NexStar Observer List Version 2.6 User's Manual
Contents
1. or blank implying are acceptable e Dec Degree must be a whole number ranging from 0 to 90 e Dec Arcminute must be a number ranging from 0 00 to 59 99 Often fractional arcminutes are not available e Info descriptive text about the object Each row line in the file represents a single object also known as a record A comma separates each of the fields and any field values that are non numeric must be surrounded by quotation marks Also note that you will not be able to import CSV files if they have a quotation mark as is commonly used for arcseconds in a field entry Prior to importing such files can be cleaned up in a spreadsheet program such as MS Excel and saved as CSV from the spreadsheet program Name Type Magnitude Constellation and Info are optional but an empty entry must exist in the record as a placeholder If all of this seems confusing it is Try exporting one of your lists with Export to CSV Spreadsheet File and then open the CSV file using Notepad found on the Windows Start Programs Accessories menu to study the format a bit As the name implies use Import from CSV to User Supplied List to import objects to the User Supplied List Simply select the file with the desired objects appropriate files will usually have a file extension of CSV or TXT the default but you can change the File of type selection to 26 NexStar Observer List User s Manual All Files if necessary click the2. Introduction NexStar Observer List NSOL allows you to create Observer Lists that are automatically saved to the hard drive of your computer You build the lists by choosing from tens of thousands of deep sky objects and stars The NSOL database includes 47 844 objects e The entire Messier catalog 110 objects The entire Caldwell catalog 109 objects The entire NGC catalog 7 840 objects The entire IC catalog 5 386 objects The entire Abell galaxy cluster catalog 4 076 objects All 15 magnitude or brighter galaxies from the UGC catalog 6 009 objects 12 677 stars organized by SAO number and including HD numbers and common names e 11 637 double stars from the Saguaro Astronomy Club www saguaroastro org database including supplemental names for Struve catalog stars contributed by Thomas Kovacs hfo sympatico ca www haliburtonforest com See Appendix A for a description of the names used in this list e And you can add as many additional objects as you wish NSOL allows you to more easily GoTo objects not in the NexStar database such as objects you learn about in magazine articles and books You can create as many Observer Lists as you like highlighting objects of interest to you For example you might create a list of double stars and globular clusters for the month of May to provide enjoyable viewing during a full moon Or a list of galaxies in Virgo and Coma Berenices for a dark site trip in April And you can exchange your lists v
3. X o 5 LI AE lt G NexStar Observer List User s Manual 31 Appendix C Greek Alphabet and Abbreviations Alpha a Beta p Gamma y Delta 6 Epsilon Zeta Eta Theta 0 Iota 1 Kappa k Lambda X Mu pw Nu v xi amp Omicron 0 Pi z Rho p Sigma o Tau T Upsilon v Phi 9 Chi x Psi y Omega ALP BET GAM DEL EPS ZET ETA THE IOT KAP LAM MU NU XI OMI PI RHO SIG TAU UPS PHI CHI PSI OMG 32 NexStar Observer List User s Manual Appendix D Key to Dreyer s Descriptions in the NGC IC When J L E Dreyer edited his two main catalogs he included useful comments in a cryptic shorthand in order to save space Following is a key to Dreyer s shorthand descriptions a single star 10 a star of 10th magnitude 7 8 star of magnitude 7 or 8 Tue double star same as D KEK triple star remarkable tl very much so Vi a magnificent or otherwise interesting object ab about alm almost am among annul annular or ring nebula att attached b brighter bet between biN binuclear bn brightest to north side bs brightest to south side bp brightest to preceding westward side bf brightest to following eastward side B bright c considerably chev chevelure a head of hair co coarse coarsely com cometic cometary form comp companion conn connected cont in contact c compressed
4. Object 12 of 12 Current Altitude 68 Clear Go Marks Edit List Main NSOL Window Displaying Observer List After clicking Edit List you will be presented with a window that accesses the full NSOL database The pane to the left is the list you are building while the right side of the window is comprised of the eight separate lists of the full database Click the tabs with the list names Messier Caldwell etc to pull that list to the front or press Ctrl Tab to cycle through the lists front to back Shift Ctrl Tab to cycle through the list back to front For example Ctrl Tab moves from Messier to Caldwell to NGC while Shift Ctrl Tab moves from NGC to Caldwell to Messier Each list has a section that lets you search by Object Number or Common Alternate Name NexStar Observer List User s Manual labeled simply Name in the lists While you might not mind scrolling down the Messier or Caldwell lists most of the other lists are very long and the search feature will be a big time saver Note that additional catalog numbers such as HD for are found in the Common Alternate Name field while the SAO catalog numbers are in the Object Number column Searches in the Object Number field require an exact match in the Messier Caldwell NGC IC and SAO Star lists In other words if you search for 10 NSOL will find only Messier 10 not 103 or 110 Searches in the Object Number field in the User Supplied and DSO lists
5. Remove an object from the Observer List After you have added the items you want in the Observer List and placed them in the order for best viewing using AutoSort and Move Up Down click the Close button to return to the main window Now you can see that the Observer List window has three main sections In the center is the list itself To the left is the full information for the currently selected object Current Object Info To the right is an all sky chart with the currently selected object shown as a small oval Notice the CDC button below the Current Object Info The CDC button provides an interface with the freeware planetarium program Cartes du Ciel www stargazing net astropc Start CDC before using this feature Clicking the CDC button will center the view in CDC on the coordinates of the object currently selected and provide a field of view of 5 degrees If you do not want to edit the list further and you do not wish to observe the objects with your telescope at this time you would close the Observer List When you want to open one of the lists you have created again later use the File Open Existing List menu command keyboard shortcut Ctrl 0 or the button with the yellow folder You will also notice that the most recent lists you have used are listed at the bottom of the file menu click on the name to directly open that observer list You can have up to eight lists open at the same time the Window menu lets you switch between all
6. Cl cluster d diameter def defined dif diffused diffic difficult dist distance or distant D double e xtremely excessively ee most extremely er easily resolvable exc eccentric E extended f following eastward F faint g gradually glob globular gr group i irregular iF irregular figure inv involved involving NexStar Observer List User s Manual 33 1 little adv long adj L large m much m magnitude M middle or in the middle n north neb nebula nebs nebulous neby nebulosity nf north following np north preceding ns north south nr near N nucleus or to a nucleus p preceding westward pf preceding following p pretty adv before F B L S pg pretty gradually pm pretty much ps pretty suddenly plan planetary nebula same as PN prob probably P poor sparse in stars PN planetary nebula r resolvable mottled not resolved II partially resolved some stars seen rrr well resolved clearly consisting of stars R round RR exactly round Ri rich in stars S suddenly abruptly S south sf south following sp south preceding sc scattered sev several st stars pl st 9 stars of 9th magnitude and fainter st 9 13 stars of magnitude 9 to 13 stell stellar point like susp suspected S small in angular size S small faint star trap trapezium triangle triangle forms a triangle with triN trinuclear v very vv very greater emphas
7. and Common Alternate Name in all lists do not require an exact match For example searching Messier for cluster in Common Alternate Name will first locate M6 the Butterfly Cluster clicking the Find Next button will next locate M7 Ptolemy s Cluster and so on The Find Prev button is useful when you go past your target Edit Messier Sep Oct olf User Supplied Messier Caldwell Search Column to Search 73 TES Search for Pe HN Find First C Common AlName FindNext Find Prev NGC 7089 Globular Cluster NGC 6523 Lagoon Nebula Nebula NGC 6254 Globular Cluster NGC 6705 wild Duck Cluster Open Cluster NGC 6218 Globular Cluster NGC 6205 Hercules Globular C Globular Cluster NGC 6402 Globular Cluster NGC 7078 Globular Cluster 30 NGC 7l NGC 6611 Eagle Nebula Cluste Open Cluster 72 NGC BE NGC 6618 Omega Swan Hors Nebula 73 NGC Bt NGC 6613 Open Cluster 2 NGC 7 NGC 6514 Trifid Nebula Nebula 71 NGC Bt NGC 6531 pen Cluster 27 NGE Bt NGC 6656 Globular Cluster Messier 56 NGC B w NGC 6494 Open Cluster gt IC 4725 Open Cluster NGC 6694 Open Cluster Move Up Moye Down L Close AutoS ort Delete Filter Filter On Edit List Window Searching in the Double Star list is a bit different than all the rest due to the wide variety of catalogs used in the name field You may only search on the name field but you have options for e
8. Data as found in Tools Setup and select the first of the files to import Repeat for the remaining files and then synchronize your Palm Next start Planetarium pull down the Options menu and select Objects It is best to create and select a new category of objects for example NSOL Then select Import from Memo from the Database menu and select each of the imported memos in turn See the Planetarium manual for further details Export to CSV Spreadsheet File Use Export to CSV Spreadsheet File to create files that can be opened in most spreadsheet and database programs such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access This is a generic export format that is suitable for use with a wide variety of programs CSV is an acronym for Comma Separated Values Before starting you must first open the Observer List you wish export then simply follow the on screen prompts The file created will be in the same location as found in Tools Setup the default is C Program Files NSObserverList Data as the Observer List file but the extension will be CSV NexStar Observer List User s Manual 25 Importing Data The File menu includes an Import feature to allow you to use data from other programs in NSOL NSOL recognizes two formats Comma Separated Values CSV and hcTour hcAnywhere We will discuss CSV files first Comma Separated Values CSV files can be used to import data from a variety of sources For example you might find a catalog of galaxy
9. added the objects you wish to view click the AutoSort button to re order the objects so that you will not be wasting time jumping all around the sky while the scope is slewing needlessly Click the Close button and you are done You might then print a copy of the Observer List to use with the hand control in the event you do not intend to take your laptop out with your scope You can also use the printed list as a log sheet recording your notes from the field You might also find it useful to print a Star Chart this would include all the objects on your list To actually use the List with your computer to control your telescope refer to the Using NSOL with Your Telescope section of this manual Observer List for Great Conditions and a Night of Faint Fuzzies Let s say this time you are planning for a dark site trip with your NexStar 11 Proceed as described in the last example except use filter settings as shown In this case we are again filtering to remove any objects below 20 degrees altitude The deep sky lists will not display open clusters and we will only be listing faint galaxies globular I Minimum atitude 75 4 clusters planetary nebulae and nebulae Remove the check mark to list all objects even those below the horizon th ose with ma gnitu d es b etw een 8 and 13 r Double Stars i p Magnitude of Messier Caldwell NGC IC DSO Separation ru T dem Tenes l Brightest Faintest These filter settings will also limit t
10. arcseconds block empty In other words 16 NexStar Observer List User s Manual RAE ft me Ts entering is the same as entering After slewing to an object you might be interested in checking the coordinates that the scope landed at To do this you can click the Get Scope Position button at the top of the main window This readout does not update automatically to refresh with the current scope position click the button anytime The Observer List window has a CDC button The CDC button provides an interface with the freeware planetarium program Cartes du Ciel www stargazing net astropc Start CDC before using this feature Clicking the CDC button will center the view in CDC on the coordinates of the object currently selected and provide a field of view of 5 degrees CDC also allows control of the scope NSOL will not be able to send GoTo commands to your telescope if CDC is currently connected to the telescope Simply click the Disconnect button in CDC s Telescope Configuration Panel to return control to NSOL Using the Hyper Hand Control The Hyper Hand Control HHC provides direct access to the entire NSOL database This is useful if you haven t created a Observer List but would like to use the easy to search lists in the NSOL database to direct your scope to GoTo various objects Open the HHC from the Tools menu keyboard shortcut Ctrl H or with the toolbar button resembling a NexStar hand control X Hyper Hand Control Us
11. clusters on the Internet and rather than typing them into the User Supplied Objects you can use Import to add the catalog without typing You can also use Export to Comma Separated discussed above to export one Observer List to a CSV file and then you can Import to another list to combine the two The files you import from must be of a very specific format The generic name is known as a Comma Separated Values file CSV Many programs that export data can create CSV files For example AstroPlanner exports CSV files For data that is not in CSV format import to a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel put the columns in the correct order and delete any extra columns and save as a CSV file The CSV file MUST have the following columns fields no more and no less and they MUST be in this order e Category general category or the name of the catalog the object is from ex Messier Object Number a serial number in the category ex 31 for Messier 31 Name a descriptive name ex Andromeda Galaxy Type the astronomical type of the object ex Galaxy Magnitude the visual magnitude of the object Constellation self explanatory RA Hour must be a whole number ranging from 0 to 23 RA Minute must be a number ranging from 0 00 to 59 99 If it is not possible to produce fractional RA minutes do not be too concerned accepting the nearest RA minute gets you within at least 14 arcminutes of the actual coordinates e Dec Sign only
12. in image brightness Here is a table estimating limiting magnitude under good dark sky conditions Instrument Aperture Limiting Magnitude Naked eye about 7mm 6 Binoculars 50mm 9 5 Telescopes 60 mm 2 4 in 10 5 80 mm 3 1 in 11 3 4 in 11 7 114 mm 4 5 in 12 5 in 12 3 8 in 13 3 11 in 14 14 in 14 6 From this table we should expect that a NexStar 4 would allow us to detect an object of about 11 7 magnitude when we are under dark skies Unfortunately it is not quite that simple First we must consider the seeing condition known as transparency We need more than dark skies to see the faintest objects we also need clear skies Particles in the air make faint objects difficult to view This 1s even more critical under light polluted skies or a sky with a bright Moon During a night with good transparency you might be able to easily see a faint globular cluster or galaxy but the next night moisture in the air could make it invisible Second we must recall that magnitude for deep sky objects is generally derived by taking the total luminosity of the object and reporting as if it were a single point This is accurate for stars as they are single point light sources For most other deep sky objects the magnitude reported is potentially misleading When choosing targets for a viewing session we must consider both the magnitude and the size of the object If a planetary nebula M27 for example is reported as magnitude 7 4 but it is
13. open lists We will describe using these lists to control your telescope later in the instructions Print List Ed Printing an Observer List Output to To print an Observer List you must Brother MFC8500 v first have the list open Refer to the Cancel directions above to open an existing list Print Style Use the File Print menu command keyboard shortcut Ctrl P or the button with the printer Then simply C List with Comment Area C Star Chart with Labels C Star Chart no Labels Number of Copies m 12 NexStar Observer List User s Manual choose whether you want a Compact List prints the objects with a small amount of space between each or a List with Comment Area prints the objects with room to write observing notes after each You can also print a Star Chart with all of your objects plotted either with or without labels If you have selected more than a few objects be aware that the labels may overlap On a printed Star Chart the first 180 objects plotted will be listed at the bottom of the sheet Select the number of copies you would like and the correct printer if your system has multiple printers available Alignment Star Chart NSOL can also help you to locate your alignment stars Use the Tools Alignment Star Chart menu command or the button with the star studded black circle to display an all sky chart with the NexStar alignment stars designated This feature is dependent upon the correct time z
14. that program try removing it with Add Remove Programs in the Control Panel Try other Comm Port settings In NSOL comm port settings are found in the Tools Setup menu Go to Control Panel Start menu Settings and open the System icon Click on the Device Manager and look for Ports COM amp LPT There should be a mark next to it and when you click the Device Manager will expand to show the actual ports At least one of the ports should be labeled Communications Port Com1 or perhaps Com2 or other If the little icon next to this entry has an X through it you must double click the icon and try to determine why the comm port is not operating Another potential conflict with a laptop computer is an infrared or IrDA port You can find that listed in the Device Manager as well If you are not using the infrared port double click the icon not the one with the mark but rather the one below it and check the box to Disable in this hardware profile A faulty cable might be the problem One way to test the cable is to install NSOL on a standard desktop PC and try controlling the scope from there remember the indoors alignment from number I above Desktop PCs do not generally have much problem with conflicting comm ports EXCEPT in the case of software to synchronize a PDA such as a Palm Pilot Take a good look at the connector on the bottom of the hand control insure none of the pins appear bent or misaligned There is a kn
15. 8 by 6 arcminutes in size the result is an object with a low surface brightness In other words it is actually very faint Larger galaxies and nebula are even more misleading M81 is magnitude 6 9 nearly naked eye limit if it were a star But M81 is a galaxy with a size of 20 by 10 arcminutes resulting in a low surface brightness that makes it difficult to see without clear dark skies Third light pollution has a devastating effect on all but the brightest objects Larger apertures can help to overcome this problem but there 1s no substitute for dark skies If you live in a small community the background light pollution may not be too bad and you simply need to deal with a few local lights from your closest neighbors In a city the situation is considerable worse The entire sky glows with the many thousands of lights flooding the city Even if you can isolate yourself from any local lights the skyglow will make most deep sky objects impossible to see Planetary and lunar observations are not affected appreciably by light pollution but for the deep NexStar Observer List User s Manual 21 sky you need to travel to a dark site In light polluted skies you might be able to detect a faint object but under dark clear skies details come into view Nature s version of light pollution a bright Moon will also make deep sky objects hard to distinguish Even at a dark site a full Moon limits the objects you can see To make matters even more f
16. GC 7078 E Messier 23 NGC 6913 pen Cluster Messier 38 NGC 7092 pen Cluster Categor Number Messier 39 Common Alt Name Type sub category NGC 7092 Open Cluster Constellation Magnitude Cygnus 5 2 Right Ascension Declination 21 32 2 43 Additional Information 4 Size 32 Dist 825 kly Previous GoTo Observed CDC Obiect 12 of 12 Current Altitude 65 3 Clear Go Marks Edit List Main NSOL Window Displaying an Observer List The Observer List can be temporarily sorted by clicking any column heading For example to sort the list in order to group objects by constellation click the Constellation column heading To reverse the sort order click the same column heading again To return to the original list order click the heading You can also issue a slew command for any Right Ascension Declination using the Quick GoTo section at the top of the main window Simply enter the coordinates and click the Quick GoTo button RA is entered with hours in the first box minutes in the second box and optionally you can enter seconds in the third box Dec is entered with degrees in the first box arcminutes in the second box and optionally you can enter arcseconds in the third box Don t forget to change or if necessary If your coordinates have fractional minutes arcminutes enter them directly in the minutes arcminutes box and leave the seconds
17. NexStar Observer List by Mike Swanson Version 2 6 User s Manual NexStar Observer List File Tools Window Help maso mal T T mest TT Messier 55 NGC 6809 Messier 75 NGC 6864 Messier 30 NGC 7099 Messier 72 NGC 6381 Messier 73 NGC 6994 Group of 4 stars Messier 2 NGC 7089 Messier 71 NGC 6838 Messier 27 NGC 6853 Dumbbell Nebula Messier 56 NGC 6779 Globular Cluste Messier 15 NGC 7078 Globular Cluste Messier 29 NGC 6913 Open Cluster Messier 39 NGC 7092 Open Cluster Categor Number Messier 39 Common Alt Name Type sub category NGC 7092 Open Cluster Constellation Magnitude Cygnus 5 2 Right Ascension Declination 21 322 4g 26 Additional Information 4 Size 32 Dist 825 kly Previou To bserved CDC Object 12 of 12 kn Previous _Gote obseved coc 653 Clear Go Masks Edit List Contents Cont nts suse dene Ree tet pec eg E Badu bed e date eg a Fondo ea abe Sheedy 1 Hints T 1 What s New Since Version 2 0 ssaresessrsnnrvnvenesvnevnesnenenannsennesnenneennvsnensesnnennensnesnesnensnesnennesnnesnennnennenensenenneee 2 Installation and Unmstalling eicit biete ee erre ieee E be e e eee Reid 3 Tistll ton mE THEE 3 lnc 3 Basic Operation cione e dnbie ven medina mod nien deis 5 Sep re 5 Creating Observer Lists Lua re i t en e e ed n v e Rc E E EE eds 7 Printing an Observer List REM 11 Alignment Star Chart itat tette eet ctt
18. Open button and NSOL will process and import the data Ifthe file is formatted incorrectly an error will occur and the import will stop after the last good record Use Import from CSV to Current List to import objects to the current Observer List Be sure to open the correct list to receive the imported objects or create a new Observer List and then select Import from CSV to Current List from the File menu Select the file to import from and NSOL will process and import the data Again if the file is formatted incorrectly an error will occur and the import will stop after the last good record After you import to an Observer List you will likely want to click the Edit List button to use AutoSort or the Move Up Down buttons to set the order of the list hcTour hcAnywhere hcTour is a program bundled with Astro Geeks www astrogeeks com hcAnywhere application It is used to build custom tours for the hcAnywhere virtual hand control NSOL can import tours created in hc Tour into the current Observer List Be sure to open the correct list to receive the imported objects or create a new Observer List and then select Import from hcTour hcAnywhere File to Current List from the File menu Select the file to import from and NSOL will process and import the data If the file is formatted incorrectly an error will occur and the import will stop after the last good record After you import to an Observer List you will likely want to click the Edit Lis
19. WE Howe H A RST Rossiter R A BU Burnham S W I Innes R T A S South J COO Cordoba Obs J Jonckheere R SCJ Schjellerup H COU Couteau P JC Jacob W S SE Secchi A CPO Cape Observatory JSP Jessup M K SEE See T J D Dembowski E KNT Knott G SEI Scheiner J DA Dawes W R KU Kustner F SHJ South amp Herschel DAW Dawson B H KUI Kuiper G P SKI Skinner A N DON Donner H F i ewis T SLR Sellors R P DOO Doolittle E AL Lalande F de STF Struve F G W DOR Dorpat Obs AM Lamont J von STG Struve G DUN Dunlop J DS Luyten p m STI Stein J ES Espin T E E eonard F C STN Stone 0 FIL Filipov M L PO La Plata Obs STT Struve oO FIN Finsen W S V eavenworth F THE The P S FOX Fox P MA Madler J H UPT GAL Gallo J MA Mason A H VOU Voute J G GAN Anderson G MLB Milburn W WAK Walker R L GAU Gauchet P L MLF Muller F WEI Weisse M GCB Giacobini M MLL Mitchell S A WG Wrigley R W NexStar Observer List User s Manual 29 WHC Wilson H C WNO Washington Obs WRH Wilson R H WNC Winnecke A WOR Worley C E When an object is not associated with one of the above discoverers the Bayer Greek letter or Flamsteed decimal number designation is used The abbreviations used for constellation names are found in Appendix B while the Greek alphabet is listed in Appendix C If you are unable to find what you are looking for using Exact Match change the search method to Close Match 30 NexStar Observer List User s Manual Ap
20. ailable on the majority of the objects SAO numbers are also included when there was a cross reference available as well as common names Hopefully if you are looking for a particular double star to add to an Observer List the name will be listed The original SAC list referenced several different catalogs in addition to ADS To save space in the database file the following abbreviations based on the discoverers were used For example STF 1 is the first double in F G W Struve s catalog while STT 10 is the tenth double in Otto Struve s catalog A Aitken R G GLE Gale W F MLO Melbourne Obs AC Clark Alvan GLI Gilliss J M MLR Muller P AG AG catalog GLP Glasenapp 8S NZO New Zealand Obs AGC Clark A G GRB Groombridge S OL Olivier C P ALD Alden H L GYL Goyal A N PAN Pannuzzio R ALI Ali A H Herschel W PLQ Paloque E ARA Aravamudan S HDO Harvard Obs POL Pollock J A ARG Argelander F HEI Heintz W D POP Popovic G B Bos W H van den HJ Herschel J POU Pourteau A BAL Baillaud R HLD Holden E S PRO Perth Obs BAR Barnard E E HLM Holmes E PTT Pettitt E BET Bertin B HO Hough G W PZ Piazzi G BHA Bhaskaran T P HRG Hargrave L R Russell H C BRD Bird F HTG Hastings C S RMK Rumker C BRT Barton S G HU Hussey W L ROE Roe E D BSO Brisbane Obs H
21. all remove the check mark next to Use Altitude Controls Note that this feature is especially useful when using the scope in equatorial mode since the altitude info on the GT and original NexStar 5 8 hand control is not local altitude but rather the object s altitude in relation to the tilted base of the scope NexStar Observer List will always use the local altitude Location of Observer Lists This option determines the folder your Observer Lists and User Supplied Objects database are stored in This can be convenient if you are currently making backups of a My Documents folder or similar and want to include your NexStar Observer List data in the backup as well You will need to create a separate folder in the My Documents folder perhaps named NSOL Data Then use the Browse button to select that folder Then exit NSOL and using Windows Explorer you should copy all the files from the C Program Files NSObserverList Data folder the default data folder into your newly created folder Caution if NexStar Observer List cannot find the file NSObserverUserList mdb the User Supplied Objects database in the folder you selected you will not be able to edit Observer Lists Thus if you are not familiar with moving and copying files in Windows it is recommended you do not change this setting Object Color in Sky Charts Use this setting to choose the color of the oval representing the selected object in the small all sky charts found in the Obse
22. base or open the Observer List s of objects you wish to view Using an Observer List to Control the Telescope The Next and Previous buttons move through the list or you can simply click on objects in the NexStar Observer List User s Manual 15 list in the right half of the window To slew the telescope to an object check to be sure it is the current object look for the arrowhead in the row selector for that object or simply check the Current Object Info on the left then click the GoTo button You can also slew to an object by double clicking its row selector in the list Note that the altitude in the Current Object Info and the sky chart are based on the current date and time as set in Windows NSOL marks the objects you have attempted to GoTo with a Y in the Go column You can clear one or all of the GoTo marks with the Clear Go Marks button Also note that you can mark the objects you actually observed visually by clicking the Observed button You can clear the observed mark by clicking the Observed button again it simply toggles the Y on and off NexStar Observer List File Tools Window Help HHE Get Scope Position ral Def f QuiekGoto raf mes f Go Ob Category Number Name Messier 55 NGC 6809 Messier 75 NGC 6864 Messier 30 NGC 7099 Messier 72 NGC 6981 Messier 73 NGC 6994 Group of 4 stars Messier NGC 7089 Messier 71 NGC 5838 Messier 27 NGC 6853 Dumbbell Nebula Messier 56 NGC 6779 Messier 15 N
23. can help to prevent this Note The slew limit settings minimum and maximum altitude on the newer models of NexStar scopes will prevent NSOL and other programs from slewing to an object outside of the slew limits If your scope does not move after sending a GoTo command check the slew limit settings in the hand control To rely solely on the altitude controls in NSOL set the hand control s minimum Slew Limit to 90 and maximum Slew Limit to 90 Note The original GT hand control for the NexStar 60 80 114 4 GT has a fault that generally causes it to freeze when it receives two GoTo commands one after another via the RS 232 port This is not a problem with NSOL but rather it happens regardless what program you use If the hand control locks up you may be forced to turn off and restart the scope forcing you to repeat the scope s alignment procedure I have found you can almost always prevent this by waiting until the GoTo is complete then pressing any of the direction buttons for example to center the object in the field of view If this doesn t work for your scope try pressing the Undo button on the hand control two or three times after each GoTo Also the original GT hand control has a defect that incorrectly reports the current coordinates when the telescope is pointed to a location between 12 and 24 hours of right ascension and any negative declination Next open the Hyper Hand Control to directly access items in the NSOL data
24. column by clicking the appropriate column heading Easier list building with improved keyboard only search and add See Creating Observer Lists for details Easier keyboard only operation of the Hyper Hand Control See the HHC section for details The Hyper Hand Control and list building windows now have a filter feature When activated the main database will be limited to displaying only those objects meeting your criteria You can specify minimum altitude magnitude by object type and even desired separation and magnitude difference of double stars You can now easily find objects of interest Enhanced Alignment Star Chart now includes lists of recommended alignment star pairs and the ability to display only the stars offered by Auto GPS Alignment The Alignment Star Chart including recommended star pairs can now be printed as well See the Alignment Star Chart section for details Enhanced interaction with hcAnywhere from Astro Geeks www astrogeeks com NSOL can now communicate directly with hcAnywhere even on Windows 95 98 ME computers NSOL can also import export tours from to hcAnywhere hcTour format NSOL now works directly with Cartes du Ciel www stargazing net astropc Clicking the CDC button in the Hyper Hand Control or Observer List windows will center the view in CDC on the coordinates of the current object This proves very useful if you see another object in the field of view and would like to confirm its identity A new Ex
25. e unless it is between 1 and 6 AM but rather 10 PM of today s date You can change the date and time of the sky chart with the _ lt Change button This sky chart makes it easier to both organize the order of the items in your Observer List as well as insuring you select objects that will actually be above the horizon at your expected viewing time One of the eight lists is different from the rest the User Supplied Objects Using the Edit button to the left of this list you can add edit and delete items in this list You can also edit the User Supplied Objects after starting NexStar Observer List no need to open an Observer List by using the Tools Edit User Supplied Objects menu command Also you can add a large number of items all at once using the Import command as described in the Advanced Features section Note that when adding objects to the User Supplied list coordinates cannot include seconds arcseconds To enter coordinates with seconds arcseconds you must convert them to decimal fractions of a minute arcminute and include them in the minutes arcminutes box The Seconds to Decimal conversion boxes help to simplify this process For example if you want to enter 23m 34s type 34 in the box under seconds and you will find this equates to 0 57 So in the arcminutes box you would enter 23 57 At the bottom right of the window is the Filter button When activated the filter will prompt you for several criteria and limit the lists of th
26. e full database to only those objects that meet the 10 NexStar Observer List User s Manual criteria Clicking the Filter button a second time deactivates the filter Use the Filter to find objects of interest to add to your Observer List For example the altitude filter insures the database lists are limited to only those above the horizon and your specified altitude during your expected observing session Filter for globular clusters planetary nebula and open clusters with magnitudes of 0 to 8 to create a list of the brightest deep sky objects to show to your visiting friends Filter Settings Iv Minimum altitude 20 a Remove the check mark to list all objects even those below the horizon ve et Least Greatest Separation 2 an Brightest Faintest Primary s Magnitude 2 10 Least Greatest Mag Difference D 10 Primary Secondary m Magnitude of Messier Caldwell NGC IC DSO Brightest Faintest IV Galaxy 0 v Globular Cluster D V Open Cluster 0 v Planetary Nebula 0 IV Nebula 0 Clearing the checkmark will remove that type of object from the filtered lists For example if you m User Supplied Objects Brightest Faintest Magnitude 2 12 Please be patient after clicking OK sl al slet a take 2 full minutes Open Cancel Filter Options are not interested in viewing Open Clusters Savn As on slower computers
27. er Supplied Messier Caldwell Search Broren Column to Search Find First I Object Number Find Next Common Alt Name Bind Prev 31 NGC 224 Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy 32 NGC 221 Satellite of M31 Galaxy 110 NGC 205 Satellite of M31 Galaxy 2 NGC 7083 Globular Clust 72 NGC 6981 Globular Clust 30 NGC 7033 Globular Clust 52 NGC 7654 Open Cluster 103 NGC 581 Open Cluster 77 NGC 1068 Cetus Galaxy I1 MER Number 39 NGC 7092 Open Cluster Messier 31 28 NGC 6913 Open Cluster Common Alt Name Type sub categor 92 NGC 6341 I Globular Clust NGC 224 Andromeda Galaxy 56 NGC 6779 Globular Clust Constellation Magnitude 57 NGC 6720 Ring Nebula Planetary Neb Andromeda 3 4 IRINGO 70798 lanier Plast Right Ascension Declination 0 27 f af 16 Additional Information Get Scope Position RA Dec Spiral Galaxy Size 17863 Dist 2900 kly RA FE mm CDC Current Altitude E Meee E E 623 gelo s Filter On Filter Close Hyper Hand Control NexStar Observer List User s Manual 17 The HHC has four areas The upper right portion of the window contains the eight lists of the NSOL database To access each list click the tabs along the top or press Ctrl Tab to cycle through the lists front to back Shift Ctrl Tab to cycle through the list back to front For example Ctrl Tab moves from Messier to Caldwell to NGC while Shift Ctrl Tab moves
28. ession Prior to stepping outside you can create an Observer List that will keep you on track throughout the night To get started use either the File New List menu command keyboard shortcut Ctrl N or click the first button on the toolbar You will then be asked to name the list Choose something descriptive such as Best objects for January After typing the name and clicking the Save button you will be presented with the Observer List window The Observer List window displays the current list and allows you to control your telescope described in a later section The list will be empty at first so you should begin by clicking the Edit List button NexStar Observer List File Tools Window Help Deset LNUSLI OM B e sro a T T ved TT NGC 6809 Globul Messier NGC 6864 Globul Messier NGC 7099 Globul Messier NGC 6981 Globul Messier NGC 6994 Group of 4 stars Group Messier NGC 7089 Globul Messier NGC 6838 Globul Messier NGC 6853 Dumbbell Nebula Messier 56 NGC 6779 Globuli Messier Globul amp Messier NGC 5313 Open Cluster Messier NGC 7092 Open Cluster olol sy j en co ro n o ategor Number Messier 38 Common Alt Name Type sub category NGC 7092 Open Cluster Constellation Magnitude Cygnus 5 2 Right Ascension Declination 21 32 2 48 26 Additional Information 4 Size 32 Dist 825 kl Previous GoTo Observed CDC
29. filtering may remove the check mark next to that object type _ In the example shown here only objects above an altitude of 20 degrees will be shown The altitude of the objects is calculated for the date and time shown below the sky chart on the left of the Edit List window The Altitude Filter requires correct time zone and location settings in the Tools Setup menu item In the deep sky object lists Messier Caldwell NGC IC Deep Sky Objects galaxies will not be shown and objects in the other categories globular cluster open cluster etc will only be shown if the magnitude is between 0 and 12 Only double stars with a separation between 2 and 30 a magnitude between 2 and 10 and a difference in magnitude of 0 to 10 will be included For example Polaris primary has a magnitude of 2 1 while its companion secondary has a magnitude of 9 1 for a difference of 7 well within the limits established Castor s two components have a difference of 0 9 magnitude 2 and 2 9 also within the limits Objects in the User Supplied Objects table will be limited to those with a magnitude between 2 and 12 Use the Save As button to store the current settings in a named file You can save many different filter sets for example one for Bright DSOs another for Faint Galaxies another for Tight Double Stars You can retrieve any of these sets using the Open button Even if you don t save filter sets NSOL will remember the last
30. from NGC to Caldwell to Messier Use these lists to find the object you want to slew your telescope towards Each list also has a search section as described in Creating Observer Lists earlier After finding an object in one of the eight lists click the GoTo button or press Alt G notice the underlined G and NSOL will direct your scope to slew to the object The typing cursor returns to the search box for easy keyboard only operation One of the eight lists is different from the rest the User Supplied Objects Click the Edit button to the left of this list to add edit and delete items in this list Also you can add a large number of items all at once using the Import command as described later The object lists can be sorted on any column by simply clicking on the column heading Clicking the column heading a second time reverses the sort order You may find the Constellation sort order to be most useful as it allows you to easily cover all objects in a specific area of the sky RA can be useful when trying to match an object whose name is uncertain especially true of double stars Also you can resize the width of any of the columns by clicking and dragging the divider line between two column headings For example to make the Number column narrower point the mouse cursor at the divider line between Number and Name Click and hold the left mouse button and drag left or right to adjust the width At the bottom right of the window is
31. h object To select several objects listed contiguously all together click on the first object then hold down Shift on the keyboard and click on the last object Note that Shift click does not work if you click the row selector on the left edge of the list click anywhere else on the row of the desired object To add all the selected objects to your Observer List click the Add button All of this might sound a little confusing but it s easier done than said The object lists on the right can be sorted on any column by simply clicking on the column heading Clicking the column heading a second time reverses the sort order You may find the Constellation sort order to be most useful as it allows you to easily cover many interesting objects in a specific area of the sky RA can be useful when trying to match an object whose name is uncertain especially true of double stars Also you can resize the width of any of the columns by clicking and dragging the divider line between two column headings For example to make the Number column narrower point the mouse cursor at the divider line between Number and Name Click and hold the left mouse button and drag left or right to adjust the width The sky chart on the left shows you the location of the object you have selected from your Observer List or the object you have selected from the tables in the NSOL database notice the difference in color Note that it defaults not to current date and tim
32. he EM EE n double star list to those that are most Least Greatest x s a uM oes ED NND challenging The separation between the Open Cluster D 10 le tlc 1 1 ara stars will be a very slight 1 to 6 V Planetary Nebula 38 13 Ee ees arcseconds and the two stars in the pair d NKE E HE will vary greatly in magnitude at least a chester ts nod t aedis Toe Plese be paien atercickng 0K difference of 6 ae nol pierod in viewing Qen Chelem Str iake 2 fdl minges Open Cancel Again you might want to save these filter settings for future use by clicking the Save As button Filter Options for Great Conditions NexStar Observer List User s Manual 23 Using NSOL s HHC When You Haven t Prepared in Advance There will be times when clear skies sneak up on you and you aren t really prepared The Hyper Hand Control was built for those occasions After setting up your scope and connecting your computer as described in the Using NSOL with Your Telescope section click the HHC button to open the Hyper Hand Control As described earlier the HHC gives you direct access to the entire NSOL database but then that could be too much of a good thing Having access to more than 40 000 objects is not necessarily very useful unless of course you already know what you want to view When you do know what you are looking for the HHC makes it easy to access it Just pull forward the correct list Messier Caldwell NGC etc type the ca
33. he Tours data folder you will be notified and it is up to you to find the folder and move the HCT file yourself In this case the HCT file will be placed in the same location as the Observer List file the default is C Program Files NSObserverList Data as found in Tools Setup Once the HCT file is properly located you simply start hcAnywhere right click over the hand control image and select the new tour Tours in hcAnywhere are limited to 200 objects due to the design of the real hand control so Observer Lists with more than 200 objects will simply be truncated Export to Planetarium for Palm Use Export to Planetarium for Palm to create files that can be imported into Planetarium for Palm http www aho ch pilotplanets Before starting you must first open the Observer List you wish to export then simply follow the on screen prompts Due to a 4 000 character limitation on Palm memo files the export process may create more than one file The file or files created will be in the same location as the Observer List file but the extension will be TXT If more than one file is created the first will end with 1 TXT the second with 2 TXT and so on To import into Planetarium first start the Palm Desktop program Switch to the Memo Pad view then select Import from the File menu Change the Files of type selection to Comma Separated and navigate to the folder where your NSOL data is stored the default is C Program Files NSObserverList
34. hee it a i tease 12 REA Ser en Mode una erri pr por eet rose pre ROB eur edes ie EGNE 13 Using NSOL with Your Telescope esses eene enne enin enne n nennen enn nne enne 14 Using an Observer List to Control the Telescope rrnrrnrrrnvrrnvrrnvvrnnrrsnrrrnrersrrrernrnnrrnnersnrssnressrsssrssnrsssnere 14 Using the Hyper Hand Control rite tht eie re re t LEER dave e e T DERE ates 16 PC to Scope Communication Problems esses eere enne nennen enr enne 17 NexStar Observer List in Action ccesccesessseescesceseeseeceesecaeeeceeseceaeeaeeseceaecaeseneaecaeeeceeseceaesaeeaeeeaeeaeeeneeaes 20 Using NSOL to Prepare for a Session enne entente nennen nnns 21 Using NSOL s HHC When You Haven t Prepared in Advance 23 Adyanced Features eine rt etri er e Eres eie io tate dieere dete re putei aere IEEE TE eee vases 24 Exporting Observer Lists iter tto lr de a rg ee Werte a a erhebt ua 24 Importing Data 2 3503 56 2502 R 25 Technical Support ss 153 vg chacsantisdeyvavcdveds ee pendelen ease 27 Appendix A Object Names in the Double Star List nennen 28 Appendix B Constellation Names and Abbreviations ccccccccsseeseesseesseessecnseenseceseeeneseseeeseeeseeeaeesaees 30 Appendix C Greek Alphabet and Abbreviations eene enne 31 Appendix D Key to Dreyer s Descriptions in the NGC IC sese ene 32 NexStar Observer List User s Manual 1
35. here Direct NexStar 60 80 114 4 built prior to December r Time Zone Information Observing Location 2001 and have not v Use Windows Time Zone Setting Longitude g received the updated Enter Hours from UTC 4 for East _East 127 44 hand control from enha p West Hene hae La Celestron select OLD atitude er NexStar 60 80 114 4 as Nath 26 20 the telescope type If you are unsure of the m Altitude Controls manufacture date first IV Use Altitude Controls Wars you prior to GoTo operations try the NexStar 60 80 114 4 selection Minimum Altitude fi 5 Maximum Altitude 30 and if that doesn t work i i try the OLD NexStar m Location of Observer Lists 60 80 114 4 selection CAD ocuments and Settings swanson My Documentst stronomy l Browse e Communication Settings Generally you will be communicating with your telescope using the Setup Options RS 232 port on the bottom of the hand control In this case select the Comm Port number you will connect to on your PC laptop NSOL can also communicate with hcAnywhere from Astro Geeks www astrogeeks com either by using a Virtual Port or directly When using the virtual port method select the Comm Port number just as you would when using the regular hand control To communicate directly with hcAnywhere select hcAnywhere Direct instead The direct method is especially useful if your computer runs Windows 95 98 ME since hcAnywhe
36. ia email with other NSOL users or submit your favorite Observer Lists to the author swanson michael usa net and they will be posted on the NexStar Resource Site www NexStarSite com for others to download and enjoy Visit the NexStar Observer List section of the web site to download some of these pre built Observer Lists such as the Herschel 400 organized by month NSOL works with all NexStar telescopes including the reportedly non functional GT hand control shipped with the original NexStar GTs as well as CGE AS GT Advanced Series with GoTo and Ultima 2000 telescopes NSOL also works with Tasco StarGuide telescopes Your computer must be running Windows 95 98 ME NT 2000 or XP and have at least 30MB of free hard drive space Even an older modest laptop will provide good performance with NSOL As with any Windows program you will note that some menu items have shortcut keys listed such as Ctrl N for creating a New List Also menus can be accessed with Alt and the underlined letter in the menu name The same goes for buttons in the various screens Alt and the underlined letter performs the same action as clicking the button with the mouse Clear Skies and Happy Computing Mike Swanson NexStar Observer List User s Manual What s New Since Version 2 0 Observer List Hyper Hand Control and list building windows are now user sizeable to take advantage of higher resolution computer displays The Observer List can now be sorted on any
37. ignment routine These are simply the pairs with the best NexStar Observer List User s Manual 13 separation one of the most important selection criteria for improved GoTo performance To print a copy of the Alignment Star Chart click the Print button right on the chart window the File Print menu command and the printer button on the tool bar will NOT print an Alignment Star Chart The chart will print based on the date and time shown on the Alignment Star Chart window so be sure to set this accordingly before clicking the Print button Red Screen Mode When observing at night the normal screen colors can ruin your night vision To change the screen colors to a scheme friendlier to dark adapted eyes use the Tools Red Screen menu command keyboard shortcut Ctrl R or click the button on the toolbar with the red lens glasses To change back to a normal color scheme repeat any of the above or simply close the program In the event this program or any other astronomy program were to lock up or exit abnormally leaving you with a red screen you can restore normal colors by right clicking on the Desktop the Windows screen background and choosing Properties Then go to the Appearance sheet and choose the Scheme named Windows Standard 14 NexStar Observer List User s Manual Using NSOL with Your Telescope When you are ready to use NexStar Observer List to control your telescope setup and align your telescope as you would normally Reme
38. is var variable
39. mber the Alignment Star chart if you need help locating two alignment stars Connect the jack on the bottom of the hand control to the serial port of your computer For a diagram to build the correct cable as well as a link to a source for pre built cables visit the PC Control section of my web site http www NexStarSite com If your model of NexStar has an RS 232 mode in the hand control menu you must enter that mode for the telescope to communicate with NSOL Test whether your PC can communicate with your scope by clicking the Get Scope Position button in the NexStar Observer List main window An error or a response that doesn t match the position reported by the hand control indicates problems see PC to Scope Communication Problems below for assistance Caution Whether you are using the hand control or a computer program for slewing your telescope it is possible the telescope might make contact with an immovable object generally the tripod or mount For the N4 N5 N8 and GPS models this is normally not a problem unless you are using an extra large diagonal or perhaps a camera For some of the reflector and refractor NexStars it is easy for the telescope to make contact with the tripod For these reasons you should monitor your scope while in motion and be prepared to cancel the slew Generally you can cancel a slew with any of the direction buttons on the hand control Note that the Altitude Controls described in the Setup section above
40. one in Windows as described in the Setup section above Note that it defaults not to current date and time unless it is between I and 6 AM but rather 10 PM of today s date You can change the date and time of the sky chart with the lt Change button You can turn off and on the names of the alignment stars with the Toggle Names button The two dashed lines represent 20 and 70 degrees altitude it is recommended you only select stars above 20 degrees and below 70 degrees in altitude You can also limit the alignment stars to just those presented by the Auto and GPS Alignment routines These are a subset of 21 of the full list of 40 alignment stars Alignment Stars LL DP Best Alignment Pairs sr Auto GPS Align Sep AER VN pr Polaris Sirius 106 4 cro P ES Polaris Rigel 97 6 Polaris 0 Polaris Procyon 84 6 i Polaris Betelgeuse 82 1 Polaris Aldebaran 72 9 Dubbe NaGaph i Two Star Align Sep Mirfak a Gak Scheat Procyon 120 6 Mun as ab Scheat Sirius 119 8 s Miracha TEL Algenib Procyon 108 2 act Sirius 108 3 Hamal Algenib Alpheratz Procyon 107 eat D ES Pollux Scheat 106 5 Polaris Sirius 106 4 Alpheratz Sirius 105 9 NOTE Do NOT use Polaris in EQ mode Asher 12 15 03 10 09 PH Auto Align GPS Align Stars Only Toggle Names Print To the right of the chart you are presented with Best Alignment Pairs for both the Auto GPS Alignment routines and the Two Star Al
41. ons noted above Click the Filter Options for Poor Sky Conditions Filter button to display the Filter Settings dialog box Use settings as shown to match the conditions we expect and the scope we are using The settings for altitude and magnitude are easy enough to understand but the Double Star section might warrant 22 NexStar Observer List User s Manual additional explanation On nights where conditions are not optimal it is usually best not to push the limit on separation Separation of I to 3 arcseconds can be used on really clear and steady nights Separation of 4 to 15 gives us a good variety of double stars to choose from while not requiring the most excellent seeing conditions Also large differences in magnitude are best reserved for better conditions With a Mag Difference between 0 and 2 this requires that both stars in the pair are closely matched in magnitude their greatest difference can only be a magnitude of 2 Click the Save As button and store these filter settings in a file named Poor Seeing Conditions The next time you want to use the settings simply use the Open button to retrieve them Click the OK button to apply the filter to the eight lists of the NSOL database The remaining objects meet your filter criteria Select from the objects to add as many as you would like to your Observer List Review the Creating Observer Lists section for tips on adding multiple objects at all at one time After you have
42. own problem with the serial port on many Dell laptop notebook computers Sometimes they will communicate with the scope sometimes they just won t If you have tried all of the above and get no communication or intermittent communication purchase a USB to serial port adapter and use that rather than the built in serial port Belkin adapters are widely available and very reliable Also check with Dell reportedly a BIOS update that might fix the problem on some computer models is now available Most other potential solutions require investigating and possibly changing NexStar Observer List User s Manual 19 settings for serial and or IrDA ports in the computer s setup BIOS settings This requires reasonable experience in configuring computers and is not recommended for those not already familiar with such procedures Hopefully one of these tips will resolve any issue you have Email me at swanson michael usa net or check the PC Control section of my web site http www NexStarSite com if you need further assistance 20 NexStar Observer List User s Manual NexStar Observer List in Action Regardless how you prepare for an evening of viewing understanding what you can see with your scope is a must The faintest object you can see depends directly upon the aperture of your telescope The light gathering power of a telescope is a function of the area of the objective Relatively small increases in aperture result in fairly dramatic increases
43. p sky objects let s say 8 is a good limit Start by creating a new Observer List name it something like Bright Objects for November Use the File New List command or the corresponding toolbar button Next click the Edit List button to add objects to the List The first thing to do when editing a list is to insure the date and time shown under the small sky chart corresponds Filter Settings Vv Minimum Skude 20 E Remove the check mark to list all objects even those below the horizon Double Stars ae to date and time you intend to use the m Magnitude of Messier Caldwell NGC IC D50 5 or NE paration 4 t list Use the Change button if i Brightest Faintest IV Galaxy o 3 Piimary s Magnitude 2 10 necessary Using an incorrect date and FF Globus Chater 5 3 qoo ep time will not allow you to insure the Primary Secondary objects you add to the list will actually v Open Cluster o 10 puser Supplied Objects be above the horizon or your altitude IV Planetary Nebula 0 8 Brightest Faintest PALM B DT limit in the Filter Settings IV Nebula oM 3 5 0 8 Clearing the checkmark will remove that type of Error teri rere Re biet acida Extent ai sone comers filtering may i The next thing to do would be to remove the check mark next to that object type actually apply a filter us eful for the n Open Cancel mm conditi
44. pendix B Constellation Names and Abbreviations ANDROMEDA ANTLIA APUS AQUARIUS AQUILA HAMAE LEON COMA BER EN USTRALI BOR EAL LEUS DANUS ORNAX EMIN RUS ERCULES HOROLOGI HYDRA HYDRUS ELPHINUS UM AN AN AP AQ AQ D T S R Li ARA ARI AU BO CAI CAI CN CVN O y D M C CMA HEOUgOooooon UJ o H Hot J Hout LACERTA LE a O T Lt U tuo MINOR US IBRA LUPUS LYNX LYRA MENSA As MICROSCOPIUM MONOCEROS MUSCA NORMA EGASUS ERSEUS HOENIX ICTOR SCES UPPIS Is ETICULUM SAGITTA SAG SCORPIUS SCULPTOR SCUTUM ERPENS EXTANS RUS ELESCOP x Duvuyuyy yO D G UCANA RSA MAJOI RIANGULUM SCES AUSTRINUS TTARIUS UM RIANGULUM AUSTRALI R RSA MINO ELA IRGO VOLANS VULPECULA SCSI GCGHHHHHNDN R LH lt lt GCGQCHHHHHNN UJ lt O H E 9 D Q ai E e pH D c
45. port to Planetarium for Palm feature allows you to use an Observer List on a Palm Pilot and leave your PC inside NSOL now shows the five most recently used Observer Lists at the bottom of the File menu to allow easy access Updated double star list NSOL now includes the SAC Double Star list as described above List building window now has Auto Sort feature to put the objects in the list into a logical order for viewing Added ability to select multiple database objects in the list building window Sort a list by constellation or magnitude and then add several objects to your Observer List all at one time Added support for CGE AS GT and Ultima 2000 scopes NexStar Observer List User s Manual 3 Installation and Uninstalling Installation After you have downloaded the program you will next need to unzip the file into a temporary location Windows XP opens zip files directly but earlier versions of Windows require a zip program such as WinZip If you don t have a zip program check the downloads section of www zdnet com Very Important If you currently have an older version of NexStar Observer List installed you MUST uninstall it prior to installing this new version Go to the Start Menu Control Panel Add Remove Programs and double click NexStar Observer List If you are prompted whether you want to remove shared components answer no This will leave your current observation lists and User Supplied Objects intact as well as o
46. re cannot create a virtual port on those operating systems Object Color in Sky Charts it Change e Use Windows Time Zone Setting Cancel This setting allows the program to calculate the correct universal time UT without you worrying about whether your location is currently observing Daylight Savings Time or Standard Time It will only work if you have set the correct time and selected the correct time zone in Control Panel Date Time you can also set this by double clicking the time in the lower right corner of NexStar Observer List User s Manual the Windows screen If your time zone is not available in Windows you will need to remove the check mark on this option and manually enter the number of hours you are away from UT Observing Location Observing Location is used with UT to calculate the current altitude of objects to draw and print sky charts and to filter objects using the Altitude Filter You do not need to be too precise the observing location settings have absolutely no effect on the accuracy of GoTo operations If you are within 100 150 miles of the correct settings you will hardly notice the difference Altitude Controls The Altitude Controls settings allow you to prevent GoTo operations below the minimum setting and above the maximum setting If you attempt a GoTo outside of your limits you will be prompted and can then choose to override and GoTo anyway If you do not wish to receive these warnings at
47. rustrating the worst time to view the Moon is when it is full The greatest detail to be seen on the Moon is along the terminator the line between the light and shadow During a full moon most detail is washed out by the direct sunlight striking the surface If there are no planets in the sky you might be limited to viewing double stars and the brightest deep sky objects Finally remember good observation technique Averted vision looking to the side of an object while concentrating on that object wiggling the scope and varying the magnification will help you to detect fainter objects Careful observation of an object will bring out details not easily seen at the first glance Experience at the eyepiece pays off Using NSOL to Prepare for a Session As discussed early in the manual the real power of NSOL is preparing in advance for an observing session Create an Observer List to do this Following are two examples of creating an Observer List Observer List for Poor Conditions Let s say you have a NexStar 114 and will be observing in the suburbs under mag 4 skies the brightest stars you can see with the naked eye are magnitude 4 Since the theoretical limiting magnitude of the NexStar 114 is 12 under great conditions we could expect to be able to see stars down to 10 or 11 which makes most open clusters visible Only the brighter globular clusters planetary nebulae galaxies and nebulae will be visible For these more diffuse DSOs dee
48. rver List and Hyper Hand Control windows The default is a dim red color to preserve night vision but if you use a red filter over your laptop display red will not be visible Screen Settings in Windows NSOL works best at screen resolutions of 800x600 or higher You can configure this setting by right clicking on the Windows Desktop the background behind all the program windows and icons and clicking Properties Select the Settings tab and adjust the screen resolution if necessary If you must use a screen resolution of 640x480 you must also set the Taskbar to Auto hide Click on the Windows Start button then select Settings and then Taskbar amp Start Menu Put a checkmark in the box next to Auto hide and click the OK button Also if your version of Windows has a Themes tab in the Display Properties window you might want to select the Astronomy Friendly Theme found in the folder where NSOL was installed generally C Program Files NSObserverList In Windows 95 98 you will find Desktop Themes in the Control Panel The theme included with NSOL works well with the red screen night vision mode in most astronomy programs Note that this theme will change your wallpaper to none and will also turn off any screen saver you may be using You can manually reset these after NexStar Observer List User s Manual selecting the new theme if you wish Creating Observer Lists The real power of NSOL is the ability to organize your observing s
49. ser s Manual The telescope must be aligned before it will accept commands To test indoors simply perform a Quick Align or an Auto Align accepting the locations pointed out for the two stars NSOL and almost all other astronomy programs can only communicate with the telescope via the port on the bottom of the hand control not the ports on the base of the mount Perhaps you selected the wrong telescope type in the program you will not harm your telescope or computer testing other scope types Some combinations of computers and NexStar telescopes are sensitive to the order of events when connecting the two Try aligning the scope with the PC disconnected from the hand control Then connect the PC and start your astronomy software For some models of NexStar N5 8 and the new version of the N60 80 114 4 you must enter RS 232 mode from the hand control menu before the scope will accept commands Be sure there are no other programs using the serial port For example installing Palm Pilot software on a computer is a sure way to disable the serial port for access by other programs like NSOL If there is a little icon for synchronizing in the system tray the section in the lower right corner of the screen with the current time then you can be pretty sure that a synchronizing program has taken control of the serial port You can generally close such programs by right clicking the icon in the system tray and choosing exit If you no longer use
50. settings you used Vi NexStar Observer List User s Manual 11 After clicking the OK button filtering may take some time on a slower computer On a 133Mhz laptop activating the filter takes almost 2 full minutes On an 800Mhz laptop the time is less than 15 seconds The filter remains active here and in the Hyper Hand Control described later until you manually deactivate it or exit NSOL Thus if the filter is currently active the next time you open the Edit List window or the Hyper Hand Control it may take several seconds before the form appears Back in the Edit List window below your object list in the bottom left corner there are five buttons e Close Returns you to the main window e AutoSort using the date and time shown below the sky chart AutoSort will reorder the objects to work around the sky starting with objects lower than 65 degrees in altitude working from due south up through the west and on up to north then all the objects above 65 degrees altitude then continuing again with objects below 65 degrees working from the north on down through the east and back around to the south AutoSort does not work well for lists that include objects visible much later in the evening than the time listed below the sky chart so for an all night session you might want to create lists for each 2 or 3 hour period e Move Up Move Down Use these to move objects up or down the list to fine tune the order of the objects e Delete
51. t button to use AutoSort or the Move Up Down buttons to set the order of the list NexStar Observer List User s Manual 27 Technical Support I provide support via email for any questions or problems you might have regarding NexStar Observer List To contact me send email to swanson michael usa net If you received an error message on the screen please describe what you where doing when you got the error provide the full text of the error and let me know if you can recreate the error You may also visit the NexStar Resource Site at www NexStarSite com and check the NexStar Observer List page for program updates Also I am always looking for suggestion for improving the program Please email me with your ideas 28 NexStar Observer List User s Manual Appendix A Object Names in the Double Star List The double star list in NSOL was created by the Saguaro Astronomy Club SAC www saguaroastro org Supplemental names for Struve catalog stars were contributed by Thomas Kovacs hfo sympatico ca www haliburtonforest com For additional information regarding sources used to compile their original lists please visit their respective web sites The object names in the double star list often include more than one entry Combining information from the SAC list Mr Kovacs cross references and other database available publicly I have provided as many names as possible for each object Perhaps most useful are the widely used ADS numbers av
52. talog number or name in the Search for box press Enter to locate the object and then Alt G will direct the scope to GoTo that object See the Creating Observer List section for more tips on effective searching sometimes it is a bit more complicated than described here When you want to seek out new objects or if you don t really know what is visible just now use the Filter Settings to limit the database to just those objects that meet your criteria The previous section gave two examples of filter settings to get you started After applying the filter click the constellation heading to sort the objects by constellation In that way you won t be jumping all around the sky as you work through the filtered list 24 NexStar Observer List User s Manual Advanced Features Exporting Observer Lists The File menu includes an Export feature to allow Observer Lists to be used in other programs Note that to share your Observer Lists with other NSOL users you should simply send them the Observer List OLF file no export is required Export to hcAnywhere Use Export to hcAnywhere to convert your Observer List into a tour for use with Astro Geeks www astrogeek com virtual NexStar hand control The tour file will have same name as the current Observer List file but the extension will be HCT NSOL will attempt to find the hcAnywhere Tours data folder and automatically place the file there and will inform you if successful If NSOL cannot find t
53. the Filter button Refer to the Creating Observer Lists section earlier in the manual for details on the filter Below the object lists is a section for quickly slewing to any desired Right Ascension and Declination Simply enter the coordinates and click the Quick GoTo button as described in the previous section Get Scope Position also works as described earlier In the upper left of the HHC you are presented with a simple all sky chart The object you currently have selected from the lists to the right will be shown on the chart as a small oval if it is currently above the horizon The sky chart is dependent upon the date time and time zone settings in Windows as described in the Setup section above At the bottom left of the HHC you will find full information for the item currently selected from the lists on the right The altitude is dependent upon the date time and time zone settings in Windows as well The CDC button provides an interface with the freeware planetarium program Cartes du Ciel as described in the previous section PC to Scope Communication Problems Laptops in particular can be a little tricky with the serial port NSOL uses the most straightforward method possible for communicating via the serial port so if you are having problems with NSOL other programs will likely experience the same problem Here are some things to try to get your PC and scope communicating 18 10 11 12 13 NexStar Observer List U
54. ther components that may be used by other programs in your computer To install NexStar Observer List open the folder into which you unzipped the download and double click on Setup exe Very Important During the installation process you may be presented with dialog boxes stating that the installation is trying to replace an existing file on your system and the existing file is newer You will be asked if you want to keep the existing file answer YES Many programs will present you with this option during installation and 99 of the time you should answer yes to keep your existing file Additionally you may be presented with a dialog box stating that certain system files are out of date on your computer and need to be updated to continue These files have been updated by Microsoft and are needed to access the database in NexStar Observer List The updated files address security concerns that have been discovered in many Microsoft products that access databases If you wish to use NexStar Observer List you will need to allow the setup program to update these files After installation you may delete the temporary folder with the installation files however I recommend you keep a copy of the zip file After installation it is recommended that you shutdown and restart your computer The first time you run the program you will find it was added to Programs on the Start menu you will be presented with the operating instructions Please take the
55. time to read the instructions After the instructions if this is the first time you have installed NexStar Observer List you will be prompted for basic setup information such as type of telescope communications port etc If the program won t start after installing and your computer uses Windows 95 or Windows 98 revisit the NexStar Observer List page on www NexStarSite com and download the DCOM patch Uninstalling If you decide to uninstall NexStar Observer List simply open Control Panel on the Windows Start Menu then open Add Remove Programs Look for NexStar Observer List and double click NexStar Observer List User s Manual to remove Very very important when you are prompted about removing shared files click the button Remove None This will leave components that might be in use by other programs in place and it will also leave any Observer Lists and the file containing your User Supplied Objects in your data folder generally C Program Files NSObserverList Data NexStar Observer List User s Manual Basic Operation Setup The Setup options presented when the program runs the first time can be found on the Tools Setup menu Most of the items are self explanatory but some might require clarification Telescope Type Selecting Telescope Type is straightforward Telescope Type Communication Settings unless you own a NexStar 8 9 25 11 GPS G Comm at NexStar 60 80 114 4 22 model If you own a C heAnpw
56. xact or close matches If you search for ADS 1 with Exact Match selected you will only find ADS 1 If you search for ADS 1 with Close Match selected you will first find ADS 13230 then clicking Find Next will find ADS 16556 and so on Again Find Prev is useful if you go past your target Ad lt Ad L NexStar Observer List User s Manual 9 The search feature was optimized to take advantage of the keyboard In the above scenario after first typing alpha in the Search for box press Enter to find the first occurrence pressing Enter successive times will find the next and then the next and so on Adding an item to your Observer List goes as follows First you find an object you wish to add to your Observer List and then you either click the Add button at the upper left corner of that list or simply press Alt A notice the on the add button is underlined You will notice the typing cursor automatically returns to the Search for box Thus you can type 10 in the search box press Enter to locate Messier 10 and then press Alt A to add M10 to your Observer List Then you can type 12 in the search box press Enter to locate Messier 12 and then press Alt A to add M12 to your Observer List Alternately you can double click the gray button at the left edge of the row for that object this button is also known as the row selector To select multiple objects scattered throughout the list hold down Ctrl on the keyboard then click on eac
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