A User’s Guide to the Meade LXD55 and LXD75 Telescopes

0387364897......Page 1
Title Page\r......Page 4
Copyright Page\r......Page 5
Acknowledgements......Page 6
Abbreviations......Page 9
Table of Contents\r......Page 10
CHAPTER ONE Introduction......Page 16
To Goto or not to Goto?......Page 17
About This Book......Page 18
Introduction......Page 20
The Sky Above Us......Page 21
The Earth in Motion......Page 22
The Celestial Sphere......Page 23
Sky Coordinates......Page 24
Back to Basics......Page 26
Preparation......Page 27
Recognizing the Constellations......Page 28
The Brightness of Stars......Page 31
The Colour of Stars......Page 32
Seeing Conditions......Page 33
Recording Your Observations......Page 34
Getting More Information......Page 35
Conclusion......Page 37
CHAPTER THREE Choosing an LXD Telescope......Page 38
The Refractor......Page 39
The Newtonian Reflector......Page 41
Schmidt-Newtonian......Page 42
Schmidt-Cassegrain......Page 43
Telescope Tube Essentials......Page 44
Focusers......Page 45
Telescope Mounts......Page 46
Altazimuth Mounts......Page 47
Equatorial Mounts......Page 48
Telescope Stands and Tripods......Page 49
Tripod Stands......Page 50
Pillar and Pier Stands......Page 52
Solar System Observing......Page 53
Specialized Observations......Page 54
The LXD Telescope Series......Page 55
N-6 Newtonian Reflector......Page 56
SC-8 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope......Page 59
Optical Tube Assembly Features......Page 62
Mechanical Features......Page 63
Electronic Features......Page 64
Autostar......Page 65
The LXD Tripod......Page 66
Conclusion......Page 67
CHAPTER FOUR Setting up the Telescope......Page 69
Assembling the Telescope (ECT: 2 to 3 Hours)......Page 70
Handling the Telescope......Page 71
Balancing the AR Refractor, SN Schmidt-Newtonian and N-6 Newtonian Telescopes (ECT: J5 to 25 Minutes)......Page 74
Balancing the SC-8 Schmiclt-eassegrain Telescope (ECT: 10 to 15 Minutes)......Page 76
Polar Viewfinder Alignment......Page 77
Polar Viewfinder Shaft Alignment Test (ECT: 10 Minutes)......Page 78
(ECT: 30 to 45 Minutes)......Page 79
The Polar Home Position (ECT: 5 minutes)......Page 81
Aligning the OTA With the RA and Dec axes......Page 82
Dec Axis Calibration (ECT: 15 to 20 Minutes)......Page 83
RA Axis Alignment......Page 84
The LXD Motor Drives......Page 86
Backlash......Page 87
RA and Dec Motor Unit Alignment......Page 88
Training the Motors (ECT: 10 Minutes)......Page 91
PEC \'Smart-Drive\' Training (ECT: 30 Minutes)......Page 93
Tripod Ground Placement......Page 94
Levelling the Tripod......Page 95
Finderscope Alignment (ECT: 15 to 30 Minutes)......Page 96
Focuser Adiustments (ECT: 10 to 15 Minutes)......Page 98
Conclusion......Page 99
Using Polaris to Find the North CelestiaI Pole......Page 100
Aligning the RA Shaft with the North Celestial Pole......Page 102
LXD75 - All Models......Page 103
Locating Polaris in the Polar Viewfinder......Page 104
Two Star Method......Page 107
Drift Method (ECT: 1 Hour)......Page 110
Setting up the Goto Facility......Page 111
One Star Alignment (ECT: 5 to 7 Minutes)......Page 112
Three Star Alignment (ECT: 6 to 7 Minutes)......Page 113
Alignment Setup - Success or Failure?......Page 114
Non-Goto Operation of the Telescope......Page 115
Conclusion......Page 116
An Experience to Forget .........Page 117
Location! Location! Where to Observe......Page 118
Equipment! What to Take Out......Page 119
Telescope Setup......Page 120
Slewing the Telescope......Page 121
Parking the Telescope......Page 123
Sleep Scope......Page 124
Summary......Page 125
Summary......Page 126
Observing Celestial Objects Across the Meridian......Page 127
How Faint Can You See - Limiting Magnitude......Page 128
How Far Can You Zoom - Magnification Power......Page 129
Dark Adaptation......Page 130
Telescope Operations......Page 131
Custom Rate......Page 132
Using the Telescope Without Goto to Find Obiects......Page 134
Using Goto to Find Obiects......Page 135
High Precision......Page 136
Digital Setting Circles......Page 137
Object Synchronization - The Sync Function......Page 138
Guided Tour......Page 139
Observing the Sun Safely - Some Very Important Advice......Page 140
The Sun - Solar Observing......Page 141
The Moon - Lunar Observing......Page 145
Mercury......Page 146
Venus......Page 147
Earth......Page 148
Mars......Page 149
Jupiter......Page 150
Saturn......Page 151
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto......Page 152
Asteroids......Page 153
Events - Meteor Showers......Page 154
Double Stars......Page 155
Other Star Catalogs......Page 156
Object Catalogs......Page 157
Named Objects......Page 158
Galaxies......Page 159
Nebulas......Page 161
Exotic Objects......Page 162
Browsing the Autostar Object Database......Page 163
Summary......Page 165
Connecting the Autostar to a PC......Page 166
The Autostar Serial Port......Page 167
Computer Setup......Page 168
Upgrading the Firmware......Page 169
Autostar Cloning......Page 171
Connecting Autostar to Other Devices......Page 172
Choosing the Right Equipment......Page 173
Film Sensitivity......Page 174
Astrophotography with an LXD Telescope......Page 175
Piggyback Astrophotography......Page 176
Prime Focus......Page 177
Afocal Projection......Page 178
Guiding Tips for Prime Focus and Eyepiece Projection......Page 179
Digital Imaging......Page 180
Webcam Imaging......Page 181
CCD Imaging......Page 182
Digital Cameras......Page 183
Video Cameras......Page 184
Conclusion......Page 185
Collimating Your LXD Telescope for Pin-Sharp Images......Page 187
Star Testing (ECT: 15 Minutes)......Page 188
Collimating the AR Refractor (ECT: 1 to 2 Hours)......Page 190
Collimating the SNT (ECT: 1 to 2 Hours)......Page 191
Collimating the SCT (ECT: 1 to 2 Hours)......Page 193
Collimation Summary......Page 195
Cleaning Objective Lens and Corrector Plates......Page 197
Eyepiece Cleaning......Page 198
General Maintenance......Page 199
Storing the Telescope......Page 200
Storing the Telescope Outdoors......Page 201
Summary......Page 202
Eyepieces......Page 203
Barlow Lens......Page 205
Star Diagonals......Page 206
Filters......Page 207
Color Filters......Page 208
Polarization Filters......Page 209
Filter Wheels......Page 210
GPS Add-Ons......Page 211
Power Supplies......Page 212
Meade #909 Accessory Port Module (APM)......Page 213
LXD Carry Handle......Page 214
Telescope Covers and Cases......Page 215
Summary......Page 216
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Where Did It All Go Wrong?......Page 217
Probable Cause and Solution......Page 218
Probable Cause and Solution......Page 219
Probable Cause and Solution......Page 220
Probable Cause and Solution......Page 221
Summary......Page 222
APPENDIX A Lists and Charts of Autostar Named Stars......Page 223
B1. Autostar Constellation List......Page 236
B2. Autostar Messier Objects List......Page 238
B3. Autostar Caldwell Objects List......Page 241
B4. Annual Meteor Showers......Page 244
APPENDIX C Autostar Menu Options......Page 245
LXD Telescope Websites......Page 247
Other Websites and Resources......Page 249
E.1 David Kolb Images......Page 252
E.2 George Tarsoudis Images......Page 253
E.3 Dieter Wolf Images......Page 254
E.4 Author\'s Images......Page 255
Index......Page 256
Other Titles in this Series......Page 260