Celestron Nexstar Evolution Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope Specifications
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Appendix A Troubleshooting Checklist Troubleshooting Steps for the SkyPortal Alignment If you are having difficulty with your SkyPortal system, please review these steps before calling for technical support: 1. Do you have a fully charged the battery in your mobile device (iPad, iPhone, Android device)? If Yes then proceed, if No, please charge your device’s bat- tery before moving forward. 2. Have you disabled the “Sleep” mode on your smart device? 3. Is the tripod relatively level? 4. When Locking the Altitude and Azimuth Axises, be sure they are securely tightened. You may want to try this with the mount off fi rst to see how much pressure is required to lock the axis. 5. Low voltage: Whenever the mount experiences low voltage you may have prob- lems. We strongly encourage all users to fully charge both the mount and smart device prior to the observing session. See step 1! 6. Have you properly aligned the StarPointer red-dot fi nder? 7. Are you using your lowest power, widest fi eld eyepiece for the alignment procedure? 8. Is the ambient temperature below 32 °F or above 95 °F? If so, take measures to protect your smart device from these cold or heat extremes. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 165 J.L. Chen, The NexStar Evolution and SkyPortal User’s Guide, The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-32539-2 166 Appendix A 9. Are the alignment stars in different parts of the sky, and at least 10° apart. The Celestron SkyAlign process requires three alignment stars for accurate searches. 10. Are the alignment stars at least 20° above the horizon? The refractive effects of the Earth’s atmosphere near the horizon introduces inaccuracies to the alignment. 11. When all else fails, TOTOTA ! Turn Off, Turn On, Try Again! Appendix B Celestron Timeline 1960 Electronics engineer and owner/president of Valor Electronics Tom Johnson starts an astro-optical division to build telescopes. 1962 The fi rst product is unveiled to the Los Angeles Astronomical Society star party. The 18.5 in. Cassegrain telescope is well-received. 1963 The Celestronic 20 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope , or C20 is unveiled. Johnson used a novel production method for producing the C20 optics. 1964 The fi rst advertisement for the C20 premieres. By May, the name Celestron Pacifi c appears in a C20 ad. By December, Valor Electronics disappears, renamed offi cially Celestron Pacifi c. 1966 Celestron introduces the fi rst commercially available Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes (SCTs) 1969 Celestron introduces a full line of SCTs. 1970 Celestron begins printing, supplying, and distributing product catalogs. The orange tube C8 is introduced for $995. 16 in. and 22 in. observatory size telescopes are offered. 1971 Celestron introduces the C-5 5-in. SCT, along with the fi rst commercially available cold camera. 1972 Celestron relocates its production facilities to Torrence, CA. The C-14 14 in. SCT is introduced. 1973 Alan Hale becomes Celestron president. 1976 Celestron branded binoculars are introduced. 1978 Alan Hale becomes CEO of Celestron. New facilities in Torrence CA. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 167 J.L. Chen, The NexStar Evolution and SkyPortal User’s Guide, The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-32539-2 168 Appendix B 1979 The C-90 Maksutov-Cassegrain is introduced. Spotter or astro versions are availble, with the astro version mounted on a single-arm fork mount with clock drive. 1980 Celestron is sold to a Swiss holding company Diethelm. Johnson retires, and Hale remains president and CEO of Celestron. 1983 Celestron changes the tube color from orange to black, due to presence of toxic materials in the orange pigment. Enhanced StarBright coatings are introduced on the new Super C-8. 1984 Celestron partnered with Vixen introduce the fi rst computerized GoTo German equatorial mount , the Super Polaris mount with Sky Sensor . 1987 The author buys his fi rst Celestron telescope, an orange tube C-5. 1996 The Ultima 2000 computerized GoTo 8-in. SCT is introduced. 1997 Celestron introduced the Fastar system, an option on their SCT product line, enabling f/2 imaging with the removal of the Cassegrain secondary and replacing it with a CCD camera designed for this application. 1998 Diethelm sells Celestron to Tasco. 2001 The Nexstar GPS line of GoTo SCTs with integrated GPS is introduced. 2002 Three employees, including Alan Hale, purchase Celestron from Tasco. 2003 Celestron improves its coatings with the introduction of StarBright XLT. 2004 The author acquires a Celestron 11 GPS . (“It followed me home! Can I keep it?”) 2005 As a result of a legal dispute with rival Meade Corp., Celestron introduces SkyAlign three star alignment process. Synta Technology Corporation pur- chases Celestron. 2006 SkyScout Personal Planetarium is introduced. Nexstar SE GoTo SCTs are introduced. 2008 The Celestron CGEM GoTo mount is introduced. 2009 Celestron introduces the EdgeHD line of telescopes and the CGE line of heavy duty GoTo mounts . 2011 StarSense technology is introduced, enabling automatic GoTo alignment using a dedicated CCD imager and on-board fi rmware. 2014 The Celestron Evolution series of telescopes using Sky Portals Wifi con- nectivity is introduced. 2016 The Celestron NexStar Evolution and SkyPortal User Guide is published. Appendix C Celestron NexStar Evolution Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope Specifications Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 Optical design Schmidt-Cassegrain Aperture 150 mm Focal length 1500 mm Focal ratio 10 Focal length of eyepiece 1 40 mm Focal length of eyepiece 2 13 mm Magnifi cation of eyepiece 1 ×38 Magnifi cation of eyepiece 2 ×115 Finderscope StarPointer Star diagonal 1.25″ Mount type Single Fork Arm Altazimuth Tripod Stainless steel Power requirements Internal LiFePO4 battery included Highest useful magnifi cation ×354 Lowest useful magnifi cation ×21 Limiting Stellar magnitude 13.4 Resolution (Rayleigh) 0.93 arc s Resolution (Dawes) 0.77 arc s Light gathering power (compared to human eye) ×459 Secondary mirror obstruction 2.2 in Secondary mirror obstruction by area 14 % Secondary mirror obstruction by diameter 37 % (continued) © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 169 J.L. Chen, The NexStar Evolution and SkyPortal User’s Guide, The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-32539-2 170 Appendix C (continued) Optical design Schmidt-Cassegrain Optical coatings StarBright XLT Optical tube length 16 in Total telescope kit weight 35.4 lbs Max slew speed 4°/s Tracking rates Sidereal, lunar, solar Alignment procedures SkyAlign , auto two-star align , two-star align , one-star align , solar system align Communication ports One hand control and three aux ports for optional accessories SkyPortal app database Over 120,000 including 220 of the best deep sky and solar system objects USB charge port Yes Celestron NexStar Evolution 8 Optical design Schmidt Cassegrain Aperture 203.2 mm Focal length 2032 mm Focal ratio 10 Focal length of eyepiece 1 40 mm Focal length of eyepiece 2 13 mm Magnifi cation of eyepiece 1 ×51 Magnifi cation of eyepiece 2 ×156 Finderscope StarPointer Star diagonal 1.25″ Mount type Single fork arm altazimuth Tripod Stainless steel Power requirements Internal LiFePO4 battery included HIghest useful magnifi cation ×480 Lowest useful magnifi cation ×29 Limiting stellar magnitude 14 Resolution (Rayleigh) 0.69 arc s Resolution (Dawes) 0.57 arc s Light gathering power (compared to human eye) ×843 Secondary mirror obstruction 2.5 in. (64 mm) Secondary mirror obstruction by area 9.77 % Optical coatings StarBright XLT Optical tube length 17 in Total telescope kit weight 40.6 lbs Max slew speed 4°/s Tracking rates Sidereal, solar and lunar Alignment procedures SkyAlign , auto two-star align , two star align, one-star align , solar system align (continued) Appendix C 171 (continued) Optical design Schmidt Cassegrain Communication ports One hand control and three aux ports for optional accessories SkyPortal app database Over 120,000 including 220 of the best deep sky and solar system objects USB charge port Yes Celestron NexStar Evolution 9.25 Optical design Schmidt-Cassegrain Aperture 235 mm Focal length 2350 mm Focal ratio 10 Focal length of eyepiece 1 40 mm Focal length of eyepiece 2 13 mm Magnifi cation of eyepiece 1 ×59 Magnifi cation of eyepiece 2 ×180 Finderscope StarPointer Star diagonal 1.25″ Mount type Single fork arm altazimuth Tripod Heavy-duty stainless steel Power requirements Internal LiFePO4 battery included Highest useful magnifi cation ×555 Lowest useful magnifi cation ×34 Limiting stellar magnitude 14.4 Resolution (Rayleigh) 0.59 arc s Resolution (Dawes) 0.49 arc s Light gathering power (compared to human eye) ×1127 Optical coatings StarBright XLT Secondary mirror obstruction 3.35 in (85 mm) Secondary mirror obstruction by diameter 36 % Secondary mirror obstruction by area 13 % Optical tube length 22 in Total telescope kit weight 46.6 lbs Max slew speed 4°/s Tracking rates Sidereal, solar and lunar Alignment procedures SkyAlign , auto two-star align , two star align , one-star align , solar system align Communication ports One hand control and three aux ports for optional accessories SkyPortal app database Over 120,000 including 220 of the best deep sky and solar system objects USB charge port Yes Appendix D Messier Catalog During his lifetime, Charles Messier (1730–1817) was an astronomer noted for his comet discoveries. He found 13 comets and shared in seven more independent co- discoveries. Messier compiled a list of deep sky objects that would were easily confused for comets to help him in his comet searches . Ironically, he is more famous today for his list of non-comet deep sky objects than his comet discoveries . Known as the Messier catalog, it contains 110 objects (actually 109 because of a duplication), including nebulae, clusters and galaxies.