database and Custom Site City Database will allow you to select the closest city to your observing site from a list of either international or U S location Custom Site allows you to enter the exact longitude and latitude of your observing site Select City Database and press ENTER U The hand control will allow you to choose from either U S or international locations For a listing of U S locations by state and then by city press ENTER while United States is displayed For international locations use the Up or Down scroll key to select International and press ENTER U To display a list of local cities first select your state from the alphabetical listing or a list of countries if International locations was selected and press ENTER U Choose the closest city to your location from the
53. s on the slewing rate selected the slower the slewing rate the longer it will take for the star to appear to move in the eyepiece Therefore the anti backlash compensation will have to be set higher You will need to experiment with different values a value between 20 and 50 is usually best for most visual observing whereas a higher value may be necessary for photographic guiding To set the anti backlash value scroll down to the anti backlash option and press ENTER Enter a value from 0 100 for both azimuth and altitude directions and press ENTER after each one to save these values NexStar will remember these values and use them each time it is turned on until they are changed Slew Limits Sets the limits in altitude that the telescope can slew without displaying a warning message The slew limits prevent the telescope tube from slewing to an object below the horizon or slewing to an object that is high enough that the tube might hit one of the tripod legs However the slew limits can be customized depending on your needs For example if you would like to slew to an object that is close to the zenith and are certain that the tube will not hit the tripod legs you can set the slew limits to 90 in altitude This will allow the telescope to slew to any object above the horizon without warning Direction Buttons The direction a star moves in the eyepiece varies depending on the accessories being used This can create confusion when guiding o
54. ss from one part of a window to the next This inconsistency can and will affect the ability to focus your telescope In most cases you will not be able to achieve a truly sharp image while in some cases you may actually see a double image Never look across or over objects that are producing heat waves This includes asphalt parking lots on hot summer days or building rooftops Hazy skies fog and mist can also make it difficult to focus when viewing terrestrially The amount of detail seen under these conditions is greatly reduced Also when photographing under these conditions the processed film may come out a little grainier than normal with lower contrast and underexposed If you wear corrective lenses specifically glasses you may want to remove them when observing with an eyepiece attached to the telescope When using a camera however you should always wear corrective lenses to ensure the sharpest possible focus If you have astigmatism corrective lenses must be worn at all times 27 CELESTRON Celestial Observing 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
55. the same distance from the focal plane of the telescope to be in focus This means when you focus one parfocal eyepiece all the other parfocal eyepieces in a particular line of eyepieces will be in focus The distance at which a star would show parallax of one second of arc It is equal to 3 26 light years 206 265 astronomical units or 30 8000 000 000 000 km Apart from the Sun no star lies within one parsec of us An object which cannot be resolved into an image because it to too far away or too small is considered a point source A planet is far away but it can be resolved as a disk Most stars cannot be resolved as disks they are too far away A telescope in which the light is collected by means of a mirror The minimum detectable angle an optical system can detect Because of diffraction there is a limit to the minimum angle resolution The larger the aperture the better the resolution The angular distance of a celestial object measured in hours minutes and seconds along the Celestial Equator eastward from the Vernal Equinox This is the angular speed at which the Earth is rotating Telescope tracking motors drive the telescope at this rate The rate is 15 arc seconds per second or 15 degrees per hour 36 Terminator U Universe v Variable Star W Waning Moon Waxing Moon Z Zenith Zodiac The boundary line between the light and dark portion of the moon or a planet The totality of astronomical things eve
56. tive properties of these high grade optical elements make the X Cel line especially well suited for high magnification planetary viewing where sharp color free views are most appreciated X Cel eyepiece come in the following focal lengths 2 3mm 5mm 8mm 10mm 12 5mm 18mm 21mm 25mm e Ultima Ultima is not really a design but a trade name for our 5 element wide field eyepieces In the 1 1 4 barrel diameter they are available in the following focal lengths 5mm 7 5mm 10mm 12 5mm 18mm 30mm 35mm and 42mm These eyepieces are all parfocal Filters Eyepiece To enhance your visual observations of solar system objects Celestron offers a wide range of colored eyepiece filter sets that thread into the 1 1 4 oculars Available sets are 94119 10 Orange Light Blue ND13 T Polarizing s 21 80A 96ND 13 Polarizing 94119 20 Deep Yellow Red Light Green ND25 T s 12 25 56 96ND 25 94119 30 Light Red Blue Green ND50 T s 23A 38A 58 96ND 50 94119 40 Yellow Deep Yellow Violet Pale Blue s 8 15 47 82A Flashlight Night Vision 493588 Celestron s premium model for astronomy using two red LEDs to preserve night vision better than red filters or other devices Brightness is adjustable Operates on a single 9 volt battery included 32 Flashlight Red Astro Lite 493590 An economical squeeze type flashlight fitted with a red cap to help preserve your night vision Remove the red ca
57. trol Attaching the Hand Control The NexStar GT 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 Push the connector into the outlet until it clicks into place and place the hand control into its holder as described previously in the Assembly section of the manual Battery Pack Outlet Hand Control Outlet Battery Pack Figure 3 1 The NexStar GT Outlets Powering the NexStar The NexStar GT can be powered by the supplied battery pack or an optional 12v AC adapter The power pack requires 8 user supplied AA size alkaline batteries To power the NexStar insert the batteries into the battery pack and plug the round post into the 12v outlet located on the side of the fork arm Once the battery pack is plugged in the NexStar will power on Note and the hand control will display the message NexStar Ready In case of a loss of power the optical tube can be moved by hand However when powered on the telescope should always be controlled via the hand control The NexStar will lose its star alignment if moved by hand when powered on The Hand Control The NexStar GT 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
58. ts are simply those objects outside the boundaries of our solar system They include star clusters planetary nebulae diffuse nebulae double stars and other galaxies outside our own Milky Way Most deep sky objects have a large angular size Therefore low to moderate power is all you need to see them Visually they are too faint to reveal any of the color seen in long exposure photographs Instead they appear black and white And because of their low surface brightness they should be observed from a dark sky location Light pollution around large urban areas washes out most nebulae making them difficult if not impossible to observe Light Pollution Reduction filters help reduce the background sky brightness thus increasing contrast Seeing Conditions Viewing conditions affect what you can see through your telescope during an observing session Conditions include transparency sky illumination and seeing Understanding viewing conditions and the effect they have on observing will help you get the most out of your telescope Transparency Transparency is the clarity of the atmosphere which is affected by clouds moisture and other airborne particles Thick cumulus clouds are completely opaque while cirrus can be thin allowing the light from the brightest stars through Hazy skies absorb more light than clear skies making fainter objects harder to see and reducing contrast on brighter objects Aerosols ejected into the upper atmosphere from vol
59. ts like Jupiter and Mars and stars are pinpoint images Under poor seeing conditions images are blurred and stars appear as blobs The conditions described here apply to both visual and photographic observations 29 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 30 8 CELESTRON Telescope Maintenance 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 corrector plate remove it with a brush made of camel s hair or a can of pressurized air Spray at an angle to the lens for approximately two to four seconds Then use an optical cleaning solution and white tissue paper to remove any remaining debris Apply the solution to the tissue and then apply the tissue paper to the lens Low pressure strokes should go from the center of the corrector to the outer portion Do NOT rub in circles You can use a commercially made lens cleaner or mix your own A good cleaning solution is isopropyl alco
60. ts of three stars two very similar to our Sun and one dim small red star orbiting around one another The projection of the Earth s equator on to the celestial sphere It divides the sky into two equal hemispheres The imaginary projection of Earth s rotational axis north or south pole onto the celestial sphere An imaginary sphere surrounding the Earth concentric with the Earth s center The act of putting a telescope s optics into perfect alignment The angular distance of a celestial body north or south of the celestial equator It may be said to correspond to latitude on the surface of the Earth The projection of the Earth s orbit on to the celestial sphere It may also be defined as the apparent yearly path of the Sun against the stars A telescope mounting in which the instrument is set upon an axis which is parallel to the axis of the Earth the angle of the axis must be equal to the observer s latitude The distance between a lens or mirror and the point at which the image of an object at infinity is brought to focus The focal length divided by the aperture of the mirror or lens is termed the focal ratio 35 J Jovian Planets K Kuiper Belt L Light Year ly M Magnitude Meridian Messier N Nebula North Celestial Pole Nova O Open Cluster P Parallax Parfocal Parsec Point Source R Reflector Resolution Right Ascension RA S Sidereal Rate T Any of the four g
61. ty and a stop bit All angles are communicated with 16 bit angle and communicated using ASCII hexadecimal Description PC Command Hand Notes ASCII Control Response Useful to check communication Goto Azm Alt B12AB 4000 10 characters sent B Command 12AB Azm comma 4000 Alt If command conflicts with slew limits there will be no action Goto Ra Dec R34AB Scope must be aligned If 12CE command conflicts with slew limits there will be no action Get Azm Alt Z 12AB 10 characters returned T Les reden ran 12CE Set Azm Alt S12AB 4000 10 characters sent S Command eee ege A somme AR Cancel Goto M fe i ee ee ll Is Goto in Progress L 0 or 1 0 No I Yes 0 is ASCII character zero Is Alignment Complete 04 or 1 0 No 1 Yes The cable required to interface to the telescope has an RS 232 male plug at one end and a 4 4 telephone jack at the other end The wiring is as follows 4 4 Modular Phone Jack DB9 Pin 2 DB9 Pin 3 PC Receive PC Transmit DB9 Pin 5 Ground 38 APPENDIX D MAPS OF TIME ZONES v s 9 Scale 1 85 000 000 st O Miller Cytindricel O SO 1000 komen o 500 1000 Mies o 2 00 3 00 4 00 11 10 9 8 Hawaii Alaska Pacific 5 00 7 Mountain Central Time Zones Eastern 39 INDIA 77 512 I Ts D o c o N o E foemerty WEST O EAST Time Universal Greemetch Mean Time
62. ure is best done at night since the LED dot will be difficult to see during the day Note Before using the StarPointer you must first remove the protective plastic cover over the battery 1 Toturnon the Star Pointer rotate the variable brightness control see figure 2 5 clockwise until you here a click To increase the brightness level of the red dot continue rotating the control knob about 180 until it stops Remember to remove the plastic cover over the battery and always turn the power off after you have found an object This will extend the life of both the battery and the LED 2 Locate a bright star or planet and center it in a low power eyepiece in the main telescope 3 With both eyes open look through the glass window at the alignment star If the Star Pointer is perfectly aligned you will see the red LED dot overlap the alignment star If the Star Pointer is not aligned take notice of where the red dot is relative to the bright star 4 Without moving the main telescope turn the Star Pointer s azimuth and altitude alignment controls until the red dot is directly over the alignment star If the LED dot is brighter than the alignment star it may make it difficult to see the star Turn the variable brightness control counterclockwise until the red dot is the same brightness as the alignment star This will make it easier to get an accurate alignment The Star Pointer is now ready to be used 14 CELESTRON Hand Con
63. used to center an object in the Star Pointer you may need to press the opposite directional button to make the telescope move in the correct direction Set Up Procedures The NexStar contains many user defined setup functions designed to give the user control over the telescope s many advanced features All of the set up and utility features can be accessed by pressing the MENU key and scrolling through the options Tracking Mode Once the NexStar is aligned the tracking motors will automatically turn on and begin tracking the sky However the tracking can be turned off for terrestrial use 21 Observing Tip Alt Az This is the default tracking rate and is used when the telescope has been properly aligned EQ North Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned using an equatorial wedge in the Northern Hemisphere EQ South Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned using an equatorial wedge in the Southern Hemisphere Off When using the telescope for terrestrial land observation the tracking can be turned off so that the telescope never moves Note The EQ North and EQ South tracking modes are only needed with telescopes that can be polar aligned such as the NexStar 4 5 and 8 The NexStar GT s are exclusively Alt Az mounted telescopes and do not require equatorial tracking Tracking Rate In addition to being able to move the telescope with the hand control buttons the NexStar will continually track
64. ust be accompanied by a written statement setting forth the name address and daytime telephone number of the owner together with a brief description of any claimed defects Parts or product for which replacement is made shall become the property of Celestron The customer shall be responsible for all costs of transportation and insurance both to and from the factory of Celestron and shall be required to prepay such costs Celestron shall use reasonable efforts to repair or replace any telescope covered by this warranty within thirty days of receipt In the event repair or replacement shall require more than thirty days Celestron shall notify the customer accordingly Celestron reserves the right to replace any product which has been discontinued from its product line with a new product of comparable value and function This warranty shall be void and of no force of effect in the event a covered product has been modified in design or function or subjected to abuse misuse mishandling or unauthorized repair Further product malfunction or deterioration due to normal wear is not covered by this warranty CELESTRON DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WHETHER OF MERCHANTABILITY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH HEREIN THE SOLE OBLIGATION OF CELESTRON UNDER THIS LIMITED WARRANTY SHALL BE TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE COVERED PRODUCT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS SET FORTH HEREIN CELESTRON EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY
65. wn 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 76 114 and 130 are reflecting telescopes with a primary and secondary mirror to gather and focus light Focusing Once you have found an object in the telescope turn the focusing knob until the image is sharp To focus on an object that is nearer than your current target turn the focusing knob toward the eyepiece i e so that the focusing tube moves away from the front of the telescope For more distant objects turn the focusing knob in the opposite direction To achieve a truly sharp focus never look through glass windows or across objects that produce heat waves such as asphalt parking lots Image Orientation The image orientation of any telescope changes depending on how the eyepiece is inserted into the telescope When observing through the NexStar 60 80 or 102 using a diagonal the image will be right side up but reversed from left to right When observing straight through with the eyepiece inserted directly into the telescope the image will be inverted 2 vno wp Reversed from left to right as Inverted image as viewed with viewed with a Star Diagonal the eyepiece directly in telescope When observing through the NexStar 76 114 or 130 a reflecting telescope the image will appear up side down when looking through the eyepiece For astronomical viewing out

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