Advanced Series
Advanced Series
GT
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
C8-S
C5-S
●
●
C9.25-S
Autoguide Rates ...............................................................................................................................................26
Azimuth Limits.................................................................................................................................................26
East/West Filtering...........................................................................................................................................27
Utility Features .........................................................................................................................................................27
Calibrate Goto ..................................................................................................................................................27
Home Position..................................................................................................................................................27
Polar Align .......................................................................................................................................................27
Light Control....................................................................................................................................................28
Factory Settings................................................................................................................................................28
Version .............................................................................................................................................................28
Get Alt-Az........................................................................................................................................................28
Goto Alt-Az......................................................................................................................................................28
Hibernate ..........................................................................................................................................................28
Turn On/Off GPS .............................................................................................................................................28
ASTRONOMY BASICS ............................................................................................................................................................... 30
The Celestial Coordinate System..............................................................................................................................30
Motion of the Stars ...................................................................................................................................................31
Finding the North Celestial Pole...............................................................................................................................33
Declination Drift Method of Polar Alignment..........................................................................................................34
CELESTIAL OBSERVING ......................................................................................................................................................... 35
Observing the Moon .................................................................................................................................................35
Lunar Observing Hints .............................................................................................................................................35
Observing the Planets ...............................................................................................................................................35
Observing the Sun ....................................................................................................................................................35
Solar Observing Hints ..............................................................................................................................................36
Observing Deep Sky Objects....................................................................................................................................36
Seeing Conditions.....................................................................................................................................................36
Transparency ............................................................................................................................................................36
Sky Illumination .......................................................................................................................................................36
Seeing .......................................................................................................................................................................36
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................................................ 38
Short Exposure Prime Focus Photography ...............................................................................................................38
Eyepiece Projection..................................................................................................................................................39
Long Exposure Prime Focus Photography ...............................................................................................................40
Terrestrial Photography ............................................................................................................................................42
Metering ...................................................................................................................................................................42
Reducing Vibration...................................................................................................................................................42
CCD Imaging............................................................................................................................................................42
Auto Guiding............................................................................................................................................................43
TELESCOPE MAINTENANCE.................................................................................................................................................. 44
Care and Cleaning of the Optics...............................................................................................................................44
Collimation...............................................................................................................................................................44
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES ..................................................................................................................................................... 46
APPENDIX A – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS................................................................................................................ 49
APPENDIX B – GLOSSARY OF TERMS................................................................................................................................ 50
APPENDIX C – LONGITUDES AND LATITUDES................................................................................................................. 53
APPENDIX D – RS-232 CONNECTION .................................................................................................................................... 58
APPENDIX E – TIME ZONE MAP............................................................................................................................................ 60
SKY MAPS .................................................................................................................................................................................... 62
3
Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron Advanced Series telescope (AST)! The Advanced Series of telescopes come in
standard (non-computerized) and computerized GT models. The Advanced Series is made of the highest quality materials to
ensure stability and durability. All this adds up to a telescope that gives you a lifetime of pleasure with a minimal amount of
maintenance. Furthermore, your Celestron telescope is versatile — it will grow as your interest grows.
The Advanced GT Series ushers in the next generation of computer automated telescopes. The Celestron Advanced GT series
continues in this proud tradition combining large aperture optics with the sophistication and ease of use of our
computerized GoTo mount.
If you are new to astronomy, you may wish to start off by using the built-in Sky Tour feature, which commands the telescopes 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 40,000 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 Advanced Series telescopes will unfold for you
and your friends all the wonders of the Universe.
Some of the many standard features of the Advanced GT include:
•
•
•
•
Fully enclosed optical encoders for position location.
Ergonomically designed mount that disassembles into compact and portable pieces.
Database filter limits for creating custom object lists.
Storage for programmable user defined objects; and
Many other high performance features!
The AST’s deluxe features combine with Celestron’s legendary Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system to give amateur astronomers
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 telescope, so you should keep this manual handy until you have fully mastered your
telescope’s operation. The Advanced GT 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 manual 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 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
Yꢀ 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.
Yꢀ 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.
Yꢀ 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.
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.
4
Figure 2.1 – Advanced Series
(Advanced C8-S Shown)
1
12
2
3
11
10
4
5
9
8
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
Optical Tube
7
8
Tripod
Finderscope
Counterweight(s)
Finderscope Bracket
Equatorial Mount
9
Counterweight Bar
Declination Setting Circle
Dovetail Mounting Bar
Schmidt Corrector Lens
10
11
12
Latitude Adjustment Scale
Tripod Center Leg Brace/Accessory Tray
5
Figure 2.2 – Advanced Series GT
(Advanced C8-SGT Shown)
1
2
12
3
11
15
4
5
10
14
9
A
B
13
8
C
6
E
7
D
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Optical Tube
Finderscope
9
Counterweight Bar
10
11
12
13
14
15
Declination Setting Circle
Dovetail Mounting Bar
Schmidt Corrector Lens
Hand Control
R.A. Motor Drive / Control Panel
Declination Motor Drive
Finderscope Bracket
Equatorial Mount
Latitude Adjustment Scale
Tripod Center Leg Brace/Accessory Tray
Tripod
Counterweight(s)
CONTROL PANEL
Hand Control Port
DEC Motor Port
C
D
E
Autoguider Port
12v Output Jack
On/Off Switch
A
B
6
This section covers the assembly instructions for your Celestron Advanced Series Telescope (AST). Your
AST telescope should be set up indoor the first time so that it is easy to identify the various parts and
familiarize yourself with the correct assembly procedure before attempting it outdoor.
#11071 / 11072
#11025 / 11026
#11045 / 11046
C9.25-S
C5-S
C8-S
Diameter 127mm (5") Schmidt-Cassegrain 203mm (8") Schmidt-Cassegrain 235mm (9.25") Schmidt-Cassegrain
Focal Length
Eyepiece
1250mm F/10
25mm - 1.25" (50x)
6x30
2032mm F/10
25mm - 1.25" (81x)
6x30
2350mm F/10
25mm - 1.25" (94x)
6x30
Finderscope
Diagonal
90° - 1.25"
90° - 1.25"
90° - 1.25"
Mount
CG-5 Equatorial
2" Stainless Steel
CG-5 Equatorial
2" Stainless Steel
CG-5 Equatorial
2" Stainless Steel
The Sky L1
Tripod
Software
The Sky L1
1-11lb
The Sky L1
1-11lb
Counterweights
2-11lb
The Celestron Advanced Series telescopes are shipped in two boxes (three boxes for GT models). In
separate boxes are the following:
•
•
Optical Tube Assembly and Standard Accessories
Equatorial Mount, Tripod, Hand Control, Counterweight(s) and Counterweight Bar (equatorial
mount with motors comes in separate box for GT models)
Remove all the pieces from their respective boxes and place on a flat, clear work area. A large floor space
is ideal. When setting up your Celestron telescope you must start with the tripod and work up from there.
These instructions are laid out in the order each task must be performed.
Setting up the Tripod
The CG-5 tripod comes with an all metal center leg brace / accessory tray to give rock solid support to the
mount.
The tripod comes fully assembled with a metal plate, called the tripod head, that holds the legs together at
the top. In addition, there is a central rod that extends down from the tripod head that attaches the
equatorial mount to the tripod. To set up the tripod:
1. Stand the tripod upright and pull the tripod legs apart until each leg is fully extended. The tripod will now
stand by itself. Once the tripod is set up, you can adjust the height at which it stands.
2. Loosen the lever on the leg clamp so that the tripod leg can be adjusted.
3. Slide the center portion of the tripod leg away from the tripod head until it is at the desired height.
4. Tighten the levers on each leg clamp to hold the legs in place.
7
Attaching the Equatorial Mount
The equatorial mount allows you to tilt the telescope’s axis of
rotation so that you can track the stars as they move across the
sky. The CG-5 mount is a German equatorial mount that
attaches to the tripod head. On one side of the tripod head there
is a metal alignment peg for aligning the mount. This side of
the tripod will face north when setting up for an astronomical
observing session. To attach the equatorial head:
Equatorial
Mount
Azimuth
Alignment Screws
1. Locate the azimuth adjustment screws on the equatorial mount.
2. Retract the screws so they no longer extend into the azimuth
housing on the mount. Do NOT remove the screws since
they are needed later for polar alignment.
Tripod
Head
Alignment
Peg
3. Hold the equatorial mount over the tripod head so that the
azimuth housing is above the metal peg.
Mounting
Knob
4. Place the equatorial mount on the tripod head so that the two
are flush.
5. Tighten the knob (attached to the central rod) on the underside
of the tripod head to hold the equatorial mount firmly in place.
Figure 2-3
Attaching the Center Leg Brace
1. Slide the accessory tray over the central rod so that each arm of the tray is pushing against the inside of the
tripod legs.
2. Thread the accessory tray knob on to the central rod and tighten.
Installing the Counterweight Bar
To properly balance the telescope, the mount comes
Mounting Knob
with
a
counterweight bar and at least one
counterweight (depending on model). To install the
counterweight bar:
Central Rod
Accessory Tray
1. Locate the opening in the equatorial mount on the
DEC axis
2. Thread the counterweight bar into the opening until
tight.
Accessory
Tray Knob
3. Tighten the counterweight bar lock nut fully for added
support.
Figure 2-4
Once the bar is securely in place you are ready to attach the
counterweight.
Since the fully assembled telescope can be quite heavy, position the mount so that the polar axis is
pointing towards north before the tube assembly and counterweights are attached. This will make
the polar alignment procedure much easier.
8
Installing the Counterweight
Depending on which AST telescope you have, you will receive either one or two counterweights. To
install the counterweight(s):
1. Orient the mount so that the counterweight bar points toward the
ground .
Counterweight
Bar
2. Remove the counterweight safety screw on the end of the
counterweight bar (i.e., opposite the end that attaches to the mount).
Locking Screw
3. Loosen the locking screw on the side of the counterweight.
4. Slide the counterweight onto the shaft (see Figure 2-5).
5. Tighten the locking screw on the side of the weight to hold the
counterweight in place.
Counterweight
Safety Screw
6. Replace the counterweight safety screw.
Figure 2-5
Attaching the Hand Control Holder
(Advanced GT Models Only)
Hand Control
Holder
The Advanced GT telescope models come with a hand control
holder to place the computerized hand control. The hand control
holder comes in two pieces: the leg clamp that snaps around the
tripod leg and the holder which attaches to the leg clamp. To
attach the hand control holder:
1. Place the leg clamp up against one of the tripod legs and
press firmly until the clamp wraps around the leg.
2. Slide the back of the hand control holder downward into
the channel on the front of the legs clamp (see Fig 2-6)
until it snaps into place.
Leg Clamp
Figure 2-6
Attaching the Slow Motion Knobs
(For Non-GT Models Only)
The Advanced Series (non-GT models) comes with two slow motion control knobs that allows you to
make fine pointing adjustments to the telescope in
both R.A. and Declination. To install the knobs:
1. Locate the hard plastic shell under the R.A. shafts.
2. Remove either of the two oval tabs by pulling
tightly.
3. Line up the flat area on the inner portion of the R.A.
slow motion knob with the flat area on the R.A.
shaft (see Fig 2-7).
4. Slide the R.A. slow motion knob onto the R.A.
shaft.
The knob is a tension fit, so sliding it on holds it in
place. As mentioned above, there are two R.A.
Figure 2-7
9
shafts, one on either side of the mount. It makes no difference which shaft you use since both work the
same. Use whichever one you find more convenient. If, after a few observing sessions, you find the R.A.
slow motion knob is more accessible from the other side, pull firmly to remove the knob, then install it on
the opposite side.
5. The DEC slow motion knob attaches in the same manner as the R.A. knob. The shaft that the DEC slow
motion knob fits over is toward the top of the mount, just below the telescope mounting platform. Once
again, you have two shafts to choose from. Use the shaft that is pointing toward the ground. This makes it
easy to reach while looking through the telescope, something which is quite important when you are
observing.
Attaching the Optical Tube to the Mount
The telescope attaches to the mount via a dovetail slide bar which is mounted along the bottom of
Advanced
GT Users!
the telescope tube. Before you attach the optical tube, make
sure that the declination and right ascension clutch knobs are
tight. This will ensure that the mount does not move suddenly
while attaching the telescope. To mount the telescope tube:
Declination
Index Marks
In order for the GT computerized mount to function properly,
before installing the optical tube, the mounting platform must be
positioned so that the Declination Index Marks are aligned (see Fig
2-8).
1. Loosen the mounting screw on the side of the telescope mounting
platform. This allows you to slide the dovetail bar onto the mount.
Figure 2-8
2
Slide the dovetail bar on the telescope tube into the mounting platform of the
mount. Slide the telescope so that the back of the dovetail bar is close to the back of the mounting
platform.
3
Tighten the mounting screw on the side of the mounting platform to hold the telescope in place.
Now that the optical tube is securely in place, the visual accessories can now be attached to the telescope.
Dovetail Bar
Telescope
Mounting Screw
Figure 2-9
Attaching the Visual Back
The visual back is the accessory that allows you to attach all visual accessories to the telescope. The
Advanced Series optical tubes come with the visual back installed. If it is not already on the tube it can be
attached as follows:
1. Remove the rubber cover on the rear cell.
2. Place the knurled slip ring on the visual back over the threads on the rear cell (Fig 2-10).
10
3. Hold the visual back with the set screw in a convenient position and rotate the knurled slip ring clockwise
until tight.
Once this is done, you are ready to attach other accessories, such as eyepieces, diagonal prisms, etc.
If you want to remove the visual back, rotate the slip ring counterclockwise until it is free of the rear cell.
Installing the Star Diagonal
The star diagonal is a prism that diverts the light at a right angle to the light path of the telescope. This
allows you to observe in positions that are physically more
comfortable than if you looked straight through. To attach the star
diagonal onto the optical tube:
Eyepiece
1. Turn the set screw on the visual back until its tip no longer extends
into (i.e., obstructs) the inner diameter of the visual back.
2. Slide the chrome portion of the star diagonal into the visual back.
3. Tighten the set screw on the visual back to hold the star diagonal in
place.
Star Diagonal
Visual Back
If you wish to change the orientation of the star diagonal, loosen the
set screw on the visual back until the star diagonal rotates freely.
Rotate the diagonal to the desired position and tighten the set screw.
Figure 2-10
Installing the Eyepiece
The eyepiece, or ocular, is an optical element that magnifies the image focused by the telescope. The
eyepiece fits into either the visual back directly or the star diagonal. To install an eyepiece:
1.
Loosen the set screw on the star diagonal until the tip no longer extends into the inner diameter of
the eyepiece end of the diagonal.
2.
3.
Slide the chrome portion of the eyepiece into the star diagonal.
Tighten the set screw on the star diagonal to hold the eyepiece in place.
To remove the eyepiece, loosen the set screw on the star diagonal and slide the eyepiece out. You can
replace it with another eyepiece (purchased separately).
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 (i.e., the larger the number) the lower the
eyepiece power 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.”
Installing the Finderscope
The AST telescopes come with a 6x30 finderscope used to help you locate and center objects in the main
field of your telescope. To accomplish this, the finder has a built-in cross-hair reticle that shows the optical
center of the finderscope.
Start by removing the finder and hardware from the plastic wrapper. Included are the following:
11
• Finderscope
• Finder Bracket
• Rubber O-ring
• Three Nylon Tipped Thumbscrews (10-24x1/2")
• Two Phillips Head Screws (8-32x1/2")
To install the finderscope:
1.
2.
Attach the bracket to the optical tube. To do this,
Finderscope
Nylon
place the curved portion of the bracket with the
slot over the two holes in the rear cell. The
bracket should be oriented so that the rings that
hold the finder are over the telescope tube, not the
rear cell (see Fig 2-11). Start threading the
screws in by hand and tighten fully with an Allen
wrench.
Adjustment
Screw
Partially thread-in the three nylon-tipped
thumbscrews that hold the finder in place inside
the bracket. Tighten the screws until the nylon
heads are flush with the inner diameter of the
bracket ring. Do NOT thread them in completely
or they will interfere with the placement of the
finder. (Having the screws in place when the finder is installed
will be easier than trying to insert the screws after the finder has
been installed.)
Finder Bracket
Rear Cell
Figure 2-11
3.
4.
Slide the rubber O-ring over the back of the finder (it will NOT fit over the objective end of
the finder). It may need to be stretched a little. Once on the main body of the finder, slide it
up about one inch from the end of the finder.
Rotate the finder until one cross hair is parallel to the R.A. axis and the other is parallel to the
DEC axis.
5.
6.
Slide the eyepiece end of the finder into the front of the bracket.
Slightly tighten the three nylon tipped thumbscrews on the front ring of the bracket to hold the
finder in place.
7.
8.
Once on, push the finder back until the O-ring is snug inside the back ring of the finder
bracket.
Hand tighten the three nylon tipped thumbscrews until snug.
Removing the Lens Cap
The C5-S and C9.25-S have aluminum lens caps that slide on and off of the front of the telescope. The C8-
S lens cap utilizes a bayonet-type locking mechanism to hold it in place. To remove the lens cap, hold the
cover firmly and rotate the outer edge 1/2” counterclockwise and pull off.
Moving the Telescope Manually
In order to properly balance your telescope, you will need to move your telescope manually at various
portions of the sky to observe different objects. To make rough adjustments, loosen the R.A. and DEC
clutch knobs slightly and move the telescope in the desired direction.
12
Both the R.A. and DEC axis have lock levers to clutch down each axis of the telescope. To loosen the
clutches on the telescope, rotate the lock levers counterclockwise.
Balancing The Mount in R.A.
To eliminate undue stress on the mount, the telescope should be properly balanced around the polar axis.
Proper balancing is crucial for accurate tracking. To balance the mount:
1.
2.
Verify that the telescope is securely attached to the
telescope mounting platform.
Declination
Lock Lever
Loosen the R.A. lock lever and position the telescope off
to one side of the mount. The counterweight bar will
extend horizontally on the opposite side of the mount.
3.
4.
5.
Release the telescope — GRADUALLY — to see which
way the telescope “rolls.”
R.A. Lock Lever
Loosen the set screws on the side of the counterweight so it
can be moved the length of the counterweight bar.
Move the counterweight to a point where it balances the
telescope (i.e., the telescope remains stationary when the
R.A. clutch knobs are loose).
Figure 2-12
6.
Tighten the screw on the counterweight to hold it in place.
While the above instructions describe a perfect balance arrangement, there should be a SLIGHT imbalance
to ensure the best possible tracking. When the scope is on the west side of the mount the counterweight
should be slightly imbalanced to the counterweight bar side. And when the tube is on the east side of the
mount there should be a slight imbalance toward the telescope side. This is done so that the worm gear is
pushing against a slight load. The amount of the imbalance is very slight. When taking astrophotographs,
this balance process can be done for the specific area at which the telescope is pointing to further optimize
tracking accuracy.
Figure 2-13
Balancing The Mount in DEC
Although the telescope does not track in declination, the telescope should also be balanced in this axis to
prevent any sudden motions when the DEC lock lever is loose. To balance the telescope in DEC:
1.
Loosen the R.A. clutch lock lever and rotate the telescope so that it is on one side of the
mount (i.e., as described in the previous section on “Balancing the Mount in R.A.”).
2.
Tighten the R.A. lock lever to hold the telescope in place.
13
3.
4.
5.
Loosen the DEC clutch lock lever and rotate the telescope until the tube is parallel to the
ground.
Release the tube — GRADUALLY — to see which way it rotates around the declination
axis. DO NOT LET GO OF THE TELESCOPE TUBE COMPLETELY!
Slightly loosen the knobs that holds the telescope to the mounting platform and slide the
telescope either forward or backward until it remains stationary when the DEC clutch is loose.
Do NOT let go of the telescope tube while the knob on the mounting platform is loose. It may
be necessary to rotate the telescope so that the counterweight bar is pointing down before
loosening the mounting platform screw.
6.
Tighten the knobs on the telescope mounting platform to hold the telescope in place.
Like R.A. balance, these are general balance instructions and will reduce undue stress on the mount. When
taking astrophotographs, this balance process should be done for the specific area at which the telescope is
pointing.
Adjusting the Mount
In order for a motor drive to track accurately, the telescope’s axis of rotation must be parallel to the Earth’s
axis of rotation, a process known as polar alignment. Polar alignment is achieved NOT by moving the
telescope in R.A. or DEC, but by adjusting the mount vertically, which is called altitude, and horizontally,
which is called azimuth. This section simply covers the correct movement of the telescope during the polar
alignment process. The actual process of polar alignment, that is making the telescope’s axis of rotation
parallel to the Earth’s, is described later in this manual in the section on “Polar Alignment.”
Adjusting the Mount in Altitude
•
•
To increase the latitude of the polar axis, tighten the rear latitude adjustment screw and loosen the front
screw (if necessary).
To decrease the latitude of the polar axis, tighten the front (under the counterweight bar) latitude
adjustment screw and loosen the rear screw (if necessary).
The latitude adjustment on the CG-5 mount has a range from approximately 30° going up to 60°.
It is best to always make final adjustments in altitude by moving the mount against gravity (i.e. using the
rear latitude adjustment screw to raise the mount). To do this you should loosen both latitude adjustment
screws and manually push the front of the mount down as far as it will go. Then tighten the rear adjustment
screw to raise the mount to the desired latitude.
For Advanced GT users, it may be helpful to remove the front latitude adjustment screw completely. This
will allow the mount to reach lower latitudes without the screw coming into contact with R.A. motor
assembly. To remove the latitude screw, first use the rear screw to raise the mount head all the way up.
Then remove the front latitude screw completely. Now you should
be able to manually move the mount head all the way to it lowest
latitude. Now, using only the rear screw, raise the mount to your
desired latitude.
Rear Latitude
Adjustment
Screws
Front Latitude
Adjustment Screw
Adjusting the Mount in Azimuth
Azimuth
Adjustment
Knobs
For rough adjustments in azimuth, simply pick up the telescope and
tripod and move it. For fine adjustments in azimuth:
1. Turn the azimuth adjustment knobs located on either side of the
14
Figure 2-14
azimuth housing. While standing behind the telescope, the knobs are on the front of the mount.
• Turning the right adjustment knob clockwise moves the mount toward the right.
• Turning the left adjustment knob clockwise moves the mount to the left.
Both screws push off of the peg on the tripod head, which means you may have to loosen one screw while
tightening the other. The screw that holds the equatorial mount to the tripod may have to be loosened
slightly.
Keep in mind that adjusting the mount is done during the polar alignment process only. Once polar
aligned, the mount must NOT be moved. Pointing the telescope is done by moving the mount in right
ascension and declination, as described earlier in this manual.
Attaching the Declination Cables (For GT Models Only)
The Advanced Series mount comes with a declination cable that connects from the R.A. motor drive
electronic panel to the Dec motor drive. To attach
the motor cables:
•
Locate the Declination cable and
plug one end of the cable into the
port on the electronics panel labeled
DEC Port and plug the other end of
the cable into the port located on the
declination motor drive (see Fig 2-
15).
Declination Cable
Input Port
Powering the Telescope
The Advanced GT can be powered by the
supplied car battery adapter or optional 12v AC
adapter. Use only adapters supplied by Celestron.
Using any other adapter may damage the
electronics and will void your manufacturer's
warranty.
Declination Cable
Output Port
12v Power Input
On/Off Switch
Figure 2-15
1. To power the telescope with the car battery adapter (or 12v
AC adapter), simply plug the round post into the 12v outlet on
the electronic panel and plug the other end into your cars cigarette lighter outlet or portable power
supply (see Optional Accessories). Note: to prevent the power cord from being accidentally pulled
out, wrap the power cord around the strain relief located below the power switch.
2. Turn on the power to the telescope by flipping the switch, located on the electronics panel, to the
"On" position.
15
The Advanced Series GT, computerized version of each telescope has a hand controller designed to give you instant
access to all the functions that your telescope has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 40,000 objects, and
common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions.
Below is a brief description of the individual components of the computerized 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 telescope to use a selected star or object as an alignment position.
3. Direction Keys: Allows complete control of the telescope in any direction. Use the direction keys to move
the telescope to the initial alignment stars or for centering objects in the eyepiece.
1
7
2
8
3
9
4
10
5
11
6
12
Figure 3-1
The Advanced GT Hand Control
16
4. Catalog Keys: The Advanced Series has keys on the hand control to allow direct access to each of the
catalogs in its database. The hand control contains the following catalogs in its database:
Messier – Complete list of all Messier objects.
NGC – Complete list of all the deep-sky objects in the Revised New General Catalog.
Caldwell – A combination of the best NGC and IC objects.
Planets - All 8 planets in our Solar System plus the Moon.
Stars – A compiled list of the brightest stars from the SAO catalog.
List – For quick access, all of the best and most popular objects in the Advanced GT database have
been broken down into lists based on their type and/or common name:
Common name listing of the brightest stars in the
sky.
Alphabetical listing of over 50 of the most popular
deep sky objects.
Numeric-alphabetical listing of the most visually
stunning double, triple and quadruple stars in the
sky.
Named Stars
Named Objects
Double Stars
Select list of the brightest variable stars with the
shortest period of changing magnitude.
A unique list of some of the most recognizable star
patterns in the sky.
Variable Stars
Asterisms
A custom list of many interesting galaxy pairs, trios
and clusters that are well suited for CCD imaging
with the Advanced GT telescope.
CCD Objects
A complete list of all the Index Catalog deep-sky
objects.
IC Objects
A custom list of the Abell Catalog deep-sky
galaxies.
A complete list of all 88 constellations.
Abell Objects
Constellation
5. Info: Displays coordinates and useful information about objects selected from the Advanced GT database.
6. Tour: Activates the tour mode, which seeks out all the best objects for the current date and time, and
automatically slews the telescope to those objects.
7. Enter: Pressing Enter allows you to select any of the Advanced GT functions and accept entered
parameters.
8. 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.
9. Menu: Displays the many setup and utilities functions such as tracking rates and user defined objects and
many others.
10. Scroll Keys: Used to scroll up and down within any of the menu lists. A double-arrow will appear on the
right side of the LCD when there are sub-menus below the displayed menu. Using these keys will scroll
through those sub-menus.
11. Rate: Instantly changes the rate of speed of the motors when the direction buttons are pressed.
12. RS-232 Jack: Allows you to interface with a computer and control the telescope remotely.
Hand Control Operation
This section describes the basic hand control procedures needed to operate the GT Series Telescopes. 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 utilities functions such as
calibrating your mount, polar alignment and backlash compensation.
17
Alignment Procedures
In order for the telescope to accurately point to objects in the sky, it must first be aligned to three known positions
(stars) in the sky. With this information, the telescope can create a model of the sky, which it uses to locate any
object with known coordinates. There are many ways to align your telescope with the sky depending on what
information the user is able to provide: Auto Align allows the telescope to select three stars and uses the entered
time/location information to align the telescope; Auto Three Star Align involves the same process as Auto Align,
however it allows the user to select which star to use to align the telescope. Quick-Align will ask you to input all the
same information as you would for the Auto Align procedure. However, instead of slewing to the alignment stars
for centering and alignment, the telescope bypasses this step and simply models the sky based on the information
given. Finally, Last Alignment restores your last saved star alignment and switch position. Last Alignment also
serves as a good safeguard in case the telescope should lose power.
Startup Procedure
Before any of the described alignments are performed, the telescope mount needs to be positioned so that the index
marks are aligned on both the right ascension and declination axes.
First index its switch position so that each axis has an equal amount of
travel to move in either direction. Once the index position has been set,
the hand control will display the last entered date and time information
Mount Calibration
stored in the hand control. Once the telescope is powered on:
After an Auto Align is successfully
completed, the hand control will
display the message, Calibrating...
1. Press ENTER begin the alignment process.
2. The hand control will ask the user to set the mount to its index
position. Move the telescope mount, either manually or with
the hand control, so that the index marked in both R.A. and
Dec are aligned (see Fig 2-7). Press Enter to continue.
3. The hand control will then display the last entered local time,
date, time zone, longitude and latitude.
This automatic calibration routine is
necessary
to
calculate
and
compensates for "cone" error
inherent in all German equatorial
mounts.
Cone
error
is
the
•
Use the Up/Down keys (10) to view the current
parameters.
inaccuracy that results from the
optical tube not being exactly
•
•
Press ENTER to accept the current parameters.
Press UNDO to enter current date and time
information into the hand control. The following
information will be displayed:
perpendicular
to
the
mounts
declination axis as well as various
other inaccuracies such as backlash
in the mounts gears. The telescope
is able to automatically determine
the cone error value by always using
alignment stars on both sides of the
Time - Enter the current local time for your area. You can
enter either the local time (i.e. 08:00), or you can enter
military time (i.e. 20:00).
Meridian
Mechanical errors can be reduced
further by always centering
(see
Figure
3-2).
•
Select PM or AM. If military time was entered, the
hand control will bypass this step.
alignment stars using the up and
right arrow buttons as described in
the Pointing Accuracy box below.
•
Choose between Standard time or Daylight Savings
time. Use the Up and Down scroll buttons (10) to
toggle between options.
•
Select the time zone that you are observing from. Again, use the Up and Down buttons (10) to
scroll through the choices. Refer to Time Zone map in Appendix for more information.
Date - Enter the month, day and year of your observing session.
•
Finally, you must enter the longitude and latitude of the location of your observing site. Use the
table in Appendix C to locate the closest longitude and latitude for your current observing location
and enter those numbers when asked in the hand control, pressing ENTER after each entry.
Remember to select "West" for longitudes in North America and "North" for latitudes in the North
Hemisphere. For international cities, the correct hemisphere is indicated in the Appendix listings.
18
4. Select one of the four alignment methods as described below.
Note: If incorrect information is entered into the hand control, the UNDO button acts like a back space button
allowing the user to re-enter the correct data.
Auto Align
Auto Align allows the telescope to automatically choose three stars
(two on one side of the Meridian, and one on the opposite side) on
which to align itself. To Auto Align your telescope:
1. Select Auto Align from the alignment choices given. Based
on the date and time information entered, the telescope will
automatically select and go to a bright star that is above the
horizon.
•
If for some reason the chosen star is not visible
(perhaps behind a tree or building) press UNDO to
automatically select the next bright star from the
database star list.
2. Once the telescope is finished slewing to your first
alignment star, the display will ask you to use the arrow
buttons to align the selected star with the cross hairs in the
center of the finderscope. Once centered in the finder,
press ENTER.
Figure 3-2
The Meridian is an imaginary 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.
3. 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.
4. After the first alignment star has been entered the telescope will automatically select a second alignment
star on the same side of the Meridian and have you repeat this procedure for that star.
5. For the third alignment star, the telescope will select a bright star on the opposite side of the Meridian and
slew to it. Once again center the star in the crosshairs of the finderscope and then center the star in the
eyepiece, pressing ENTER when complete.
When the telescope has been aligned on all three stars the display will read Alignment Successful, and you are
now ready to find your first object.
Auto Three-Star Align
Auto Three-Star Alignment works much the same way as Auto Align, however
instead of automatically slewing to the alignment stars, the user is allowed to
select the alignment stars from a list. To use Auto Three-Star Align:
Pointing Accuracy
For the best possible
pointing accuracy, always
center the alignment stars
using the up arrow button
and the right arrow button.
1. Select Auto Three Star Align from the alignment choices given.
2. The hand control will display a recommended alignment star to
begin.
• Press UNDO to display the next recommended star on the same
side of the Meridian, or
• Press the UP and DOWN arrows keys to scroll through the
compete list of available alignment stars to choose from.
3. Once the desired alignment star is displayed on the hand control
press ENTER to slew the telescope to the star.
Approaching
from this
direction when looking
through the eyepiece will
eliminate much of the
backlash
between
the
gears and assures the
most accurate alignment
possible.
4. As with the Auto Align procedure, you will be asked to center the
star in the crosshairs of the finderscope and then center the star in
19
the eyepiece, pressing ENTER when complete.
NOTE: Although the telescope allows the user to select the alignment stars, for best all-sky pointing accuracy it is still necessary
to select two alignment stars on one side of the Meridian and the third star on the opposite side of the Meridian. For this reason,
the hand control will only display stars that are on the same side of the Meridian for the first two alignment stars, then will only
display stars on the opposite side of the Meridian for the third alignment star.
Quick-Align
Quick-Align uses all the date and time information entered at startup to align the telescope. However, instead of slewing to two
alignment stars for centering and alignment, the telescope 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 telescope
the information needed to track objects in any part of the sky (depending on accuracy of polar alignment). Quick-Align is not
meant to be used to accurately locate small or faint deep-sky objects or to track objects accurately for photography.
To use Quick-Align, simply select Quick Align from the alignment options and press ENTER. The telescope will automatically
use the entered date/time parameters to align itself with the sky and display Alignment Successful.
NOTE: Once a Quick-Align has been done, you can use the Re-alignment feature (see below) to improve your
telescopes pointing accuracy.
Last Alignment
The Last Alignment method will automatically recall the last stored index positions to continue using the alignment
that was saved when the telescope was last powered down. This is a useful feature should your telescope
accidentally lose power or be powered down.
NOTE: Just like with Quick-Align, you can use the Re-alignment feature (see below) to improve your telescopes
pointing accuracy after using the Last Alignment method. To maintain a more accurate alignment over a series of
observing sessions, use the Hibernate feature described later in this chapter.
Re-Alignment
The Advanced Series telescopes have a re-alignment feature which allows you to replace any of the original
alignment stars with a new star or celestial object. This can be useful in several situations:
•
•
If you are observing over a period of a few hours, you may notice that your original two alignment
stars have drifted towards the west considerably. (Remember that the stars are moving at a rate of 15º
every hour). 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.
If you have aligned your telescope using the Quick-Align method, you can use re-align to align on
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:
1. Select the desired star (or object) from the database and slew to it.
2. Carefully center the object in the eyepiece.
3. Once centered, press the UNDO button until you are at the main menu.
4. With Advanced GTdisplayed, press the ALIGN key on the hand control.
5. The display will then ask you which alignment star you want to replace. Use the UP and Down scroll keys
to select the alignment star to be replaced. It is usually best to replace the star closest to the new object.
This will space out your alignment stars across the sky.
6. Press ALIGN to make the change.
20
Object Catalog
Selecting an Object
Now that the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose an object from any of the catalogs in the telescope's
extensive database. The hand control has a key (4) 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.
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, Asterisms and CCD Objects. Selecting any one of these catalogs will display a numeric-
alphabetical 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.
Helpful
Hint
When scrolling through a long list of objects, holding down either the Up or Down key will allow you to scroll
through the catalog more rapidly by only displaying every fifth catalog object.
Pressing any of the other 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".
Slewing to an Object
Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control screen, choose from the following options:
•
•
Press the INFO Key. This will give you useful information about the selected object such as R.A.
and declination, magnitude size and text information for many of the most popular objects.
Press the ENTER Key. This will automatically slew the telescope to the coordinates of the object.
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.
Finding Planets
Your telescope can locate all 8 of our solar systems planets plus the Moon. However, the hand control will only
display the solar system objects that are above the horizon (or within its filter limits). To locate the planets, press the
PLANET key on the hand control. The hand control will display all solar system objects that are above the horizon:
•
•
•
Use the Up and Down keys to select the planet that you wish to observe.
Press INFO to access information on the displayed planet.
Press ENTER to slew to the displayed planet.
21
Tour Mode
The Advanced Series telescopes include 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 (see Filter Limits in the Setup Procedures section of the manual). To
activate the Tour mode, press the TOUR key (6) on the hand control. The hand control will display the best objects
to observe that are currently in the sky.
•
•
•
To see information and data about the displayed object, press the INFO key.
To slew to the object displayed, press ENTER.
To see the next tour object, press the Up key.
Constellation Tour
In addition to the Tour Mode, your telescope has a Constellation Tour that allows the user to take a tour of all the
best objects in each of the 88 constellations. Selecting Constellation from the LIST menu will display all the
constellation names that are above the user defined horizon (filter limits). Once a constellation is selected, you can
choose from any of the database object catalogs to produce a list of all the available objects in that constellation.
•
•
•
To see information and data about the displayed object, press the INFO key.
To slew to the object displayed, press ENTER.
To see the next tour object, press the Up key.
Direction Buttons
The hand control has four direction buttons (3) in the center of the hand control which control the telescope's motion
in altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left and right). The telescope can be controlled at nine different speed rates.
Rate Button
Pressing the RATE key (11) allows you to instantly change the speed rate of the motors from 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 (3º 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 (.5x sidereal) and can be used for
accurate centering of objects in the eyepiece and photographic guiding. To change the speed rate of the motors:
•
•
Press the RATE key on the hand control. The LCD will display the current speed rate.
Press the number on the hand control that corresponds to the desired speed. The number will
appear in the upper-right corner of the LCD display to indicate that the rate has been changed.
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 slew rate to the maximum slew rate.
The direction that a star moves in the eyepiece when a direction is pressed will change depending on which side of
the Meridian the telescope tube is positioned. In order to change the direction of the arrow buttons, see Scope Setup
Features later in this section.
22
1 = .5x
6 = 64x
2 = 1x (sidereal)
3 = 4x
4 = 8x
7 = .5º / sec
8 = 2º / sec
9 = 3º / sec
5 = 16x
Nine available slew speeds
Setup Procedures
The Advanced GT contains many user defined setup functions designed to give the user control over the telescope's
many advanced features. All of the setup and utility features can be accessed by pressing the MENU key and
scrolling through the options:
Tracking Mode This allows you to change the way the telescope tracks depending on the type of mount
being used to support the telescope. The telescope has three different tracking modes:
EQ North
EQ South
Off
Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned in the
Northern Hemisphere.
Used to track the sky when the telescope is polar aligned in the
Southern Hemisphere.
When using the telescope for terrestrial (land) observation, the
tracking can be turned off so that the telescope never moves.
Tracking Rate In addition to being able to move the telescope with the hand control buttons, your
telescope will continually track a celestial object as it moves across the night sky. The
tracking rate can be changed depending on what type of object is being observed:
Sidereal
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 the telescope is polar aligned, this can
be accomplished by moving the telescope in right ascension only.
Lunar
Solar
Used for tracking the moon when observing the lunar landscape.
Used for tracking the Sun when solar observing with the proper
filter.
View Time-Site - Displays the current time and longitude/latitude downloaded from the optional CN-16 GPS
receiver. It will also display other relevant time-site information like time zone, daylight saving and local sidereal
time. Local sidereal time (LST) is useful for knowing the right ascension of celestial objects that are located on the
Meridian at that time. View Time-Site will always display the last saved time and location entered while it is linking
with the GPS. Once current information has been received, it will update the displayed information. If GPS is
switched off or not present, the hand control will only display the last saved time and location.
User Defined Objects - Your telescope can store up to 400 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:
23
GoTo Object:
To go to any of the user defined objects stored in the database, scroll down to either
GoTo Sky Objor Goto Land Objand enter the number of the object you wish to
select and press ENTER. The telescope will automatically retrieve and display the
coordinates before slewing to the object.
Save Sky Object:
Your telescope 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 1-200 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.
Save Land Object:
The telescope can also be used as a spotting scope on terrestrial 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 1-200
to identify the object. Press ENTER again to save this object to the database.
To replace the contents of any of the user defined objects, simply save a new object using one of the existing
identification numbers; the telescope will replace the previous user defined object with the current one.
Get RA/DEC - Displays the right ascension and declination 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.
To store a set of coordinates (R.A./Dec) permanently into the database, save it as a User Defined Object as described
above.
Helpful
Hint
Identify
Identify Mode will search any of the telescope's database catalogs or lists and display the name and offset distances
to the nearest matching objects. This feature can serve two purposes. First, it can be used to identify an unknown
object in the field of view of your eyepiece. Additionally, Identify Mode can be used to find other celestial objects
that are close to the objects you are currently observing. For example, if your telescope is pointed at the brightest
star in the constellation Lyra, choosing Identify and then searching the Named Star catalog will no doubt return the
star Vega as the star you are observing. However, by selecting Identify and searching by the Named Object or
Messier catalogs, the hand control will let you know that the Ring Nebula (M57) is approximately 6° from your
current position. Searching the Double Star catalog will reveal that Epsilon Lyrae is only 1° away from Vega. To
use the Identify feature:
•
•
•
Press the Menu button and select the Identify option.
Use the Up/Down scroll keys to select the catalog that you would like to search.
Press ENTER to begin the search.
Note: Some of the databases contain thousands of objects, and can therefore take several minutes to return the
closest objects.
24
Precise GoTo
The Advanced Series telescopes have a precise goto function that can assist in finding extremely faint objects and
centering objects closer to the center of the field of view for astrophotography and CCD imaging. Precise Goto
automatically searches out the closest bright star to the desired object and asks the user to carefully center it in the
eyepiece. The hand control then calculates the small difference between its goto position and its centered position.
Using this offset, the telescope will then slew to the desired object with enhanced accuracy. To use Precise Goto:
SCOPE SETUP
1. Press the MENU button and use the Up/Down keys to select Precise Goto.
•
Choose Database to select the object that you want to observe from any of
the database catalogs listed or;
SETUP TIME-SITE
ANTI-BACKLASH
•
Choose RA/DEC to enter a set of celestial coordinates that you wish to slew
to.
AZM POSITIVE
AZM NEGATIVE
ALT POSITIVE
2. Once the desired object is selected, the hand control will search out and display
the closest bright star to your desired object. Press ENTER to slew to the bright
alignment star.
ALT NEGATIVE
FILTER LIMITS
3. Use the direction buttons to carefully center the alignment star in the eyepiece.
4. Press ENTER to slew to the desired object.
ALTMAX IN LIST
ALTMIN IN LIST
DIRECTION BUTTONS
AZM BUTTONS
ALT BUTTONS
GOTO APPROACH
Scope Setup Features
Setup Time-Site - Allows the user to customize the telescope's display by changing
time and location parameters (such as time zone and daylight savings).
AZM APPROACH
ALT APPROACH
AUTOGUIDE RATES
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 changing
directions). The Advanced GT'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 depends 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. There are two values for each axis, positive and negative. Positive
is the amount of compensation applied when you press the button, in order to get the
AZM RATE
ALT RATE
AZIMUTH LIMITS
AZM MIN LIMIT
AZM MAX LIMIT
E/W FILTERING
FILTERING ON
FILTERING OFF
gears moving quickly without a long pause. Negative is the amount of compensation applied when you release the
button, winding the motors back in the other direction to resume tracking. Normally both values should be the same.
You will need to experiment with different values (from 0-99); 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. While viewing an object
in the eyepiece, observe the responsiveness of each of the four arrow buttons. Note which directions you see a pause
in the star movement after the button has been pressed. Working one axis at a time, adjust the backlash settings
high enough to cause immediate movement without resulting in a pronounced jump when pressing or releasing the
button. Now, enter the same values for both positive and negative directions. If you notice a jump when releasing
the button, but setting the values lower results in a pause when pressing the button, go with the higher value for
positive, but use a lower value for negative. The telescope will remember these values and use them each time it is
turned on until they are changed.
Filter Limits – When an alignment is complete, the telescope automatically knows which celestial objects are
above the horizon. As a result, when scrolling through the database lists (or selecting the Tour function), the 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
25
minimum altitude limit to read +20º. This will make sure that the hand control only displays objects that are higher
in altitude than 20º.
If you want to explore the entire object database, set the maximum altitude limit to 90º and the minimum limit to –
90º. This will display every object in the database lists regardless of whether it is visible in the sky from your
location.
Observing
Tip!
Direction Buttons –The direction a star appears to move in the eyepiece changes depending on which side of the
Meridian the telescope tube is on. This can create confusion especially when guiding on a star when doing
astrophotography. 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 (right ascension) or altitude (declination) button direction
and press ENTER. Select either positive or negative for both axes and press ENTER to save. Setting the azimuth
button direction to positive will move the telescope in the same direction that the telescope tracks (i.e. towards the
west). Setting the altitude buttons to positive will move the telescope counterclockwise along the DEC axis.
Goto Approach - lets the user define the direction that the telescope will approach when slewing to an object.
This allows the user the ability to minimize the affects of backlash when slewing from object to object. Just like
with Direction Buttons, setting GoTo Approach to positive will make the telescope approach an object from the
same direction as tracking (west) for azimuth and counterclockwise in declination. Declination Goto approach will
only apply while the telescope tube is on one side of the Meridian. Once the tube passes over to the other side of the
Meridian, the Goto approach will need to be reversed.
To change the Goto approach direction, simply choose Goto Approach from the Scope Setup menu, select either
Altitude or Azimuth approach, choose positive or negative and press ENTER.
Helpful
Hint!
In order to minimize the affect of gear backlash on pointing accuracy, the settings for Button Direction should
ideally match the settings for GoTo Approach. By default,
using the up and right direction buttons to center alignment
stars will automatically eliminate much of the backlash in
the gears. If you change the Goto approach of your
telescope it is not necessary to change the Button Direction
as well. Simply take notice of the direction the telescope
moves when completing it final goto approach. If the
telescope approaches its alignment star from the west
(negative azimuth) and clockwise (negative altitude) then
make sure that the buttons used to center the alignment
stars also move the telescope in the same directions.
Autoguide Rate – Allows the user to set an autoguide
rate as a percentage of sidereal rate. This is helpful when
calibrating your telescope to a CCD autoguider for long
exposure photography.
Azimuth Limits - Sets the limits that the telescope can
slew in azimuth (R.A.) The slew limits are set to 0º to
180º; with zero being the position of the telescope when the
counterweight bar is extended out towards the west and 180º
being the position when the counterweight bar is extended out
toward the east (see Fig 3-3). However, the slew limits can
Fig 3-3 – Azimuth Slew Limits- This
figure shows the full range of motion
for the R.A. (azimuth) axis
be customized depending on your needs. For example, if you are using CCD imaging equipment that has cables
that are not long enough to move with the telescope as it slews across the sky, you can adjust the azimuth slew limit
on the side of the mount that is restricted by the cables. Using the example above, the user could slew the telescope
in R.A. (azimuth) until it reaches the point that the cables are extended to their maximum. Then by displaying the
26
telescopes azimuth in this position (by looking at Get Alt-Az under the Utilities menu) you can determine the
telescopes azimuth at its most extended position. Enter this azimuth reading for either the maximum or minimum
azimuth slew limit to ensure that the telescope will not slew beyond this point.
Warning: In order for the telescope to be able to slew to a star from the direction that minimizes the amount of
backlash in the gears, it may be necessary for the telescope to slew beyond the specified slew limit in order to
approach the star from the correct direction. This can limit your ability to slew to an object by as much as 6º from
the azimuth slew limit set in the hand control. If this proves to be a problem, the direction that the telescope takes
to center an object can be changed. To change the telescopes slewing direction, see Goto Approach under the Scope
Setup menu. In order to guaranty that the telescope will have a full range of motion in R.A. (azimuth), set the
azimuth slew limits to 354 and 186. This will allow the mount to slew without regard to the slew limits.
East/West (E/W) Filtering - In order to ensure the best possible full sky pointing accuracy, the Advanced series
telescopes automatically filters and chooses its initial alignment stars so that the first two alignment stars are located
on one side of the Meridian and the third star is on the opposite side of the Meridian. East/West Filtering allows you
to turn off this automatic filtering feature, allowing the hand control to display all of its alignment stars when doing
a Auto Three Star Align, without regard to the Meridian.
Utility Features
Scrolling through the MENU (9) options will also provide access to several advanced utility functions within the
Advanced Series telescopes such as; Calibrate Goto, Polar Alignment, Hibernate as well as many others.
Calibrate Goto - Goto Calibration is a useful tool when attaching heavy visual or photographic accessories to the
telescope. Goto Calibration calculates the amount of distance and time it takes for the
mount to complete its final slow goto when slewing to an object. Changing the
balance of the telescope can prolong the time it takes to complete the final slew. Goto
Calibration takes into account any slight imbalances and changes the final goto
UTILITIES
distance to compensate.
CALIBRATE GOTO
HOME POSTION
Home Position – The telescopes "home" position is a user-definable position that is
used to store the telescope when not in use. The home position is useful when storing
the telescope in a permanent observatory facility. By default the Home position is the
same as the index position used when aligning the mount. To set the Home position
for your mount simply use the arrow buttons on the hand control to move the
GOTO
SET
POLAR ALIGN
LIGHT CONTROL
telescope mount to the desired position. Select the Set option and press Enter.
Polar Align- The Advanced GT has a polar alignment function that will help you
polar align your telescope for increased tracking precision and astrophotography.
After performing an Auto Alignment, the telescope will slew to where Polaris should
be. By using the equatorial head to center Polaris in the eyepiece, the mount will then
be pointed towards the actual North Celestial Pole. Once Polar Align is complete,
you must re-align your telescope again using any of the alignment methods described
earlier. To polar align the mount in the Northern Hemisphere:
KEYPAD OFF
KEYPAD ON
DISPLAY OFF
DISPLAY ON
FACTORY SETTING
PRESS UNDO
PRESS "0"
1. With the telescope set up and roughly positioned towards Polaris, align the
VERSION
mount using the Auto Align or Auto Three Star method.
GET ALT-AZ
GOTO ATL-AZ
HIBERNATE
2. Select Polar Align from the Utilities menu and press Enter.
TURN ON/OFF GPS
Based on your current alignment, the telescope will slew to where it thinks Polaris
should be. Use the equatorial head latitude and azimuth adjustments to place Polaris in the center of the eyepiece.
Do not use the direction buttons to position Polaris. Once Polaris is centered in the eyepiece press ENTER; the
polar axis should then be pointed towards the North Celestial Pole.
27
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.
Factory Settings – Returns the Advanced GT hand control to its original factory settings. Parameters such as
backlash compensation values, initial date and time, longitude/latitude along with slew and filter limits will be reset.
However, stored parameters such as user defined objects will remain saved even when Factory Settings is selected.
The hand control will ask you to press the "0" key before returning to the factory default setting.
Version - Selecting this option will allow you to see the current version number of the hand control, motor control
and GPS software (if using optional CN-16 GPS accessory). The first set of numbers indicate the hand control
software version. For the motor control, the hand control will display two sets of numbers; the first numbers are for
azimuth and the second set are for altitude. On the second line of the LCD, the GPS and serial bus versions are
displayed.
Get Alt-Az - Displays the relative altitude and azimuth for the current position of the telescope.
Goto Alt-Az - Allows you to enter a specific altitude and azimuth position and slew to it.
Hibernate - Hibernate allows the telescope to be completely powered down and still retain its alignment when
turned back on. This not only saves power, but is ideal for those that have their telescopes permanently mounted or
leave their telescope in one location for long periods of time. To place your telescope in Hibernate mode:
1. Select Hibernate from the Utility Menu.
2. Move the telescope to a desire position and press ENTER.
3. Power off the telescope. Remember to never move your telescope manually while in Hibernate mode.
Once the telescope is powered on again the display will read Wake Up. After pressing Enter you have the option of
scrolling through the time/site information to confirm the current setting. Press ENTER to wake up the telescope.
Helpful
Hint
Pressing UNDO at the Wake Up screen allows you to explore many of the features of the hand control without
waking the telescope up from hibernate mode. To wake up the telescope after UNDO has been pressed, select
Hibernate from the Utility menu and press ENTER. Do not use the direction buttons to move the telescope while in
hibernate mode.
Turn On/Off GPS - If using your Advanced GT telescope with the optional CN-16 GPS accessory (see Optional
Accessories section of the manual), you will need to turn the GPS on the first time you use the accessory. . If you
want to use the telescope's database to find the coordinates of a celestial object for a future or past dates you would
need to turn the GPS off in order to manually enter a time other than the present.
28
ADVANCED GT
MENU
ALIGNMENT
LIST
NAMED STAR
NAMED OBJECT
ASTERISM
TOUR
VARIABLE STAR
DOUBLE STAR
CCD OBJECTS
ABELL
IC CATALOG
CALDWELL
MESSIER
NGC
SAO
TRACKING
MODE
START-UP PROCUDURE
SET TO INDEX
ENTER TIME
DLS/ST
TIME ZONE
ENTER DATE- MM/DD/YY
ENTER LONG/LAT
EQ NORTH
EQ SOUTH
OFF
RATE
AUTO ALIGN
CENTER STAR 1
CENTER STAR 2
SIDEREAL
SOLAR
LUNAR
SOLAR SYSTEM
CONSTELLATION
VIEW TIME-SITE
SCOPE SETUP
CENTER STAR 3
AUTO THREE-STAR ALIGN
SETUP TIME-SITE
ANTI-BACKLASH
FILTER LIMITS
DIRECTION BUTTONS
GOTO APPROACH
AUTOGUIDE RATE
AZIMUTH LIMITS
EAST/WEST FILTERING
UTILITIES
SELECT STAR 1
CENTER STAR 1
SELECT STAR 2
CENTER STAR 2
SELECT STAR 3
CALIBRATE GOTO
HOME POSITION
POLAR ALIGN
LIGHT CONTROL
FACTORY SETTING
VERSION
CENTER STAR 3
LAST ALIGNMENT
QUICK-ALIGN
GET ALT-AZ
GOTO ALT-AZ
HIBERNATE
TURN ON/OFF GPS
USER OBJECTS
GOTO SKY OBJ
SAVE SKY OBJ
ENTER RA & DEC
SAVE LAND OBJ
GOTO LAND OBJ
GET RA-DEC
GOTO RA-DEC
IDENTIFY
SELECT CATALOG
PRECISE GOTO
GOTO TYPE
29
Up to this point, this manual covered the assembly and basic operation of your telescope. However, to understand your
telescope more thoroughly, you need to know a little about the night sky. This section deals with observational
astronomy in general and includes information on the night sky and polar alignment.
The Celestial Coordinate System
To help find objects in the sky, astronomers use a celestial coordinate system that is similar to our geographical
coordinate system here on Earth. The celestial coordinate system has poles, lines of longitude and latitude, and an
equator. For the most part, these remain fixed against the background stars.
The celestial equator runs 360 degrees around the Earth and separates the northern celestial hemisphere from the
southern. Like the Earth's equator, it bears a reading of zero degrees. On Earth this would be latitude. However, in the
sky this is referred to as declination, or DEC for short. Lines of declination are named for their angular distance above
and below the celestial equator. The lines are broken down into degrees, minutes of arc, and seconds of arc.
Declination readings south of the equator carry a minus sign (-) in front of the coordinate and those north of the
celestial equator are either blank (i.e., no designation) or preceded by a plus sign (+).
The celestial equivalent of longitude is called Right Ascension, or R.A. for short. Like the Earth's lines of longitude,
they run from pole to pole and are evenly spaced 15 degrees apart. Although the longitude lines are separated by an
angular distance, they are also a measure of time. Each line of longitude is one hour apart from the next. Since the
Earth rotates once every 24 hours, there are 24 lines total. As a result, the R.A. coordinates are marked off in units of
time. It begins with an arbitrary point in the constellation of Pisces designated as 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds. All
other points are designated by how far (i.e., how long) they lag behind this coordinate after it passes overhead moving
toward the west.
Figure 5-1
The celestial sphere seen from the outside showing R.A. and DEC.
30
Motion of the Stars
The daily motion of the Sun across the sky is familiar to even the most casual observer. This daily trek is not the Sun
moving as early astronomers thought, but the result of the Earth's rotation. The Earth's rotation also causes the stars to
do the same, scribing out a large circle as the Earth completes one rotation. The size of the circular path a star follows
depends on where it is in the sky. Stars near the celestial equator form the largest circles rising in the east and setting in
the west. Moving toward the north celestial pole, the point around which the stars in the northern hemisphere appear to
rotate, these circles become smaller. Stars in the mid-celestial latitudes rise in the northeast and set in the northwest.
Stars at high celestial latitudes are always above the horizon, and are said to be circumpolar because they never rise and
never set. You will never see the stars complete one circle because the sunlight during the day washes out the starlight.
However, part of this circular motion of stars in this region of the sky can be seen by setting up a camera on a tripod
and opening the shutter for a couple hours. The processed film will reveal semicircles that revolve around the pole.
(This description of stellar motions also applies to the southern hemisphere except all stars south of the celestial equator
move around the south celestial pole.)
Figure 5-2
All stars appear to rotate around the celestial poles. However, the appearance of this motion
varies depending on where you are looking in the sky. Near the north celestial pole the stars
scribe out recognizable circles centered on the pole (1). Stars near the celestial equator also
follow circular paths around the pole. But, the complete path is interrupted by the horizon.
These appear to rise in the east and set in the west (2). Looking toward the opposite pole, stars
curve or arc in the opposite direction scribing a circle around the opposite pole (3).
31
Latitude Scales
The easiest way to polar align a telescope is with a latitude scale. Unlike other methods that require you to
find the celestial pole by identifying certain stars near it, this method works off of a known constant to
determine how high the polar axis should be pointed. The Advanced Series mount can be adjusted from 25
to 60 degrees (see figure 5-3).
The constant, mentioned above, is a relationship
between your latitude and the angular distance the
celestial pole is above the northern (or southern)
horizon; The angular distance from the northern
horizon to the north celestial pole is always equal
to your latitude. To illustrate this, imagine that
Latitude
Scale
you are standing on the north pole, latitude +90°.
The north celestial pole, which has a declination
of +90°, would be directly overhead (i.e., 90
above the horizon). Now, let’s say that you move
one degree south — your latitude is now +89° and
the celestial pole is no longer directly overhead.
It has moved one degree closer toward the
northern horizon. This means the pole is now 89°
Figure 5-3
above the northern horizon. If you move one degree further south, the same thing happens again. You
would have to travel 70 miles north or south to change your latitude by one degree. As you can see from
this example, the distance from the northern horizon to the celestial pole is always equal to your latitude.
If you are observing from Los Angeles, which has a latitude of 34°, then the celestial pole is 34° above the
northern horizon. All a latitude scale does then is to point the polar axis of the telescope at the right
elevation above the northern (or southern) horizon. To align your telescope:
1. Make sure the polar axis of the mount is pointing due north. Use a landmark that you know faces north.
2. Level the tripod. There is a bubble level built into the mount for this purpose.
NOTE: Leveling the tripod is only necessary if using this method of polar alignment. Perfect polar
alignment is still possible using other methods described later in this manual without leveling the tripod.
3. Adjust the mount in altitude until the latitude indicator points to your latitude. Moving the mount affects
the angle the polar axis is pointing. For specific information on adjusting the equatorial mount, please see
the section “Adjusting the Mount.”
This method can be done in daylight, thus eliminating the need to fumble around in the dark. Although this
method does NOT put you directly on the pole, it will limit the number of corrections you will make when
tracking an object. It will also be accurate enough for short exposure prime focus planetary photography (a
couple of seconds) and short exposure piggyback astrophotography (a couple of minutes).
Pointing at Polaris
This method utilizes Polaris as a guidepost to the celestial pole. Since Polaris is less than a degree from the
celestial pole, you can simply point the polar axis of your telescope at Polaris. Although this is by no
means perfect alignment, it does get you within one degree. Unlike the previous method, this must be done
in the dark when Polaris is visible.
1. Set the telescope up so that the polar axis is pointing north.
2. Loosen the DEC clutch knob and move the telescope so that the tube is parallel to the polar axis. When
this is done, the declination setting circle will read +90°. If the declination setting circle is not aligned,
move the telescope so that the tube is parallel to the polar axis.
3. Adjust the mount in altitude and/or azimuth until Polaris is in the field of view of the finder.
32
4. Center Polaris in the field of the telescope using the fine adjustment controls on the mount.
Remember, while Polar aligning, do NOT move the telescope in R.A. or DEC. You do not want to
move the telescope itself, but the polar axis. The telescope is used simply to see where the polar axis
is pointing.
Like the previous method, this gets you close to the pole but not directly on it. The following methods help
improve your accuracy for more serious observations and photography.
Finding the North Celestial Pole
In each hemisphere, there is a point in the sky around which all the other stars appear to rotate. These points are called
the celestial poles and are named for the hemisphere in which they reside. For example, in the northern hemisphere all
stars move around the north celestial pole. When the telescope's polar axis is pointed at the celestial pole, it is parallel
to the Earth's rotational axis.
Many methods of polar alignment require that you know how to find the celestial pole by
identifying stars in the area. For those in the northern hemisphere, finding the celestial pole is
not too difficult. Fortunately, we have a naked eye star less than a degree away. This star,
Polaris, is the end star in the handle of the Little Dipper. Since the Little Dipper (technically
called Ursa Minor) is not one of the brightest constellations in the sky, it may be difficult to
locate from urban areas. If this is the case, use the two end stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper
(the pointer stars). Draw an imaginary line through them toward the Little Dipper. They point
to Polaris (see Figure 5-5). The position of the Big Dipper changes during the year and
throughout the course of the night (see Figure 5-4). When the Big Dipper is low in the sky (i.e.,
near the horizon), it may be difficult to locate. During these times, look for Cassiopeia (see
Figure 5-5). Observers in the southern hemisphere are not as fortunate as those in the northern
hemisphere. The stars around the south celestial pole are not nearly as bright as those around
the north. The closest star that is relatively bright is Sigma Octantis. This star is just within
Figure 5-4 The position of the
naked eye limit (magnitude 5.5) and lies about 59 arc minutes from the pole.
Definition
Big Dipper changes
throughout the year and the
night.
The north celestial pole is the point in the northern hemisphere around which all stars
appear to rotate. The counterpart in the southern hemisphere is referred to as the
south celestial pole.
Figure 5-5
The two stars in the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris which is less
than one degree from the true (north) celestial pole. Cassiopeia, the “W” shaped
constellation, is on the opposite side of the pole from the Big Dipper. The North
Celestial Pole (N.C.P.) is marked by the “+” sign.
33
Declination Drift Method of Polar Alignment
This method of polar alignment allows you to get the most accurate alignment on the celestial pole and is
required if you want to do long exposure deep-sky astrophotography through the telescope. The
declination drift method requires that you monitor the drift of selected stars. The drift of each star tells you
how far away the polar axis is pointing from the true celestial pole and in what direction. Although
declination drift is simple and straight-forward, it requires a great deal of time and patience to complete
when first attempted. The declination drift method should be done after any one of the previously
mentioned methods has been completed.
To perform the declination drift method you need to choose two bright stars. One should be near the
eastern horizon and one due south near the meridian. Both stars should be near the celestial equator (i.e., 0°
declination). You will monitor the drift of each star one at a time and in declination only. While
monitoring a star on the meridian, any misalignment in the east-west direction is revealed. While
monitoring a star near the east/west horizon, any misalignment in the north-south direction is revealed. It is
helpful to have an illuminated reticle eyepiece to help you recognize any drift. For very close alignment, a
Barlow lens is also recommended since it increases the magnification and reveals any drift faster. When
looking due south, insert the diagonal so the eyepiece points straight up. Insert the cross hair eyepiece and
align the cross hairs so that one is parallel to the declination axis and the other is parallel to the right
ascension axis. Move your telescope manually in R.A. and DEC to check parallelism.
First, choose your star near where the celestial equator and the meridian meet. The star should be
approximately within 1/2 an hour of the meridian and within five degrees of the celestial equator. Center
the star in the field of your telescope and monitor the drift in declination.
•
•
If the star drifts south, the polar axis is too far east.
If the star drifts north, the polar axis is too far west.
Make the appropriate adjustments to the polar axis to eliminate any drift. Once you have eliminated all the
drift, move to the star near the eastern horizon. The star should be 20 degrees above the horizon and within
five degrees of the celestial equator.
•
•
If the star drifts south, the polar axis is too low.
If the star drifts north, the polar axis is too high.
Again, make the appropriate adjustments to the polar axis to eliminate any drift. Unfortunately, the latter
adjustments interact with the prior adjustments ever so slightly. So, repeat the process again to improve the
accuracy checking both axes for minimal drift. Once the drift has been eliminated, the telescope is very
accurately aligned. You can now do prime focus deep-sky astrophotography for long periods.
NOTE: If the eastern horizon is blocked, you may choose a star near the western horizon, but you must
reverse the polar high/low error directions. Also, if using this method in the southern hemisphere,
the direction of drift is reversed for both R.A. and DEC.
34
With your telescope set up, you are ready to use it for observing. This section covers visual observing hints for both
solar system and deep sky objects as well as general observing conditions which will affect your ability to observe.
Observing the Moon
Often, it is tempting to look at the Moon when it is full. At this time,
the face we see is fully illuminated and its light can be overpowering.
In addition, little or no contrast can be seen during this phase.
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. The optional Reducer/Corrector
lens allows for breath-taking views of the entire lunar disk when used
with a low power eyepiece. Change to higher power (magnification) to
focus in on a smaller area. Choose the lunar tracking rate from the
hand control's MENU tracking rate options to keep the moon centered
in the eyepiece even at high magnifications.
Lunar Observing Hints
To increase contrast and bring out detail on the lunar surface, use 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
•
•
Remember that atmospheric conditions are usually the
limiting factor on how much planetary detail will be visible.
So, 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.
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. Because of the folded optical design, tremendous heat build-
up will result inside the optical tube. This can damage the telescope and/or any accessories attached to the telescope.
35
For safe solar viewing, use a solar filter that reduces the intensity of the Sun's light, making it safe to view. With a
filter you can see sunspots as they move across the solar disk and faculae, which are bright patches seen near the Sun's
edge.
Solar Observing Hints
•
•
The best time to observe the Sun is in the early morning or late afternoon when the air is cooler.
To center the Sun without looking into the eyepiece, watch the shadow of the telescope tube until it forms a
circular shadow.
•
To ensure accurate tracking, be sure to select the solar tracking rate.
Observing Deep Sky Objects
Deep-sky objects 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 volcanic 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
36
determines the "seeing" quality. Under good seeing conditions, fine detail is visible on the brighter planets 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.
Figure 6-1
Seeing conditions directly affect image quality. These drawings 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.
37
After looking at the night sky for a while you may want to try photographing it. Several forms of celestial
photography are possible with your telescope, including short exposure prime focus, eyepiece projection,
long exposure deep sky, terrestrial and even CCD imaging. Each of these is discussed in moderate detail
with enough information to get you started. Topics include the accessories required and some simple
techniques. More information is available in some of the publications listed at the end of this manual.
In addition to the specific accessories required for each type of celestial photography, there is the need for a camera -
but not just any camera. The camera does not have to have many of the features offered on today's state-of-the-art
equipment. For example, you don't need auto focus capability or mirror lock up. Here are the mandatory features a
camera needs for celestial photography. First, a “B” setting which allows for time exposures. This excludes point and
shoot cameras and limits the selection to SLR cameras, the most common type of 35mm camera on the market today.
Second, the “B” or manual setting should NOT run off the battery. Many new electronic cameras use the battery to
keep the shutter open during time exposures. Once the batteries are drained, usually after a few minutes, the shutter
closes, whether you were finished with the exposure or not. Look for a camera that has a manual shutter when
operating in the time exposure mode. Olympus, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Canon and others have made such camera
bodies.
The camera must have interchangeable lenses so you can attach it to the telescope and so you can use a variety of
lenses for piggyback photography. If you can't find a new camera, you can purchase a used camera body that is not
100-percent functional. The light meter, for example, does not have to be operational since you will be determining the
exposure length manually.
You also need a cable release with a locking function to hold the shutter open while you do other things. Mechanical
and air release models are available.
Short Exposure Prime Focus Photography
Short exposure prime focus photography is the best way to begin recording celestial objects. It is done with the camera
attached to the telescope without an eyepiece or camera lens in place. To attach your camera you need the Celestron T-
Adapter (#93633-A) and a T-Ring for your specific camera (i.e., Minolta, Nikon, Pentax, etc.). The T-Ring replaces
the 35mm SLR camera's normal lens. Prime focus photography allows you to capture the majority of the lunar disk or
solar disk. To attach your camera to your telescope.
1. Remove all visual accessories.
2. Thread the T-Ring onto the T-Adapter.
3. Mount your camera body onto the T-Ring the same as you would any other lens.
4. Thread the T-Adapter onto the back of the telescope while holding the camera in the desired orientation (either
vertical or horizontal).
With your camera attached to the telescope, you are ready for prime focus photography. Start with an easy object like
the Moon. Here's how to do it:
1. Load your camera with film that has a moderate-to-fast speed (i.e., ISO rating). Faster films are more desirable
when the Moon is a crescent. When the Moon is near full, and at its brightest, slower films are more desirable.
Here are some film recommendations:
•
T-Max 100
38
•
•
•
•
T-Max 400
Any 100 to 400 ISO color slide film
Fuji Super HG 400
Ektar 25 or 100
2. Center the Moon in the field of your telescope.
3. Focus the telescope by turning the focus knob until the image is sharp.
4. Set the shutter speed to the appropriate setting (see table below).
5. Trip the shutter using a cable release.
6. Advance the film and repeat the process.
Lunar Phase
Crescent
Quarter
Full
ISO 50
1/2
1/15
1/30
ISO 100
1/4
1/30
ISO 200
1/8
1/60
ISO 400
1/15
1/125
1/250
1/60
1/125
Table 7-1
Above is a listing of recommended exposure times when photographing the Moon at the
prime focus of your telescope.
The exposure times listed in table 7-1 should be used as a starting point. Always make exposures that are longer and
shorter than the recommended time. Also, take a few photos at each shutter speed. This will ensure that you will get a
good photo.
•
•
If using black and white film, try a yellow filter to reduce the light intensity and to increase contrast.
Keep accurate records of your exposures. This information is useful if you want to repeat your results or
if you want to submit some of your photos to various astronomy magazines for possible publication!
•
This technique is also used for photographing the Sun with the proper solar filter.
Eyepiece Projection
This form of celestial photography is designed for objects with small angular sizes, primarily the Moon and planets.
Planets, although physically quite large, appear small in angular size because of their great distances. Moderate to high
magnification is, therefore, required to make the image large enough to see any detail. Unfortunately, the
camera/telescope combination alone does not provide enough magnification to produce a usable image size on film. In
order to get the image large enough, you must attach your camera to the telescope with the eyepiece in place. To do so,
you need two additional accessories; a deluxe tele-extender (#93643), which attaches to the visual back, and a T-ring
for your particular camera make (i.e., Minolta, Nikon, Pentax, etc.).
Because of the high magnifications during eyepiece projection, the field of view
is quite small which makes it difficult to find and center objects. To make the
job a little easier, align the finder as accurately as possible. This allows you to
get the object in the telescope's field based on the finder's view alone.
Another problem introduced by the high magnification is vibration. Simply
tripping the shutter even with a cable release produces enough vibration to
smear the image. To get around this, use the camera's self-timer if the exposure
time is less than one second a common occurrence when photographing the
Moon. For exposures over one second, use the "hat trick." This technique
incorporates a hand-held black card placed over the aperture of the telescope to
Figure 7-1 - Accessories for
Projection Photography
39
act as a shutter. The card prevents light from entering the telescope while the shutter is released. Once the shutter has
been released and the vibration has diminished (a few seconds), move the black card out of the way to expose the film.
After the exposure is complete, place the card over the front of the telescope and close the shutter. Advance the film
and you're ready for your next shot. Keep in mind that the card should be held a few inches in front of the telescope,
and not touching it. It is easier if you use two people for this process; one to release the camera shutter and one to hold
the card. Here's the process for making the exposure.
1. Find and center the desired target in the viewfinder of your camera.
2. Turn the focus knob until the image is as sharp as possible.
3. Place the black card over the front of the telescope.
4. Release the shutter using a cable release.
5. Wait for the vibration caused by releasing the shutter to diminish. Also, wait for a moment of good seeing.
6. Remove the black card from in front of the telescope for the duration of the exposure (see accompanying table).
7. Replace the black card over the front of the telescope.
8. Close the camera's shutter.
Advance the film and you are ready for your next exposure. Don't forget to take photos of varying duration and keep
accurate records of what you have done. Record the date, telescope, exposure duration, eyepiece, f/ratio, film, and
some comments on the seeing conditions.
The following table lists exposures for eyepiece projection with a 10mm eyepiece. All exposure times are listed in
seconds or fractions of a second.
Planet
Moon
Mercury
Venus
Mars
ISO 50
4
16
1/2
16
8
ISO 100
2
8
1/4
8
ISO 200
1
4
1/8
4
ISO 400
1/2
2
1/15
2
1
4
8
2
4
Jupiter
Saturn
16
2
Table 7-2
Recommended exposure time for photographing planets.
The exposure times listed here should be used as a starting point. Always make exposures that are longer and shorter
than the recommended time. Also, take a few photos at each shutter speed. This will ensure that you get a good photo.
It is not uncommon to go through an entire roll of 36 exposures and have only one good shot.
NOTE: Don't expect to record more detail than you can see visually in the eyepiece at the time you are photographing.
Once you have mastered the technique, experiment with different films, different focal length eyepieces, and even
different filters.
Long Exposure Prime Focus Photography
This is the last form of celestial photography to be attempted after others have been mastered. It is intended primarily
for deep sky objects, that is objects outside our solar system which includes star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. While
it may seem that high magnification is required for these objects, just the opposite is true. Most of these objects cover
large angular areas and fit nicely into the prime focus field of your telescope. The brightness of these objects, however,
requires long exposure times and, as a result, are rather difficult.
40
There are several techniques for this type of photography, and the one chosen will determine the standard accessories
needed. The best method for long exposure deep sky astrophotography is with an off-axis guider. This device allows
you to photograph and guide through the telescope simultaneously. Celestron offers a very special and advanced off-
axis guider, called the Radial Guider (#94176). In addition, you will need a T-Ring to attach your camera to the Radial
Guider.
Other equipment needs include a guiding eyepiece. Unlike other forms of astrophotography which allows for fairly
loose guiding, prime focus requires meticulous guiding for long periods. To accomplish this you need a guiding ocular
with an illuminated reticle to monitor your guide star. For this purpose, Celestron offers the Micro Guide Eyepiece
(#94171) Here is a brief summary of the technique.
1. Polar align the telescope. For more information on polar aligning, see the Polar Alignment section earlier in the
manual.
2. Remove all visual accessories.
3. Thread the Radial Guider onto your telescope.
4. Thread the T-Ring onto the Radial Guider.
5. Mount your camera body onto the T-Ring the same as you would any other lens.
6. Set the shutter speed to the "B" setting.
7. Focus the telescope on a star.
8. Center your subject in the field of your camera.
9. Find a suitable guide star in the telescope field. This can be the most time consuming process.
10. Open the shutter using a cable release.
11. Monitor your guide star for the duration of the exposure using the buttons on the hand controller to make the
needed corrections.
12. Close the camera's shutter.
When getting started, use fast films to record as much detail in the shortest possible time. Here are proven
recommendations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ektar 1000 (color print)
Konica 3200 (color print)
Fujichrome 1600D (color slide)
3M 1000 (color slide)
Scotchchrome 400
T-Max 3200 (black and white print)
T-Max 400 (black and white print)
As you perfect your technique, try specialized films, that is films that are designed or specially treated for celestial
photography. Here are some popular choices:
•
•
•
•
Ektar 125 (color print)
Fujichrome 100D (color slide)
Tech Pan, gas hypered (black and white print)
T-Max 400 (black and white print)
41
There is no exposure determination table to help you get started. The best way to determine exposure length is look at
previously published photos to see what film/exposure combinations were used. Or take unguided sample photos of
various parts of the sky while the drive is running. Always take exposures of various lengths to determine the best
exposure time.
Terrestrial Photography
Your telescope makes an excellent telephoto lens for terrestrial (land) photography. Terrestrial photography is best
done will the telescope in Alt-Az configuration and the tracking drive turned off. To turn the tracking drive off, press
the MENU (9) button on the hand control and scroll down to the Tracking Mode sub menu. Use the Up and Down
scroll keys (10) to select the Off option and press ENTER. This will turn the tracking motors off, so that objects will
remain in your camera's field of view.
Metering
The Advanced Series telescope has a fixed aperture and, as a result, fixed f/ratios. To properly expose your subjects
photographically, you need to set your shutter speed accordingly. Most 35mm SLR cameras offer through-the-lens
metering which lets you know if your picture is under or overexposed. Adjustments for proper exposures are made by
changing the shutter speed. Consult your camera manual for specific information on metering and changing shutter
speeds.
Reducing Vibration
Releasing the shutter manually can cause vibrations, producing blurred photos. To reduce vibration when tripping the
shutter, use a cable release. A cable release keeps your hands clear of the camera and lens, thus eliminating the
possibility of introducing vibration. Mechanical shutter releases can be used, though air-type releases are best.
Blurry pictures can also result from shutter speeds that are too slow. To prevent this, use films that produce shutter
speeds greater than 1/250 of a second when hand-holding the lens. If the lens is mounted on a tripod, the exposure
length is virtually unlimited.
Another way to reduce vibration is with the Vibration Suppression Pads (#93503). These pads rest between the
ground and tripod feet. They reduce the vibration amplitude and vibration time.
CCD Imaging
Advanced GT telescope's versatility allows it to be used in many different f-number configurations for
CCD imaging. It can be used at f/6.3 (with the optional Reducer/Corrector), f/10, and f/20 (with the
optional 2x Barlow) making it the most versatile imaging system available today. This makes the system
ideal for imaging deep-sky objects as well as planetary detail.
The key factors for good CCD imaging are; exposure time, field-of-view, image size, and pixel resolution.
As the F/# goes down (or gets faster), the exposure times needed decreases, the field-of-view-increases, but
the image scale of the object gets smaller. What is the difference between f/6.3 and f/10? F/6.3 has about
2/3 the focal length of f/10. That makes the exposure time needed about 2.5 times shorter than at f/10, the
field of view 50% larger compared to that of f/10. (see Table below)
42
Telescope
Model
Standard
Cassegrain f/10 Reducer/Corrector
With
f/6.3
C5-S
49" (1250mm)
80" (2032mm)
93" (2350mm)
31" (788mm)
Focal
Length &
Speed
C8-S
50.4" (1280mm)
58" (1481mm)
C9.25-S
C5-S
13 x 10 (arc
min)
8 x 6.1 (arc
min)
6.9 x 5.3 (arc
min)
20.5 x 15.7 (arc min)
12.6 x 9.7 (arc min)
11 x 8.4 (arc min)
ST 237
F.O.V.*
C8-S
C9.25-S
* Field of view calculated using SBIG ST 237 CCD camera with 4.7mm x 3.6mm
chip.
Table 7-3
Auto Guiding
The Advanced GT telescope has a designated auto guiding port for use with a CCD autoguider. The
diagram below may be useful when connecting the CCD camera cable to the telescope and calibrating the
autoguider. Note that the four outputs are active-low, with internal pull-ups and are capable of sinking 25
mA DC.
43
While your 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 corrector plate 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 alcohol 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.
Occasionally, you may experience dew build-up on the corrector plate of your telescope during an observing session. If you want
to continue observing, the dew must be removed, either with a hair dryer (on low setting) or by pointing the telescope at the
ground until the dew has evaporated.
If moisture condenses on the inside of the corrector, remove the accessories from the rear cell of the telescope. Place the
telescope in a dust-free environment and point it down. This will remove the moisture from the telescope tube.
To minimize the need to clean your telescope, replace all lens covers once you have finished using it. Since the rear cell is NOT
sealed, the cover should be placed over the opening when not in use. This will prevent contaminants from entering the optical
tube.
Internal adjustments and cleaning should be done only by the Celestron repair department. If your telescope is in need of internal
cleaning, please call the factory for a return authorization number and price quote.
Collimation
The optical performance of your telescope is directly related to its collimation, that is the alignment of its optical system. Your
telescope 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 only optical element that may need to be adjusted, or is possible, is the
tilt of the secondary mirror.
To check the collimation of your telescope you will need a light source. A bright star
near the zenith is ideal since there is a minimal amount of atmospheric distortion. Make
sure that tracking is on so that you won’t have to manually track the star. Or, if you do
not want to power up your telescope, you can use Polaris. Its position relative to the
celestial pole means that it moves very little thus eliminating the need to manually track
it.
Before you begin the collimation process, be sure that your telescope is in thermal
equilibrium with the surroundings. Allow 45 minutes for the telescope to reach
equilibrium if you move it between large temperature extremes.
Figure 8-1
To verify collimation, view a star near the zenith. Use a medium to high power ocular
The three collimation screws are located
— 12mm to 6mm focal length. It is important to center a star in the center of the field to
judge collimation. Slowly cross in and out of focus and judge the symmetry of the star.
If you see a systematic skewing of the star to one side, then re-collimation is needed.
on the front of the secondary mirror
housing.
44
Figure 8-2 -- Even though the star pattern appears the same on both sides of focus, they are asymmetric. The
dark obstruction is skewed off to the left side of the diffraction pattern indicating poor collimation.
To accomplish this, you need to tighten the secondary collimation screw(s) that move the star across the field toward the
direction of the skewed light. These screws are located in the secondary mirror holder (see figure 8-1). Make only small 1/6 to
1/8 adjustments to the collimation screws and re-center the star by moving the scope before making any improvements or before
making further adjustments.
To make collimation a simple procedure, follow these easy steps:
1. While looking through a medium to high power eyepiece, de-focus a bright star until a ring pattern with a dark shadow
appears (see figure 8-2). Center the de-focused star and notice in which direction the central shadow is skewed.
2. Place your finger along the edge of the front cell of the telescope (be careful not to touch the corrector plate), pointing
towards the collimation screws. The shadow of your finger should be visible when looking into the eyepiece. Rotate
your finger around the tube edge until its shadow is seen closest to the narrowest portion of the rings (i.e. the same
direction in which the central shadow is skewed).
3. Locate the collimation screw closest to where your finger is positioned. This will be the collimation screw you will
need to adjust first. (If your finger is positioned exactly between two of the collimation screws, then you will need to
adjust the screw opposite where your finger is located).
4. Use the hand control buttons to move the de-focused star image to the edge of the field of view, in the same direction
that the central obstruction of the star image is skewed.
5. While looking through the eyepiece, use an Allen wrench to turn the collimation screw you located in step 2 and 3.
Usually a tenth of a turn is enough to notice a change in collimation. If the star image moves out of the field of view in
the direction that the central shadow is skewed, than you are turning the collimation
screw the wrong way. Turn the screw in the opposite direction, so that the star image is
moving towards the center of the field of view.
6. If while turning you notice that the screws get very loose, then simply tighten the other
two screws by the same amount. Conversely, if the collimation screw gets too tight,
then loosen the other two screws by the same amount.
7. Once the star image is in the center of the field of view, check to see if the rings are
concentric. If the central obstruction is still skewed in the same direction, then continue
turning the screw(s) in the same direction. If you find that the ring pattern is skewed in
Figure 8-3
a different direction, than simply repeat steps 2 through 6 as described above for the
A collimated telescope
new direction.
should appear
symmetrical with the
Perfect collimation will yield a star image very symmetrical just inside and outside of focus. In
addition, perfect collimation delivers the optimal optical performance specifications that your
telescope is built to achieve.
central obstruction
centered in the star's
diffraction pattern.
If seeing (i.e., air steadiness) is turbulent, collimation is difficult to judge. Wait until a better night if it is turbulent or aim to a
steadier part of the sky. A steadier part of the sky is judged by steady versus twinkling stars.
45
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) - Allow DC (battery powered) telescopes to be converted for use with 120 volt AC power.
Auxiliary Port Accessory (#93965) – This accessory plugs into the auxiliary port of the telescopes control panel to
provide additional ports for accessories like the CN-16 GPS as well as a PC programming port.
Barlow Lens - A Barlow lens is a negative lens that increases the focal length of a telescope. Used with any eyepiece, it
doubles the magnification of that eyepiece. Celestron offers two Barlow lens in the 1-1/4" size. The 2x Ultima Barlow
(#93506) is a compact triplet design that is fully multicoated for maximum light transmission and parfocal when used with
the Ultima eyepieces. Model #93326 is a compact achromatic Barlow lens that is under three inches long and weighs only 4
oz. It works very well with all Celestron eyepieces.
Erect Image Diagonal (#94112-A) - This accessory is an Amici prism arrangement that allows you to look into the
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.
•
•
OMNI Plössl - Plössl eyepieces have a 4-element lens designed for low-to-high power observing. The Plössls 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.
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 55° field of view, extra-low dispersion
glass is used for the most highly curved optical elements. The excellent refractive 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.
•
Ultima - Ultima is our 5-element, wide field eyepiece design. 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. The 35mm Ultima gives the
widest possible field of view with a 1-1/4" diagonal.
• Axiom – As an extension of the Ultima line, a new wide angle series is offered – called the Axiom series. All units are
seven element designs and feature a 70º extra wide field of view (except the 50mm). All are fully multicoated and
contain all the features of the Ultimas.
Filters Sets, Eyepiece - Celestron offers four convenient filter sets, which contain four different filters per set. Not only
are these highly useful filter combinations, but they also offer an economical way to add versatility to your filter collection.
Series 1 – #94119-10
Orange, Light Blue, ND13%T, Polarizing (#s 21, 80A, 96ND-13, Polarizing)
46
Series 2 – #94119-20
Deep Yellow, Red, Light Green, ND25% T (#s 12, 25, 56, 96ND-25)
Series 3 – #94119-30
Light Red, Blue, Green, ND50% T (#s 23A, 38A, 58, 96ND-50)
Series 4 – #94119-40
Yellow, Deep Yellow, Violet, Pale Blue (#s 8, 15, 47, 82A)
Flashlight, Night Vision - (#93588) - Celestron’s premium model for astronomy, using two red LED's to preserve night
vision better than red filters or other devices. Brightness is adjustable. Operates on a single 9 volt battery (included).
CN16 GPS Accessory (#93963) - Plug in this 16-channel GPS module into your telescopes drive base port to link up and
automatically download information from one of many global positioning satellites. Controlled with the computerized hand
control, the CN-16 will greatly improve the accuracy of your star alignments.
CN16 GPS Bracket (#93964) – Support your CN-16 GPS accessory with this bracket and strap combination that securely
wraps around any of the tripod legs and holds the GPS module in place .
Light Pollution Reduction (LPR) Filters - 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. Celestron
offers a model for 1-1/4" eyepieces (#94126A) and a model that attaches to the rear cell ahead of the star diagonal and visual
back (#94127A).
Micro Guide Eyepiece (#94171) - This multipurpose 12.5mm illuminated reticle can be used for
guiding deep-sky astrophotos, measuring position angles, angular separations, and more. The
laser etched reticle provides razor sharp lines and the variable brightness illuminator is
completely cordless. The micro guide eyepiece produces 163 power with the C8-S and 188
power with the C9.25-S.
Moon Filter (#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 18%.
Motor Drive, Single Axis (#93518) — This motor drive is a single axis (R.A.), DC motor drives. It is powered by four D-
cell batteries (not included). 2x and 4x sidereal speeds are available through the included hand controller. For non-
computerized Advanced Series Mounts.
Motor Drive, Dual Axis (#93523) - This dual axis motor drive, with drive corrector capabilities, are designed for
Celestron's Advanced CG-5 mounts. They precisely control the telescope's tracking speed during long, timed exposures of
celestial objects, producing the best possible image sharpness. Four speeds are available—1x (sidereal), 2x for guiding, 4x,
and 8x for centering. These precision, state-of-the-art DC motor drives operate from 4 D-cell batteries (not included). The
hand controller module is very compact and fits easily in the palm of your hand. Motors for both axes are included, along
with brackets, clutches and hardware. For non-computerized Advanced Series Mounts.
Polarizing Filter Set (#93608) - The polarizing filter set limits the transmission of light to a specific plane, thus increasing
contrast between various objects. This is used primarily for terrestrial, lunar and planetary observing.
Polar Axis Finderscope (#94220) – This useful accessory speeds accurate polar alignment by providing a means of
visually aligning your German equatorial mount with Polaris and true north. As a result, you can spend more time observing
and less time setting up. The finderscope has an easy to use cross hair reticle.
PowerTank (#18774) – 12v 7Amp hour rechargeable power supply. Comes with
two 12v output cigarette outlets, built-in red flash light , Halogen emergency
spotlight. Switchable 110v/220v AC adapter and cigarette lighter adapter included.
47
®
Radial Guider (#94176) - The Celestron Radial Guider is specifically designed for use
in prime focus, deep sky astrophotography and takes the place of the T-Adapter. This
device allows you to photograph and guide simultaneously through the optical tube
assembly of your telescope. This type of guiding produces the best results since what you
see through the guiding eyepiece is exactly reproduced on the processed film. The Radial
Guider is a “T”-shaped assembly that attaches to the rear cell of the telescope. As light
from the telescope enters the guider, most passes straight through to the camera. A small
portion, however, is diverted by a prism at an adjustable angle up to the guiding eyepiece.
This guider has two features not found on other off-axis guiders; first, the prism and
eyepiece housing rotate independently of the camera orientation making the acquisition of
a guide star quite easy. Second, the prism angle is tunable allowing you to look at guide stars on-axis. This accessory works
especially well with the Reducer/Corrector.
Reducer/Corrector (#94175) - This lens reduces the focal length of the telescope by 37%, making your C8-S a
1280mm f/6.3 instrument. In addition, this unique lens also corrects inherent
aberrations to produce crisp images all the way across the field when used visually. When
used photographically, there is some vignetting that produces a 26mm circular image on
the processed film. It also increases the field of view significantly and is ideal for wide-
field, deep-space viewing. It is also perfect for beginning prime focus, long-exposure
astro photography when used with the radial guider. It makes guiding easier and
exposures much shorter.
RS-232 Cable (#93920) – Allows your Advanced Series telescope to be controlled using
a laptop computer or PC. Once connected, the telescope 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.
Skylight Filter (#93621) - The Skylight Filter is used on the Celestron telescope as a dust seal. The filter threads onto the
rear cell of your telescope. All other accessories, both visual and photographic (with the exception of Barlow lenses), thread
onto the skylight filter. The light loss caused by this filter is minimal.
Solar Filter - The Baader AstroSolar® filter is a safe and durable filter that covers the front opening of the telescope. View
sunspots and other solar features using this double-sided metal coated filter for uniform density and good color balance
across the entire field. The Sun offers constant changes and will keep your observing interesting and fun. Celestron offers
filters for the C5-S (#94139) and C8-S (#94162).
T-Adapter (#93633-A) - T-Adapter (with additional T-Ring) allows you to attach your SLR camera to the rear cell of your
Celestron telescope. This turns your telescope into a high power telephoto lens perfect for terrestrial photography and
short exposure lunar and filtered solar photography.
T-Ring - The T-Ring couples your 35mm SLR camera body to the T-Adapter, radial guider, or tele-extender. This
accessory is mandatory if you want to do photography through the telescope. Each camera make (i.e., Minolta, Nikon,
Pentax, etc.) has its own unique mount and therefore, its own T-Ring. Celestron has 8 different models for 35mm cameras.
Tele-Extender, Deluxe (#93643) - The tele-extender is a hollow tube that allows you to attach a camera to the telescope
when the eyepiece is installed. This accessory is used for eyepiece projection photography which allows you to capture very
high power views of the Sun, Moon, and planets on film. The tele-extender fits over the eyepiece onto the visual back. This
tele-extender works with eyepieces that have large housings, like the Celestron Ultima series.
A full description of all Celestron accessories can be found in the Celestron Accessory Catalog (#93685)
48
Appendix A – Technical Specifications
Advanced Series
11071/11072
11025/11026
11045/11046
C5-S
C8-S
C9.25-S
Specifications:
Optical Design
127mm(5") Schmidt-Cassegrain 203mm (8") Schmidt-Cassegrain 235mm (9.25") Schmidt-Cassegrain
Focal Length
Finderscope
Mount
1250mm F/10
6x30
CG-5 Equatorial
25mm Plossl (50x)
1.25"
2032mm F/10
6x30
CG-5 Equatorial
25mm Plossl (81x)
1.25"
2350mm F/10
6x30
CG-5 Equatorial
25mm Plossl (94x)
1.25"
Eyepiece
Star Diagonal
Accessory tray
Tripod
Yes
Yes
Yes
2" Stainless Steel
2" Stainless Steel
2" Stainless Steel
Technical Specs
Highest Useful Magnication
Lowest Useful Magnification
Limiting Stellar Magnitude
Resolution: Rayleigh
Dawes Limit
Photographic Resolution
Light Gathering Power
Field of View: standard eyepiece
Linear FOV (@1000 yds)
Optical Coatings - Standard
Secondary Mirror Obstruction
by Area
300x
18x
13
480x
29x
14
555x
34x
14.4
1.1arc seconds
.91 arc seconds
200 line/mm
329x unaided eye
1º
52.5 ft.
Starbright Coating
1.75"
.68 arc seconds
.57 arc seconds
200 line/mm
843x unaided eye
.64º
33.6 ft.
Starbright Coating
2.7"
.59 arc seconds
.49 arc seconds
200 line/mm
1127x unaided eye
.55º
29 ft.
Starbright Coating
3.35"
12%
11%
13%
by Diameter
35%
34%
36%
Optical tube length
Telescope Weight
14 inches
48 lbs
17 inches
54.5 lbs
22 inches
73 lbs
Advanced GT
Additional Specifications
Hand Control
Motor: Type
Max Slew Speed
Software Precision
Hand Control Ports
Motor Ports
Double line, 16 character Liquid Crystal Display; 19 fiber optic backlit LED buttons
DC Servo motors with encoders, both axes
3º/second
24bit, 0.08 arcsec calculation
RS-232 communication port on hand control
Aux Port, Autoguide Ports
Tracking Rates
Sidereal, Solar and Lunar
Tracking Modes
EQ North & EQ South
Alignment Procedures
AutoAlign, 3-Star Alignment, Quick Align, Last Align
40,000+ objects, 400 user defined programmable objects.
Enhanced information on over 200 objects
Database
Complete Revised NGC Catalog
Complete Messier Catalog
Complete IC Catalog
Complete Caldwell
7,840
110
5,386
109
Abell Galaxies
Solar System objects
Famous Asterisms
2,712
9
20
Selected CCD Imaging Objects
Selected SAO Stars
Total Object Database
25
29,500
45,492
49
Appendix B - Glossary of Terms
A-
Absolute magnitude
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.
Airy disk
Alt-Azimuth Mounting
A telescope mounting using two independent rotation axis allowing movement of the instrument in
Altitude and Azimuth.
Altitude
In astronomy, the altitude of a celestial object is its Angular Distance above or below the celestial
horizon.
Aperture
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.
Apparent Magnitude
Arcminute
Arcsecond
Asterism
Asteroid
A unit of angular size equal to 1/60 of a degree.
A unit of angular size equal to 1/3,600 of a degree (or 1/60 of an arcminute).
A small unofficial grouping of stars in the night sky.
A small, rocky body that orbits a star.
Astrology
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.
Astronomical unit (AU)
Aurora
Azimuth
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. .
B -
Binary Stars
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 consists of three stars, two very similar
to our Sun and one dim, small, red star orbiting around one another.
C -
Celestial Equator
The projection of the Earth's equator on to the celestial sphere. It divides the sky into two equal
hemispheres.
Celestial pole
Celestial Sphere
Collimation
D -
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.
Declination (DEC)
E -
Ecliptic
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".
Equatorial mount
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.
F -
Focal length
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.
50
J -
Jovian Planets
Any of the four gas giant planets that are at a greater distance form the sun than the terrestrial
planets.
K -
Kuiper Belt
A region beyond the orbit of Neptune extending to about 1000 AU which is a source of many short
period comets.
L -
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).
Light-Year (LY)
M -
Magnitude
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.
Meridian
Messier
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 objects that were not comets to help his search. This
catalog became the Messier Catalog, M1 through M110.
N -
Nebula
Interstellar cloud of gas and dust. Also refers to any celestial object that has a cloudy appearance.
North Celestial Pole
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.
Nova
O -
Open Cluster
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.
P -
Parallax
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 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.
Parfocal
Parsec
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.)
Point Source
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.
R -
Reflector
Resolution
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.
Right Ascension: (RA)
S -
Schmidt Telescope
Rated the most important advance in optics in 200 years, the Schmidt telescope combines the best
features of the refractor and reflector for photographic purposes. It was invented in 1930 by
Bernhard Voldemar Schmidt (1879-1935).
Sidereal Rate
This is the angular speed at which the Earth is rotating. Telescope tracking motors drive the
51
telescope at this rate. The rate is 15 arc seconds per second or 15 degrees per hour.
The boundary line between the light and dark portion of the moon or a planet.
T -
Terminator
U -
Universe
The totality of astronomical things, events, relations and energies capable of being described
objectively.
V -
Variable Star
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.
W -
Waning Moon
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.
Waxing Moon
Z -
Zenith
Zodiac
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.
52
APPENDIX C
LONGITUDES AND
LATITUDES
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
114
118
116
117
120
121
117
117
122
124
116
117
115
118
117
124
121
121
119
117
117
118
122
115
117
117
120
118
121
118
118
118
118
117
121
121
121
120
117
120
122
118
122
121
122
118
122
114
117
117
122
117
119
116
118
122
120
122
119
124
121
121
122
122
117
121
121
122
117
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
124
LATITUDE
min degrees
min
min
37.2
12
37.2
7.8
22.8
46.8
40.8
58.2
58.8
46.8
52.2
54
49.2
4.8
40.2
19.8
0
40.8
46.2
52.2
34.8
55.2
39
49.8
34.2
6
min
1.8
46.8
54
19.8
37.8
37.8
48
16.2
19.2
42
ALABAMA
Anniston
Auburn
Blythe
Burbank
Campo
43.2
22.2
28.2
16.8
34.2
51
40.8
37.8
3
13.8
46.8
52.8
40.8
1.8
43.8
16.8
19.2
46.2
43.2
58.2
22.8
19.8
7.2
34.2
7.2
46.8
0
13.2
49.2
9
3
2.4
55.2
16.2
34.2
1.8
2.4
31.2
9
57
3
9
31.8
51
19.2
4.2
16.8
37.2
1.2
13.8
13.2
37.2
1.2
3
7.8
33
34
32
33
37
39
35
33
37
41
34
34
32
34
33
41
36
36
36
33
34
33
37
32
32
34
38
34
37
33
33
33
37
33
39
38
38
37
32
37
37
35
41
36
41
34
38
34
32
34
37
34
34
33
35
37
35
37
34
39
34
35
40
40
33
38
36
37
33
Shelter Cove
Siskiyou
Stockton
Superior Val
Susanville
Thermal
Torrance
Travis AFB
Tahoe
Tustin Mcas
Ukiah
Van Nuys
Vandenberg
Visalia
COLORADO
Air Force A
Akron
Alamosa
Aspen
Brmfield/Jef
Buckley
Colo Sprgs
Cortez
4.2
28.2
15
0.6
57
10.2
19.8
55.8
7.8
49.8
1.2
28.8
57
2.4
40
41
37
35
40
33
33
38
39
33
39
34
35
36
85
85
86
87
85
85
86
86
86
88
88
86
87
86
86
87
51
26.4
45
15
27
43.2
5.4
46.2
22.2
15
4.2
2.4
37.2
59.4
1.2
33
32
33
32
31
31
33
34
32
30
30
32
34
32
31
33
34.8
40.2
34.2
54
19.2
16.8
58.2
39
22.8
40.8
37.8
18
122
121
117
120
116
118
121
120
117
123
118
120
Birmingham
Centreville
Dothan
Fort Rucker
Gadsden
Huntsville
Maxwell AFB
Mobile
Mobile Aeros
Montgomery
Muscle Shoal
Selma
Carlsbad
Castle AFB
Chico
China Lake
Chino
Concord
Crescent Cty
Daggett
Edwards AFB
El Centro
El Monte
El Toro
Eureka
7.8
13.2
12
45
119
19.2
20.4
52.2
13.8
Troy
105
103
105
106
105
104
104
108
107
104
107
106
104
104
105
105
105
108
104
106
103
102
106
103
107
104
107
106
104
105
21
39
40
37
39
39
39
38
37
40
39
37
39
39
38
39
40
40
39
40
38
38
38
39
39
38
38
39
38
37
40
31.2
10.2
27
13.2
54
43.2
49.2
18
30
45
9
39
34.2
40.8
34.2
27
34.8
7.2
25.8
33
3
7.2
15
10.8
30
16.8
31.8
31.8
15
Tuscaloosa
ALASKA
Anchorage
Barrow
Fairbanks
Haines Hrbor
Homer
Juneau
Ketchikan
Kodiak
Nome
Sitka
Sitkinak
Skagway
Valdez
ARIZONA
Davis-M AFB
Deer Valley
Douglas
Falcon Fld
Flagstaff
Fort Huachuc
Gila Bend
Goodyear
GrandCanyon
Kingman
Luke
37.2
Fort Hunter
Fort Ord
Fresno
13.2
52.2
52.2
7.2
149
156
147
135
151
134
131
152
165
135
154
135
146
51
61
71
64
59
59
58
55
57
64
57
56
59
61
13.2
18
46.8
52.2
25.8
3
34.8
4.2
3
25.8
21
1.2
31.8
21
Fullerton
49.2
13.8
37.8
22.2
21
45
30
4.2
52.8
45
George AFB
Hawthorne
Hayward
45
43.2
37.8
31.8
52.2
45
55.2
49.8
46.2
3
Imperial
Craig-Moffat
Denver
Durango
Eagle
Imperial Bch
La Verne
Lake Tahoe
Lancaster
Livermore
Long Beach
Los Alamitos
Los Angeles
Mammoth
March AFB
Marysville
Mather AFB
Mcclellan
Merced
54
43.8
42
Englewood
Fort Carson
Fraser
Ft Col/Lovel
Ft Collins
Grand Jct
Greeley-Wld
Gunnison
La Junta
Lamar
Leadville
Limon
Montrose
Pueblo
Rifle
Salida
49.2
46.8
55.8
37.8
52.8
6
34.2
40.2
16.8
52.2
37.8
25.2
3
43.8
34.8
19.2
13.8
13.2
46.2
42
6
43.8
3
12
49.8
3
28.2
40.2
49.8
7.2
34.8
57
40.2
9
30
7.8
1.2
4.8
110
112
109
111
111
110
113
112
112
113
112
111
111
112
112
109
111
110
110
111
110
115
114
114
52.8
4.8
3.6
43.8
40.2
21
10.2
22.8
9
57
22.8
27
19.8
1.2
25.8
40.8
55.2
0
32
33
31
33
35
31
33
33
35
35
33
36
34
33
34
32
33
34
32
33
35
33
32
32
10.2
40.8
27
28.2
7.8
36
33
25.2
57
16.2
31.8
55.8
13.8
25.8
39
49.2
37.2
16.2
7.2
31.8
37.8
55.8
31.2
3.6
1.8
4.2
52.8
31.2
4.8
Miramar NAS
Modesto
Moffet
Mojave
Montague
Monterey
Mount Shasta
Mount Wilson
Napa
Needles
North Is
Norton AFB
Oakland
Ontario Intl
Oxnard
Palm Springs
Palmdale
Palo Alto
Paso Robles
Pillaro Pt
Point Mugu
Pt Arena
Pt Arguello
Pt Piedras
Red Bluff
Redding
Riverside
Sacramento
Salinas
San Carlos
San
3
19.8
52.2
Page
Payson
Phoenix
Prescott
Safford Awrs
Scottsdale
Show Low
Tucson
Williams AFB
Winslow
Trinidad
Winter Park
CONNECTICUT
0
Bridgeport
Danbury
Groton
73
73
72
72
72
72
72
7.8
28.8
3
41
41
41
41
41
41
41
10.2
22.2
19.8
43.8
13.2
18
Hartford
39
55.8
40.2
43.8
0
37.2
2.4
New Haven
New London
Windsor Loc
DELAWARE
Dover
Wilmington
D.C. WASH
Washington
FLORIDA
Apalachicola
Astor NAS
Avon Park G
Cape
Canaveral
Cecil
Crestview
Cross City
Daytona Bch
Duke Fld
Eglin AFB
Egmont Key
Fort Myers
Ft Lauderdale
Ft Myers
Gainesville
Homestead
Hurlburt Fld
Jacksonville
Key West
Lakeland
40.2
4.8
40.8
18
1.2
6
39
55.8
Yuma
Yuma Mcas
Yuma Prv Gd
ARKANSAS
Blytheville
Camden
El Dorado
Fayetteville
Ft Smith
75
75
28.2
3.6
39
39
7.8
40.2
51
7.2
37.8
49.8
7.2
13.2
7.2
16.8
15
1.8
27
3
3.6
15
89
92
92
94
94
93
93
90
92
91
94
94
90
57
35
33
33
36
35
36
34
35
35
34
36
33
36
58.2
31.2
13.2
0
19.8
16.2
28.8
49.8
13.2
10.2
10.8
27
77
27.6
38
57
2.4
4.8
10.2
22.2
9
0.6
39
22.8
55.8
7.8
0
85
81
81
80
1.8
34.2
33
29
29
28
28
43.8
7.2
4.8
Harrison
33
28.2
Hot Springs
Jonesboro
Little Rock
Pine Bluff
Springdale
Texarkana
Walnut Ridge
CALIFORNIA
Alameda
Alturas
57
81
86
83
81
86
86
82
81
80
81
82
80
86
81
81
81
82
85
81
52.8
31.2
0.6
30
30
29
29
30
30
27
26
26
26
29
25
30
30
24
28
27
30
30
13.2
46.8
37.2
10.8
39
28.8
36
34.8
4.2
31.2
40.2
31.2
25.2
3
37.2
31.2
31.8
46.2
52.2
9
52.2
16.2
22.8
40.8
40.8
45
55.8
7.8
Clemente
San Diego
San
117
122
7.8
22.8
32
37
49.2
37.2
122
120
124
119
121
116
116
116
118
120
19.2
31.8
0.6
3
27
57
37.2
40.8
3.6
4.2
37
41
40
35
39
33
35
34
37
39
46.8
28.8
58.8
25.8
7.8
55.8
16.8
16.2
36
Francisco
San Jose
San Luis Obi
San Mateo
San Miguel
Sandburg
Santa Ana
Santa Barb
Santa Maria
Santa Monica
Santa Rosa
Arcata
121
120
117
120
118
117
119
120
118
122
55.2
39
34.8
2.4
43.8
52.8
49.8
27
37
35
33
34
34
33
34
34
34
38
22.2
13.8
22.8
1.8
39
Bakersfield
Beale AFB
Beaumont
Bicycle Lk
Big Bear
40.8
28.8
25.8
13.8
33
1.8
51
50.4
24
45
40.2
25.8
54
1.2
31.2
Bishop
Blue Canyon
57
16.8
Macdill AFB
Marianna
Mayport NAS
31.2
10.8
25.2
27
49.2
53
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
87
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
min
6
49.2
7.8
37.2
25.8
12
13.8
21
58.2
55.2
46.8
24
22.8
58.2
31.2
4.2
min
4.8
min
10.8
7.8
Melbourne
Miami
80
80
81
80
81
85
80
87
82
82
81
82
84
82
80
85
37.8
16.8
4.8
40.8
19.2
40.8
3.6
19.2
3.6
40.8
15
28
25
26
28
28
30
28
30
27
27
28
27
30
27
28
30
27
26
Glenview
NAS
Kankakee
Macomb
Marion
Marseilles
Mattoon
Moline/Quad
Mount
Vernon
Peoria
Quincy
Rockford
Salem
Scott AFB
Springfield
Sterling
Taylorville
Vandalia
INDIANA
Bakalar
Bloomington
Elkhart
Evansville
Fort Wayne
Gary
Grissom AFB
Indianapolis
Muncie
South Bend
Terre Haute
W Lafayette
IOWA
Burlington
Cedar Rapids
Des Moines
Dubuque
Estherville
Fort Dodge
Lamoni
Mason City
Ottumwa
Sioux City
Spencer
Waterloo Mun
KANSAS
Chanute
Col. J Jabar
Concordia
Dodge City
Elkhart
49.2
42
Grand Isle
High Island
Houma
Intercoastal
Lafayette
Lake Charles
Lk Palourde
Missippi Can
Monroe
Morgan City
New Iberia
New Orleans
S Marsh Isl
Shreveport
Slidel
90
94
90
92
92
93
91
89
92
91
91
90
91
93
89
4.2
2.4
39
7.2
0
13.2
0.6
3
29
28
29
29
30
30
29
28
32
29
30
29
28
32
30
Naples
Nasa Shuttle
Orlando
87
90
89
88
88
90
88
51
39.6
0
40.8
16.8
31.2
51.6
41
40
37
41
39
41
38
4.2
31.2
45
22.2
28.8
27
34.2
43.8
12
Panama City
Patrick AFB
Pensacola
Ruskin
Saint Peters
Sanford
7.2
42
46.8
31.2
42
19.2
3
1.2
52.8
15
58.8
45
89
91
89
88
89
89
89
89
89
40.8
1.2
0.6
57.6
51
40.2
40.2
19.8
10.2
40
39
42
38
38
39
41
39
38
40.2
55.8
12
37.8
33
1.8
Sarasota
Tallahassee
Tampa Intl
Titusville
Tyndall AFB
Vero Beach
West Palm
Beach
33
58.8
18
31.2
21
22.2
31.8
4.8
34.8
25.2
7.2
49.2
51
MAINE
Augusta
Bangor
80
80
39
40.8
44.4
31.8
59.4
69
68
68
69
68
69
67
67
70
68
69
70
4.8
44
44
44
43
46
45
46
46
43
46
44
44
19.2
48
27
49.2
22.2
55.8
1.2
Bar Harbor
Brunswick
Caribou Mun
Greenville
Houlton
Loring AFB
Portland
Presque Isle
Rockland
Rumford
MARYLAND
Andrews AFB
Baltimore
Fort Meade
Hagerstown
Ocean City
Patuxent
Whiting Fld
GEORGIA
Albany
87
1.2
30
43.2
52.8
52.2
27
86
86
86
87
85
87
86
86
85
86
87
86
3
37.2
0
39
39
41
38
41
41
40
39
40
41
39
40
22.8
7.8
43.2
3
0
37.2
39
43.8
13.8
42
27
25.2
84
82
83
84
81
81
84
84
85
81
81
85
83
83
83
85
83
82
10.8
31.2
19.2
25.2
58.2
22.8
55.8
31.2
0
34.2
9
4.2
39
1.2
31
31
33
33
33
31
32
33
32
31
32
33
32
30
32
34
30
31
31.8
31.8
57
39
22.2
9
31.2
55.2
19.8
52.8
1.2
33
Alma
Athens
46.8
52.8
19.2
3
7.2
52.8
7.8
57
31.8
1.2
25.2
9
16.2
22.8
19.2
1.8
55.8
Atlanta
39
Augusta/Bush
Brunswick
Columbus
Dobbins AFB
Fort Benning
Ft Stewart
Hunter Aaf
La Grange
Macon/Lewis
Moody AFB
Robins AFB
Rome/Russell
Valdosta
Waycross
HAWAII
Barbers Pt
Barking San
Fr Frigate
Hilo
Honolulu Int
Kahului Maui
Kaneohe Mca
Kilauea Pt
Lanai-Lanai
Lihue-Kauai
Maui
40.8
4.2
52.8
76
76
76
77
75
76
76
75
52.2
40.2
46.2
43.2
7.8
2.4
10.2
3
38
39
39
39
38
38
39
38
49.2
10.8
4.8
42
33
16.8
28.2
19.8
0.6
42
91
91
93
90
94
94
93
93
92
96
95
92
7.2
4.2
39
4.2
45
10.8
55.8
19.8
27
22.8
9
40
41
41
42
43
42
40
43
41
42
43
42
46.8
52.8
31.8
24
24
33
37.2
9
6
24
10.2
33
58.2
37.8
21
46.8
15
3.6
Phillips
Salisbury
10.2
16.8
2.4
MASSACHUSETTS
Bedford
Beverly
Boston
Cape Cod
Chatham
71
70
71
70
69
71
70
71
70
70
70
71
70
73
70
72
72
71
16.8
55.2
1.8
3
58.2
3.6
16.8
7.2
37.2
4.2
58.2
10.8
31.2
10.8
55.8
43.2
31.8
52.2
42
42
42
41
41
42
41
42
41
41
41
42
41
42
42
42
42
42
28.2
34.8
22.2
46.8
40.2
34.2
40.2
43.2
24
158
160
166
155
157
156
158
159
156
159
156
157
156
156
7.2
1.8
28.2
4.2
55.8
25.8
16.8
40.2
57
21
49.8
0.6
21
22
24
19
21
20
21
22
20
21
20
21
20
20
31.8
3
27
43.2
21
54
45
22.8
48
58.8
58.2
9
25.2
0
Fort Devens
Hyannis
2.4
Lawrence
Marthas Vine
Nantucket
New Bedford
Norwood
95
97
97
99
101
96
94
96
100
101
99
99
97
94
100
96
97
98
94
98
97
95
95
97
28.8
13.2
39
58.2
52.8
1.2
55.2
46.2
43.2
4.2
16.2
49.8
52.2
52.8
58.2
40.2
16.2
34.8
5.4
37
37
39
37
37
38
39
39
37
39
38
39
38
38
37
39
37
37
38
38
38
39
38
37
40.2
45
33
46.2
0
19.8
22.2
3
55.8
22.2
51
22.8
4.2
49.2
3
9
37.2
18
15
40.8
10.8
39
Otis ANGB
Pittsfield
Molokai
Emporia
Ft Leavnwrth
Ft Riley
Garden City
Goodland
Hays
15.6
9
10.2
12
Upolo Pt Ln
Waimea-
Koha
28.2
7.2
S Weymouth
Westfield
Westover
Worcester
MICHIGAN
Alpena
Ann Arbor
Battle Creek
Benton
IDAHO
16.2
Boise
116
113
114
116
13.2
46.2
13.2
49.2
43
42
44
47
34.2
31.8
31.2
46.2
Burley
Challis
Coeur
Hill City
83
83
85
86
34.2
45
13.8
25.8
45
42
42
42
4.2
13.2
18
Hutchinson
Johnson Cnty
Liberal
Manhatten
Mcconnell Af
Medicine Ldg
Olathe
Russell
Salina
Topeka
Topeka/Forbe
Wichita
KENTUCKY
Bowling Gren
Ft Campbell
Ft Knox
Jackson
Lexington
London
Louisville
Owensboro
Paducah
Pikeville
LOUISIANA
Alexandria
Barksdale
Baton Rouge
Boothville
Cameron Heli
Claiborne R
England AFB
Eugene Is.
Fort Polk
d'Alene
7.8
Elk City
115
115
116
112
117
112
113
116
115
112
113
111
114
114
25.8
10.2
7.8
4.2
1.2
19.2
22.2
0.6
4.8
3.6
45
43
45
43
46
42
42
44
47
42
45
42
43
42
49.2
0
Harbor
Gooding
Chippewa
Coopersville
Copper Harb
Detroit
Escanaba
Flint/Bishop
Grand Rapids
Hancock
Harbor Beach
Houghton
Lake
Iron Mtn
Ironwood
Jackson
Kalamazoo
Lansing
Manistee
Marquette
Menominee
Muskegon
Pellston
84
85
87
83
87
83
85
88
82
84
28.2
57
51
1.2
4.8
45
31.2
3
46
43
47
42
45
42
42
47
43
44
15
Grangeville
Idaho Falls
Lewiston
Malad City
Malta
Mccall
Mullan
Pocatello
Salmon
55.2
31.2
22.8
10.2
18
52.8
28.2
55.2
10.8
39
4.2
51
52.2
48
4.2
57
39
28.2
25.2
43.8
58.2
52.8
10.2
49.8
22.2
49.2
39
37.2
40.2
25.8
31.8
40.8
5.4
34.8
1.8
86
87
85
83
85
84
85
87
88
82
25.8
3
58.2
19.2
0
36
36
37
37
38
37
38
37
37
37
58.2
40.2
54
36
3
4.8
13.8
45
4.2
28.8
Soda Springs
Sun Valley
Twin Falls
ILLINOIS
Alton
30
28.8
88
90
84
85
84
86
87
87
86
84
83
84
84
87
82
85
85
7.2
7.8
28.2
33
3.6
15
57
37.8
15
4.8
25.2
4.8
22.2
2.4
49.8
55.2
34.8
45
46
42
42
42
44
46
45
43
45
42
43
46
46
42
45
44
49.2
31.8
16.2
13.8
46.2
16.2
52.8
7.2
10.2
34.2
40.2
31.8
28.2
21
28.8
90
88
90
88
89
89
89
89
88
87
87
88
88
88
90
3
19.2
9
55.8
3.6
13.2
15
5.4
16.8
39
38
41
38
40
41
37
37
38
40
41
40
41
39
41
40
52.8
46.2
34.2
28.8
9.6
4.2
Aurora
40.2
10.2
46.2
31.2
Bistate Park
Bloomington
Bradford
Cairo
Carbondale
Centralia
Champaign
Chicago
4.2
46.8
30.6
1.8
54
12
55.8
49.8
55.2
55.8
92
93
91
89
93
92
92
91
93
1.8
40.2
9
40.2
1.8
57
33
46.8
1.2
31
32
30
29
29
31
31
28
31
22.8
30
31.8
33
46.8
13.2
19.8
28.2
3
Pontiac
Saginaw
Sault Ste M
Sawyer AFB
Selfridge
Seul Choix
Traverse Cty
Danville
3.6
43.2
52.2
15
DeKalb
Decatur
Du Page
Galesburg
37.2
55.2
43.8
25.8
54
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
106
LATITUDE
min degrees
min
27
13.8
min
min
37.2
37.8
4.2
25.2
13.8
10.8
37.8
Wurtsmith
Ypsilanti
83
83
2.4
31.8
44
42
NEBRASKA
Ainsworth
Alliance
Beatrice
Broken Bow
Burwell
Chadron
Columbus
Cozad
Falls City
Grand Island
Hastings
Imperial
Kearney
Lincoln Muni
Mccook
Santa Fe
Silver City
Socorro
4.8
10.2
5.4
34.2
16.2
3.6
35
32
34
36
33
35
32
99
102
96
99
99
103
97
100
95
98
98
101
99
96
100
101
97
96
100
98
95
95
58.8
4.8
45
39
9
4.8
21
0
34.8
19.2
25.8
23.4
0
42
42
40
41
41
42
41
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
42
41
41
41
42
41
41
41
41
41
42
34.8
3
108
106
105
107
103
106
MINNESOTA
Albert Lea
Alexandria
Bemidji Muni
Brainerd-Crw
Detroit Laks
Duluth
93
95
94
94
95
92
91
94
96
93
92
93
94
93
95
93
95
94
92
93
94
96
90
95
95
22.2
22.8
55.8
7.8
52.8
10.8
49.2
25.2
4.2
43
45
47
46
46
46
47
43
46
47
47
48
45
44
44
44
46
46
43
44
45
48
47
48
43
40.8
52.2
30
19.2
25.8
46.8
49.8
27
52.2
4.2
58.2
36
19.8
43.8
51
13.2
3
58.8
22.2
7.8
28.2
7.2
Taos
Truth Or Con
Tucumcari
White Sands
NEW YORK
Albany
Ambrose
Binghamton
Buffalo
24
2.4
49.2
49.8
54
39
18
13.2
22.8
34.2
7.8
13.2
27
49.8
54
36
73
74
75
78
78
76
73
75
73
75
73
76
79
74
74
73
74
78
75
75
73
77
74
73
76
75
76
72
73
4.8
42
40
42
42
42
42
40
44
43
43
40
42
42
44
41
40
41
43
44
42
44
43
44
42
43
43
44
40
41
45
Ely
22.2
58.8
43.8
1.2
45
Fairmont
Fergus Falls
Grand Rapids
Hibbing
Intl Falls
Litchfield
Mankato
13.2
55.8
58.2
10.2
43.8
3
31.2
51
Dansville
Elmira
5.4
22.8
31.2
55.2
49.2
28.2
4.2
19.2
3
3
45
34.8
3
Farmingdale
Fort Drum
Glens Falls
Griffiss AFB
Islip
25.8
43.8
37.2
2.4
0.6
28.2
15
51
4.8
58.8
0.6
57
Mullen
Norfolk
21
Marshall Arpt
Minneapolis
Park Rapids
Pequot Lake
Rochester
Saint Paul
St Cloud
25.8
1.2
40.8
40.8
55.2
5.4
57
3.6
58.8
33
13.8
46.8
28.8
9
55.8
42
46.2
30
6
North Omaha
North Platte
O'neill
Offutt AFB
Omaha
Ord/Sharp
Scottsbluff
Sidney Muni
Valentine
NEVADA
Austin
Battle Mtn
Caliente
Elko
Ely/Yelland
Eureka
Fallon NAS
Hawthorne
Ind Sprng Rn
Las Vegas
Lovelock
Mercury
Nellis AFB
Owyhee
Reno
Tonopah
Wildhorse
Winnemucca
Yucca Flat
Ithaca
Jamestown
Massena
Monticello
New York
Newburgh
Niagara Fall
Ogdensburg
Oneonta
Plattsburgh
Rochester
Saranac Lk
Schenectady
Syracuse
Utica
55.2
55.8
33
18
4.2
98
37.2
52.2
6
Thief River
Tofte
10.8
49.8
21
4.2
103
102
100
34.8
55.8
39
Warroad
52.2
2.4
7.2
40.8
52.2
39
7.2
22.8
51
7.2
9
0
Worthington
MISSISSIPPI
Columbus
AFB
Golden Trian
Greenville
Greenwood
Gulfport
34.8
117
116
114
115
114
115
118
118
115
115
118
116
115
116
119
117
116
117
116
7.8
39
40
37
40
39
39
39
38
36
36
40
36
36
42
39
38
41
40
37
49.8
37.2
37.2
49.8
16.8
30
25.2
33
31.8
4.8
28.2
40.2
1.2
55.8
7.2
22.8
1.2
37.8
43.2
88
27
33
39
52.2
31.2
46.8
51
58.2
4.2
37.8
34.2
10.2
55.2
1.2
88
90
90
89
89
90
88
89
90
88
88
91
89
88
34.8
58.8
4.8
4.2
19.8
4.8
55.2
10.2
28.2
34.2
45
15
32.4
46.2
33
33
33
30
31
32
30
31
31
32
32
31
34
34
27
28.8
30
24
Watertown
Westhampton
White Plains
Hattiesburg
Jackson
28.2
19.2
25.2
40.2
10.8
33
19.8
37.2
23.4
16.2
51
4.2
Keesler AFB
Laurel
Mccomb
Meridian NAS
Meridian/Key
Natchez
NORTH CAROLINA
6
Asheville
Cape Hattera
Charlotte
82
75
80
76
76
75
76
78
78
79
81
82
77
77
79
75
77
77
79
78
77
79
77
80
33
33
55.8
52.8
3
35
35
35
34
36
35
36
35
35
36
35
35
34
35
35
35
35
34
35
35
35
35
34
36
25.8
16.2
13.2
54
37.2
13.8
34.8
30
4.2
19.8
54
1.8
10.2
46.8
4.8
15
4.8
Cherry Point
Dare Co Gr
Diamond Sho
Elizabeth
Fayetteville
Fort Bragg
Greensboro
Hickory
Hot Springs
Jacksonville
Kinston
Mackall Aaf
Manteo Arpt
New Bern
New River
Pope AFB
Raleigh-Durh
Rocky Mt
7.8
Oxford
3
15
Tupelo
10.8
52.8
55.8
57
22.8
49.2
37.2
37.8
3
40.8
3
25.8
1.2
16.2
0
7.8
MISSOURI
Columbia
Cape
92
89
13.2
34.8
38
37
49.2
13.8
4.8
34.8
NEW HAMPSHIRE
4.8
Girardeau
Ft Leonard
Jefferson City
Joplin
Kansas City
Kirksville
Monett
Berlin
Concord
Jaffrey
Keene
Laconia
Lebanon
71
71
72
72
71
72
71
71
71
70
71
10.8
3
0
16.2
25.8
1.8
25.8
1.8
44
43
42
42
43
43
42
44
42
43
44
34.8
12
48
45
54
92
92
94
94
92
94
95
90
94
93
93
95
90
91
92
93
7.8
10.2
3
43.2
33
21
21.6
28.2
33
43.2
22.8
31.8
22.2
46.2
25.2
33
37
38
37
39
40
37
35
36
38
40
37
40
38
38
37
38
45
36
49.2
19.2
1.8
55.2
4.8
10.2
19.2
6
19.8
39.6
46.2
51
54
34.2
37.8
55.8
16.2
46.8
4.8
Manchester
Mt Washingtn
Nashua
Pease AFB
Wolfeboro
NEW JERSEY
Atlantic CtIy
Barnegat Ls
Fairfield
Lakehurst
Mcguire AFB
Millville
Morristown
Newark Intl
Teterboro
Trenton
Muskogee
Poplar Bluff
Richards-Geb
Spickard
Springfield
St Joseph
St Louis
42
31.2
49.2
22.8
10.2
52.2
51
14.4
16.2
7.8
46.8
52.8
23.4
55.2
13.8
15
0
13.8
16.8
45
7.8
13.2
43.8
Southern Pin
Wilmington
Winston-
74
74
74
74
74
75
74
74
74
74
34.2
16.8
16.8
21
3.6
4.2
25.2
10.2
3
39
40
40
40
40
39
40
40
40
40
27
16.8
52.2
1.8
1.2
22.2
48
42
51
16.8
Vichy/Rolla
West Plains
Whiteman
AFB
MONTANA
Billings
Salem
NORTH DAKOTA
Bismarck
100
98
102
96
97
98
45
5.4
4.8
4.8
10.8
40.8
9
16.8
49.8
37.8
46
48
46
46
47
46
46
48
47
48
46.2
7.2
46.8
54
Devil's Lake
Dickenson
Fargo
Grand Forks
Jamestown
Lidgerwood
Minot
Roseglen
Williston
OHIO
Athens
Canton
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Dayton
108
111
105
112
112
112
113
106
104
111
109
109
112
106
114
109
110
111
105
114
112
104
111
31.8
9
40.2
3
22.2
33
9
37.2
4.8
22.2
49.8
46.2
0
55.8
16.2
27
25.8
10.8
52.2
4.8
45
45
45
45
48
45
46
48
47
47
46
48
46
47
48
47
45
47
46
46
44
47
44
48
Bozeman
Broadus
Butte
46.8
40.2
57
36
15
40.2
13.2
7.8
28.8
25.8
33
36
19.8
18
3
42
30
25.8
55.2
34.2
43.2
39
57
55.2
6
49.2
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque
Cannon
Carlsbad
Clayton Arpt
Corona
97
Cut Bank
Dillon
106
103
104
103
105
107
108
108
107
103
106
3.6
35
34
32
36
34
32
36
35
35
32
32
3
101
101
103
16.2
45
19.2
16.2
9
40.8
4.2
13.8
46.8
5.4
22.8
19.8
27
6
15
Drummond
Glasgow
10.8
Glendive
Great Falls
Harlowton
Havre
82
81
84
81
82
84
83
82
82
83
81
80
81
13.8
25.8
40.2
40.8
52.8
1.2
40.2
31.2
55.8
4.8
39
40
39
41
40
39
41
40
39
41
41
41
39
12.6
55.2
3
31.2
0
Deming
Farmington
Gallup/Clark
Grants
Hobbs
Holloman
AFB
Las Cruces
Las Vegas
Los Alamos
Moriarity
Northrup Str
Raton
45
31.2
10.2
40.8
51
Helena
Jordan
1.2
0.6
54
Kalispell
Findlay
1.2
49.2
49.2
36
37.8
16.2
57
Lewiston
Livingston
Malmstrom
Miles City
Missoula
Monida
Mansfield
Rickenbacker
Toledo
Willoughby
Youngstown
Zanesville
106
105
106
106
106
104
104
46.2
9
16.8
3
2.4
3
31.8
32
35
35
34
32
36
33
18
39
52.8
58.8
54
44.4
18
2.4
40.2
5.4
19.2
10.8
0.6
Sidney
W Yellowston
Roswell
55
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
LATITUDE
min degrees
min
min
40.8
58.2
55.2
degrees
100
98
min
22.2
31.8
10.2
1.8
13.2
9
22.2
51
OKLAHOMA
Altus AFB
Ardmore
Bartlesville
Clinton
Enid
Fort Sill
Gage
Hobart
Lawton
Mcalester
Norman
Oklahoma
Page
Ponca City
Stillwater
Tinker AFB
Tulsa
Vance AFB
OREGON
Astoria
Aurora
Baker
Brookings
Burns Arpt
Cape Blanco
Cascade
Corvallis
Eugene
Hillsboro
Klamath Fall
La Grande
Lake View
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Sexton
The Dalles
Troutdale
Myrtle Beach
Shaw AFB
Spartanburg
78
80
81
55.8
28.2
57.6
33
33
34
San Angelo
San Antonio
Sanderson
South Brazos
Stephenville
Temple
Tyler/Pounds
Victoria
Wichita Flls
Wink
3
31
29
30
28
32
31
32
28
33
31
99
97
96
99
97
98
99
99
98
95
97
97
94
97
97
97
95
97
16.2
1.2
0
1.2
4.8
2.4
46.2
3
25.2
46.8
28.2
3.6
37.2
0.6
34
34
36
35
36
34
36
35
34
34
35
35
34
36
36
35
36
36
40.2
18
45
21
22.8
39
28.2
25.2
52.2
10.8
25.2
2.4
55.2
3
1.2
102
95
98
97
95
96
98
103
SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen
Brookings
Chamberlain
Custer
98
96
99
103
103
98
25.8
4.8
19.2
3.6
45
44
43
43
44
44
45
43
45
44
44
44
45
43
44
42
27
18
48
46.2
9
22.8
55.8
46.2
31.8
3
22.8
3
9.6
34.8
55.2
55.2
18
0
Ellsworth
Huron
Lemmon
Mitchell
Mobridge
Philip
Pierre
Rapid City
Redig
Sioux Falls
Watertown
Yankton
0.6
58.8
46.8
34.2
52.8
13.8
24
40.8
43.8
9.6
25.2
12
13.2
10.2
1.8
25.8
3.6
16.8
4.2
19.2
43.8
9
102
98
UTAH
Blanding
109
110
113
112
113
110
110
111
111
113
109
112
110
111
110
113
111
112
109
114
46.8
4.2
0.6
34.8
4.2
9
43.2
58.2
51
1.8
45
1.2
45
43.2
37.8
3.6
58.2
1.2
31.2
3
38
37
37
39
41
39
38
41
41
38
38
41
39
40
40
37
40
40
40
41
1.8
30
42
19.8
3
0
22.2
7.2
46.8
43.2
46.2
10.8
37.2
13.2
30
100
101
100
103
103
96
Bullfrog Mar
Cedar City
Delta
Eagle Range
Green River
Hanksville
Hill AFB
Logan
Milford
Moab
Ogden
Price/Carbon
Provo
Roosevelt
Saint George
Salt Lake Ct
Tooele
5.4
22.8
5.4
55.2
19.8
97
97
22.8
123
122
117
124
118
124
121
123
123
122
121
118
120
118
122
124
124
117
118
122
121
123
123
123
121
122
52.8
45
49.2
28.2
57
46
45
44
42
43
43
45
44
44
45
42
45
42
45
42
44
43
44
45
45
44
43
44
42
45
45
9
15
49.8
4.8
36
22.8
40.8
30
7.2
31.8
9
16.8
10.8
30
22.2
37.8
25.2
1.2
TENNESSEE
Bristol
82
85
87
85
89
88
83
90
85
86
86
2.4
1.2
25.2
4.8
2.4
55.2
58.8
0
36
35
36
35
36
35
35
35
35
36
36
28.8
1.8
37.2
57
1.2
36
49.2
3
9
Chattanooga
Clarksville
Crossville
Dyersburg
Jackson
Knoxville
Memphis Intl
Monteagle
Nashville
Smyrna
TEXAS
Abilene
Alice
Amarillo
Austin
Bergstrom Af
Big Sky
Big Spring
Brownsville
Brownwood
Carswell AFB
Chase NAS
Childress
College Stn
Corpus Chrst
Cotulla
Dalhart
Dallas/FW
Del Rio
Dyess AFB
El Paso
Ellington Af
Fort Worth
Ft Hood Aaf
Galveston
Gray AFB
Greenville
Guadalupe
Harlingen
Hondo
Houston
Junction
Kelly AFB
Kerrville
Killeen
57
52.8
16.8
13.2
57
43.8
0
4.8
46.8
10.2
27
30.6
40.8
3
Vernal
7.2
0
Wendover
VERMONT
Burlington
Montpelier
Newport
13.2
21
73
72
72
73
72
72
9
44
44
45
43
44
42
28.2
12
33
31.8
25.2
52.8
2.4
52.2
3
15
1.2
51
3.6
9
22.2
0
22.2
9
2.4
99
98
101
97
40.8
1.8
4.2
32
27
35
30
30
32
32
25
31
32
28
34
30
27
28
36
32
29
32
31
29
32
31
29
31
33
31
26
29
29
30
29
29
31
27
27
29
32
33
31
30
26
31
32
28
33
34
30
33
28
25.2
43.8
13.8
18
12
23.4
18
34.2
19.8
57
1.2
52.8
Rutland
4.2
St Johnsbury
Wilmington
VIRGINIA
Charlottes
Chesapeake
Danville
Fort Belvoir
Fort Eustis
Hot Springs
Langley AFB
Lynchburg
Newport
97
40.8
28.8
27
25.8
57.6
25.8
40.2
16.8
22.2
3
13.2
33
1.8
55.2
51
2.4
40.8
36
101
101
97
98
97
97
100
96
97
99
102
97
100
99
106
95
97
97
94
97
96
104
97
99
95
99
98
99
97
97
99
100
94
101
94
104
98
102
98
96
95
101
94
78
76
79
77
76
79
76
79
76
27
1.2
38
37
36
38
37
37
37
37
37
7.8
30
34.2
43.2
7.8
57
4.8
19.8
7.8
16.2
13.8
55.2
37.2
37.2
33
54
47.4
46.8
22.2
25.8
34.8
46.2
27
19.8
10.8
37.2
49.2
22.2
1.2
PENNSYLVANIA
Allentown
Altoona
75
78
80
79
78
78
80
79
76
78
76
79
76
76
75
75
78
79
75
77
77
75
76
75
25.8
19.2
19.8
5.4
37.8
5.4
10.8
52.2
51
49.8
1.8
40
40
40
40
41
41
42
41
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
39
41
40
40
39
40
41
41
40
39
18
45
16.2
48
10.8
4.8
22.8
13.2
19.2
7.8
16.8
12
25.8
4.8
52.8
28.2
21
22.8
43.8
51
19.8
15
12
3
1.2
54
News
Beaver Falls
Blairsville
Bradford
Dubois
Erie
Norfolk NAS
Norfolk Rgnl
Oceana NAS
Quantico Mca
Richmond
Roanoke
Muni
76
76
76
77
77
79
16.8
1.2
1.8
1.8
19.8
58.2
36
36
36
38
37
37
55.8
54
49.2
30
30
19.2
22.2
25.8
48
37.2
49.2
9
16.2
4.2
4.2
49.8
13.8
21
58.2
30
22.8
58.8
4.8
10.2
21
43.2
52.2
49.8
4.2
Franklin
Harrisburg
Johnstown
Lancaster
Latrobe
Middletown
Muir
Nth Philadel
Philadelphia
Philipsburg
Pittsburgh
Reading
Staunton
Volens
78
78
75
51
58.8
28.8
38
36
37
16.2
57
51
2.4
Wallops Sta
WASHINGTON
Bellingham
Bremerton
Burlington
Colville
46.2
34.2
1.2
15
7.8
55.8
58.2
25.8
49.8
43.8
55.2
9
4.8
40.2
10.2
21
46.2
34.8
4.8
40.8
49.2
28.2
46.8
43.2
49.2
45
122
122
122
118
119
122
117
122
119
123
122
119
122
122
119
119
123
117
124
122
122
123
117
122
122
31.8
46.2
19.8
28.2
31.2
16.8
39
34.8
3.6
58.2
28.8
19.2
48
47
48
48
47
47
47
47
46
46
47
47
48
46
48
46
48
46
47
47
47
47
47
47
46
48
28.8
30
52.8
19.2
55.2
37.2
4.8
34.2
58.2
9
12
15
58.2
25.2
16.2
7.2
Ephrata
Everet/Paine
Fairchild
Fort Lewis
Hanford
Hoquiam
Mcchord AFB
Moses Lake
Oak Harbor
Olympia
Omak
Pasco
Port Angeles
Pullman
Quillayute
Renton
Seattle
Shelton
Spokane
Tacoma
Toledo
Site R
State Colleg
Wilkes-Barre
Williamsport
Willow Grove
RHODE ISLAND
Block Island
Nth Kingston
Providence
SOUTH CAROLINA
Anderson
Beaufort
Kingsville
Laredo Intl
Laughlin AFB
Longview
Lubbock
Lufkin
Marfa
Mcallen
Midland
30
31.8
22.2
22.8
39
13.8
22.2
10.8
57
46.8
43.2
37.8
10.2
34.8
36
71
71
71
34.8
25.2
25.8
41
41
41
10.2
36
43.8
40.8
1.2
5.4
31.8
7.2
3
7.2
33
13.2
1.8
9
31.8
34.8
4.8
13.8
10.8
4.2
15
27
42.6
1.2
3
82
80
80
81
79
82
80
43.2
43.2
1.8
7.2
43.2
21
34
32
32
33
34
34
33
30
28.8
54
57
10.8
51
Mineral Wlls
Palacios
45
57
30
27
Charleston
Columbia
Florence
Greenville
Mcentire
Paris/Cox
Plainview
Port Arthur
Reese AFB
Rockport
102
97
15
4.8
55.2
1.8
4.8
37.8
16.2
28.8
56
LONGITUDE
degrees
118
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
LONGITUDE
degrees
LATITUDE
min degrees
min
6
24
21
34.2
min
min
Walla Walla
Wenatchee
Whidbey Is
Yakima
16.8
1.2
39
46
47
48
46
WISCONSIN
Appleton
WYOMING
Big Piney
Casper
Cheyenne
Cody
Douglas
Evanston
Gillette
Jackson
Lander
Laramie
Moorcroft
Rawlins
Riverton
Rock Springs
Sheridan
Worland
Yellowstone
120
122
120
88
91
88
89
91
90
89
87
87
89
88
88
89
91
90
89
31.2
28.8
7.8
44
44
44
42
43
43
43
44
42
44
44
44
45
45
43
44
15
110
106
104
109
105
111
105
110
108
105
104
107
108
109
106
107
110
0.6
28.2
49.2
1.2
42
42
41
44
42
41
44
43
42
41
44
41
43
41
44
43
44
34.2
55.2
9
31.2
45
19.8
21
36
49.2
19.2
21
48
3
Eau Claire
Green Bay
Janesville
La Crosse
Lone Rock
Madison
Manitowac
Milwaukee
Mosinee
Neenah
Oshkosh
Rhinelander
Rice Lake
Volk Fld
52.2
28.8
37.2
52.2
12
7.8
7.8
57
46.8
13.2
0
37.8
28.8
55.8
55.2
31.8
WEST VIRGINIA
Beckley
1.8
15
81
81
81
80
79
82
80
77
79
81
80
80
7.2
13.2
3.6
13.8
51
33
2.4
58.8
55.2
25.8
39
37
37
38
39
38
38
37
39
39
39
40
37
46.8
18
22.8
0
Bluefield
10.8
19.8
40.2
5.4
Charleston
Clarksburg
Elkins
Huntington
Lewisburg
Martinsburg
Morgantown
Parkersburg
Wheeling
22.2
16.8
52.8
22.2
52.2
24
39
21
10.8
27.6
31.8
43.8
43.8
40.8
48.6
1.2
40.2
31.8
34.2
27
27
4.2
43.2
16.2
37.2
36
58.2
58.2
25.2
46.2
58.2
33
Wh Sulphur
1.2
Wausau
CANADA
CITY
Calgary
Churchill
PROVINCE
Alberta
Newfoundland
Northwest Terr.
Alberta
New Brunswick
Northwest Terr
Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
BC
Ontario
Labrador
Quebec
Yukon
Yukon
LONGITUDE
LATITUDE
CITY
Glasgow
Guatemala City Guatemala
COUNTRY
Scotland
LONGITUDE
LATITUDE
114
7
51
58
67
53
45
67
53
44
55
49
52
45
60
59
45
56
46
46
50
52
47
43
49
48
60
49
14
45
49
34
57
29
15
39
15
47
56
32
34
12
18
15
14
50
30
10
34
39
16
26
43
53
4
15 w
31 w
56 w
2 e
38 e
23 w
0 e
19 e
7 w
20 e
48 e
4 e
55
14
2
50 n
37 n
10 s
33 n
38 n
8 n
10 n
52 s
10 s
30 n
16 s
12 s
59 n
27 s
45 n
0 s
25 n
32 n
45 n
26 n
30 n
35 n
20 n
12 n
29 n
47 s
26 n
27 n
53 s
45 n
8 n
94
0
90
79
10
23
82
25
147
70
104
106
28
76
68
1
Coppermine
Edmonton
Frederickton
Ft Mcpherson
Goose Bay
Halifax
Hazelton
Kenora
Labrador City
Montreal
Mt. Logan
Nakina
Ottawa
Peace River
Pr. Edward Isl
Quebec
115
113
66
134
60
63
127
94
21
25
40
50
20
34
38
29
52
39
24
48
45
18
9
Guayaquil
Hamburg
Hammerfest
Havana
Helsinki
Hobart
Ecuador
Germany
Norway
Cuba
Finland
Tasmania
Chile
53
70
23
60
42
20
52
6
Iquique
Irkutsk
Jakarta
Johannesburg
Kingston
La Paz
Russia
Indonesia
South Africa
Jamaica
Bolivia
66
73
26
17
16
53
12
53
51
45
40
53
14
43
23
21
37
19
45
34
55
48
32
35
1
140
132
75
117
63
49 w
22 w
30 w
2 w
Ontario
Alberta
Leeds
Lima
England
Peru
77
3
Nova Scotia
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Newfoundland
Ontario
BC
BC
Yukon
Manitoba
Liverpool
London
Lyons
England
England
France
Spain
0 w
71
15
38
32
43
23
7
20
3
9
0
5 w
Regina
104
101
52
4
3
2
120
5
50 e
42 w
15 w
57 e
20 e
25 w
45 e
58 e
7 w
10 e
10 w
36 e
35 e
57 e
56 e
55 e
53 e
15 e
37 w
48 e
30 e
42 e
32 w
15 w
20 e
25 e
52 e
5 w
Saskatoon
St. Johns
Toronto
Vancouver
Victoria
Madrid
Manchester
Manila
Marseilles
Mazatlán
Mecca
Melbourne
Mexico City
Milan
England
Phillipines
France
Mexico
Saudi Arabia
Australia
Mexico
Italy
79
123
123
135
97
106
39
144
99
9
56
37
11
129
136
36
118
14
1
30
135
10
79
55
2
116
115
4
Whitehorse
Winnipeg
INTERNATIONAL
Montevideo
Moscow
Munich
Nagasaki
Nagoya
Nairobi
Uruguay
Russia
Germany
Japan
Japan
Kenya
Aberdeen
Scotland
2
9 w
57
9 n
Adelaide
Amsterdam
Ankara
Asunción
Athens
Auckland
Bangkok
Barcelona
Belém
Belfast
Belgrade
Berlin
Birmingham
Bombay
Bordeaux
Bremen
Brisbane
Bristol
Australia
Holland
Turkey
Paraguay
Greece
New Zealand
Thailand
Spain
138
4
36 e
53 e
55 e
40 w
43 e
45 e
30 e
9 e
34
52
39
25
37
36
13
41
1
55 s
22 n
55 n
15 s
58 n
52 s
45 n
23 n
28 s
37 n
52 n
30 n
25 n
0 n
48 n
7 n
25 s
3 n
32
57
23
174
100
2
Nanjing
China
32
40
54
46
34
59
8
Naples
Italy
50 n
58 n
27 n
32 n
57 n
58 n
45 n
48 n
55 n
57 s
25 n
57 s
54 n
56 s
28 s
56 n
31 s
10 n
40 n
17 n
0 s
Newcastle
Odessa
Osaka
England
Ukraine
Japan
Brazil
48
5
20
13
1
72
0
8
29 w
56 w
32 e
25 e
55 w
48 e
31 w
49 e
8 e
Northern Ireland
Yugoslavia
Germany
England
India
54
44
52
52
19
44
53
27
51
50
44
47
34
30
23
33
10
28
29
55
31
12
53
29
55
50
6
Oslo
Norway
Panama
Surinam
France
China
Panama City
Paramaribo
Paris
5
48
39
31
50
22
41
12
33
59
23
31
42
59
34
18
35
35
32
45
19
48
52
41
47
Beijing
France
50 n
5 n
Perth
Australia
England
Brazil
Germany
Australia
England
Belgium
Romania
Hungary
Argentina
Egypt
Plymouth
Rio de Janeiro
Rome
153
2
4
29 s
28 n
52 n
25 n
30 n
35 s
2 n
43
12
38
70
30
46
121
23
18
151
47
51
139
13
12
96
16
21
174
8
12 w
27 e
27 w
45 w
18 e
31 w
28 e
20 e
3 e
35 w
22 e
7 e
Italy
Brussels
Bucharest
Budapest
Buenos Aires
Cairo
Salvador
Santiago
St. Petersburg
Sao Paulo
Shanghai
Sofia
Stockholm
Sydney
Tananarive
Teheran
Tokyo
Brazil
Chile
Russia
Brazil
China
Bulgaria
Sweden
Australia
Madagascar
Iran
26
19
58
31
113
18
67
106
106
12
64
130
6
5 e
22 w
21 e
15 e
22 e
2 w
Canton
China
7 n
Cape Town
Caracas
Chihuahua
Chongqing
Copenhagen
Córdoba
Darwin
Dublin
Durban
Edinburgh
Frankfurt
Georgetown
South Africa
Venezuela
Mexico
55 s
28 n
37 n
46 n
40 n
28 s
28 s
20 n
53 s
55 n
7 n
0 e
5 w
33 e
45 e
45 e
12 e
20 e
10 w
20 e
0 e
50 s
45 n
40 n
57 n
26 n
10 n
14 n
14 n
17 s
21 n
China
34 e
34 e
10 w
51 e
15 w
53 e
10 w
41 e
15 w
Denmark
Argentina
Australia
Ireland
South Africa
Scotland
Germany
Guyana
Japan
Tripoli
Libya
Venice
Italy
Veracruz
Vienna
Warsaw
Wellington
Zürich
Mexico
Austria
Poland
New Zealand
Switzerland
30
3
8
47 e
31 e
58
45 n
57
Appendix D - RS-232 Connection
You can control your telescope with a computer via the RS-232 port on the computerized hand control and using an
optional RS-232 cable (#93920). Once connected, the telescope can be controlled using popular astronomy software
programs.
Communication Protocol:
The Advanced GT communicates at 9600 bits/sec, No parity and a stop bit. All angles are communicated with 16 bit
angle and communicated using ASCII hexadecimal.
Notes
Description
PC Command ASCII
Hand Control Response
Echo
Goto Azm-Alt
Kx
X#
#
Useful to check communication
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
Get Azm-Alt
R34AB, 12CE
Z
#
Scope must be aligned. If
command conflicts with slew limits,
there will be no action.
12AB, 4000#
10 characters returned,
12AB=Azm, comma, 4000=Alt, #
Get RA-Dec
Cancel Goto
Is Goto in Progress
E
M
L
34AB, 12CE#
#
0# or 1#
Scope must be aligned
0=No, 1=Yes; "0" is ASCII
character zero
Is Alignment Complete
Commands below
available on version 1.6
or later
J
0# or 1#
0=No, 1=Yes
HC version
Stop/Start Tracking
V
Tx
Two bytes representing V2.2
Alt-Az tracking requires alignment
22
#
x = 0 (Tracking off)
x = 1 (Alt-Az on)
x = 2 (EQ-N)
x = 3 (EQ-S)
r34AB0500,12CE0500
e
32-bit goto RA-Dec
32-bit get RA-Dec
#
34AB0500,12CE0500#
The last two characters will always
be zero.
Commands below
available on version 2.2
or later
32-bit goto Azm-Alt
32-bit get Azm-Alt
b34AB0500,12CE0500
z
#
34AB0500,12CE0500#
The last two characters will always
be zero.
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:
58
Additional RS232 Commands
Send Any Track Rate Through RS232 To The Hand Control
1. Multiply the desired tracking rate (arcseconds/second) by 4. Example: if the desired trackrate is 150
arcseconds/second, then TRACKRATE = 600
2. Separate TRACKRATE into two bytes, such that (TRACKRATE = TrackRateHigh*256 +
rackRateLow). Example: TrackRateHigh = 2 TrackRateLow = 88
3. To send a tracking rate, send the following 8 bytes:
a. Positive Azm tracking:
80, 3, 16, 6, TrackRateHigh, TrackRateLow, 0, 0
b. Negative Azm tracking:80, 3, 16, 7, TrackRateHigh, TrackRateLow, 0, 0
c. Positive Alt tracking:
d. Negative Alt tracking:
80, 3, 17, 6, TrackRateHigh, TrackRateLow, 0, 0
80, 3, 17, 7, TrackRateHigh, TrackRateLow, 0, 0
4. The number 35 is returned from the handcontrol
Send A Slow-Goto Command Through RS232 To The Hand Control
(note: Only valid for motorcontrol version 4.1 or greater)
1. Convert the angle position to a 24bit number. Example: if the desired position is 220°, then
POSITION_24BIT = (220/360)*224 = 10,252,743
2. Separate POSITION_24BIT into three bytes such that (POSITION_24BIT = PosHigh*65536 +
PosMed*256 + PosLow). Exampe: PosHigh = 156, PosMed = 113, PosLow = 199
3. Send the following 8 bytes:
a. Azm Slow Goto: 80, 4, 16, 23, PosHigh, PosMed, PosLow, 0
b. Alt Slow Goto: 80, 4, 17, 23, PosHigh, PosMed, PosLow, 0
4. The number 35 is returned from the handcontrol
Reset The Position Of Azm Or Alt
1. Convert the angle position to a 24bit number, same as Slow-Goto example.
2. Send the following 8 bytes:
a. Azm Set Position: 80, 4, 16, 4, PosHigh, PosMed, PosLow, 0
b. Alt Set Position: 80, 4, 17, 4, PosHigh, PosMed, PosLow, 0
3. The number 35 is returned from the handcontrol
4. Note: If using Motorcontrol version less than 4.1, then send:
a. Azm Set Position: 80, 3, 16, 4, PosHigh, PosMed, PosLow, 0
b. Alt Set Position: 80, 3, 17, 4, PosHigh, PosMed, PosLow, 0
59
APPENDIX E – MAPS OF TIME ZONES
60
62
63
64
65
66
67
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 must 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 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 U.S.A.
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
from a Celestron Distributor or Authorized Celestron Dealer in the specific country and please contact them for any
warranty service.
Celestron
2835 Columbia Street
Torrance, CA 90503 U.S.A.
Tel. (310) 328-9560
Fax. (310) 212-5835
Copyright 2003 Celestron
All rights reserved.
(Products or instructions may change
without notice or obligation.)
Item # 11025-INST
$10.00
08-03
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