| Add
the Meade Autostar to your ETX telescope for fully
automatic celestial object-location!
One of the most important advances in telescope
control in the past 25 years, the Meade #497 Autostar
Computer Controller turns the ETX-90EC,
ETX-105EC, or ETX-125EC into an automatic celestial
object locating system. Just plug the Autostar into the
telescope's HBX port in place of the standard-equipment
Electronic Controller, do a quick (less than one
minute!) telescope alignment, and you're ready to
observe any object in the Autostar's 30,000-object
database.
| The
#497 Autostar Computer Controller plugs into
the control panel of ETX-90EC, ETX-105EC, and
ETX-125EC telescopes and enables automatic
location of more than 30,000 celestial objects. |
Best of all, the Meade Autostar is easy to use. Even
the most novice observer will find himself or herself
locating dozens of fascinating celestial objects the
very first night out - from commonly-observed objects
such as the rings of Saturn, the satellites of Jupiter,
and the Orion Nebula (M42); to more difficult objects
such as the Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra, the Spiral Galaxy
(M33) in Triangulum, and the Sombrero Galaxy (M104) in
Virgo; to very obscure objects near the telescope's
threshold of visibility such as the diffuse nebula NGC
6559 in Sagittarius, the galactic star cluster NGC 1778
in Auriga, and the spiral galaxy NGC 3310 in Ursa Major.
Any of Autostar's database objects can be called up
and entered on the hand controller display in seconds.
The observer then simply presses the GO TO pushbutton
and watches as the telescope automatically slews (moves)
to the object and places it in the field of view. The
effect of Autostar is to bring objects easily within
reach which were previously unreachable for all but the
most dedicated of amateur astronomers.
Without exaggeration the Meade Autostar Computer
Controller opens up a new era in astronomical study for
the casual or beginning astronomer, just as Meade LX200
and LX200GPS Schmidt-Cassegrains have for the advanced
amateur. Most Autostar users see more celestial objects
in one night's viewing than typical first-time telescope
owners previously have in a lifetime.
Object Database: Included within Autostar's database
are all of the following astronomical objects - a range
of objects certain to keep even the most active amateur
astronomer growing in his or her studies of the skies
for years:
| 5,386
|
objects
from the Index Catalog (IC); galaxies, nebulae,
and star clusters of all types; the complete
Index Catalog
|
| 7,840
|
objects
from the New General Catalog (NGC); additional
galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters of all
types; the complete New General Catalog |
| 109
|
objects
from the Caldwell Catalog of the best objects
for small telescopes |
| 110
|
Messier
(M) objects; the complete Messier catalog |
| 16,800
|
stars
from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
(SAO) catalog, including double stars, variable
stars, and other stars of special note |
| 50
|
Earth-orbiting
satellites |
| 26
|
asteroids,
including all of the brightest asteroids |
| 15
|
periodic
comets |
| 8
|
major
planets from Mercury to Pluto |
Any of the objects in the preceding listing can be
located simply by calling up the object from the
Autostar database and pressing GO TO. Within seconds
Autostar directs the ETX telescope to move automatically
to the object and place it within the telescopic field
of view with uncanny precision.
Call-up of an object from the database is facilitated
by Autostar's simple menu options. For example, to enter
NGC 6960 on the Autostar display, the observer selects
in sequence (and in a few seconds of keystrokes):
OBJECT/DEEP SKY/NGC OBJECTS/6960. When GO TO is pressed,
the telescope moves at 5° per second on both axes,
simultaneously, to place NGC 6960, the Veil Nebula in
the constellation Cygnus, in the telescope's field of
view.
|
| Autostar's
display reads out telescope position (RA and
Dec.), plus dozens of menu options. |
Additional Capabilities: In addition to
database object selection and observation, Autostar
permits a wide array of fascinating and educational
capabilities:
Automatic GO TO capability to any astronomical
object of known Right Ascension and Declination. In
the (uncommon) event that an object is not in Autostar's
database, enter the object's RA and Dec. from a star
catalog or monthly magazine, press GO TO and the
telescope automatically slews to the object, placing it
in the field of view. This type of object-location is
particularly useful in the case of aperiodic phenomena,
such as most comets.
Digital readouts of telescope position,
continuously in RA and Dec. Precise sidereal-rate
tracking in either altazimuth or equatorial modes. Once
an object is located by Autostar, the telescope
automatically tracks it and keeps it centered in the
telescope's field of view, fully compensating for the
Earth's rotation.
200 User-Defined Objects: The observer can add
the locations of up to 200 objects of his/her choosing,
store these objects in Autostar's memory, and call them
up at any time.
9-Speed Dual-Axis Operation: Use the Autostar
pushbuttons to move the telescope on either or both
axes, simultaneously, at any of nine drive speeds, from
2x sidereal to 5°/second.
GO TO capability to the centroids of all 88
constellations. Learn the locations of the
constellations; push the arrow key to read on the
Autostar display a description of the mythology of the
constellation, as well as to read of important objects
located within its boundaries.
Guided Tours: Allows Autostar to choose the
best objects for observing on any given night.
GO TO capability through Autostar's RS-232 serial
interface, using Meade AstroFinderTM astronomical
software (see photo below): Use the
optionally-available package of AstroFinder software and
the #505 Connector Cable Set to form a system consisting
of the ETX telescope + Autostar + your PC. Point and
click to any celestial object on the PC display and
watch as the telescope moves to the object and places it
in the field of view.
Plus: over 20 other menu options, including
major event menus (e.g., times of Moonrise, Moon phases,
minimums of Algol, equinoxes, etc.); utility functions
(e.g., timer, alarm, eyepiece power calculations); and
much more.
With Autostar plugged into your ETX-90EC, ETX-105EC,
or ETX-125EC, the astronomical universe is in the palm
of your hand: never before has such powerful telescope
technology been so easy to operate, even by the most
casual observer.
| Remote
operation of ETX telescopes using a personal
computer (PC): Meade ETX Astro Telescopes
equipped with the Autostar Computer Controller
may be used in conjunction with Meade
AstroFinder Software to operate the telescope in
the GO TO mode directly from the display of a
personal computer. With AstroFinder software
loaded into the PC, and with the PC connected to
the telescope through Autostar's RS-232* serial
interface, as shown in the photo at left, the
observer can point and click on any object shown
on the PC display. The telescope then slews to
the object on both telescope axes and places the
object in the telescopic field of view.
Meade AstroFinder Software is packaged with
the #505 Connector Cable Kit required for ETX-
Autostar-PC operation. *PC's only with USB ports
(i.e., PC's without RS-232 ports) require the
Meade USB/RS-232 Adapter in addition.
|
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