Orion STARBLAST 6/6I - Manual (Page 22)

22
from the next constellation (in alphabetical order) will be dis-
played. To select another constellation in which to view a star
cluster, press the Cluster button again.
Locating Galaxies
Nebulas may be beautiful and star clusters impressive, but
nothing has quite the breathtaking power of observing a gal-
axy. Galaxies are collections of billions of stars that come in
a variety of shapes and sizes. Viewing a galaxy always gives
the observer a revelation of just how vast our universe truly
is. Keep in mind, however, that most galaxies are quite faint,
and may be challenging to identify, especially in smaller tele-
scopes.
To view a galaxy, press the Galaxy button on the controller. The
LCD screen will then display the word “GALAXY” with a flash-
ing three-letter constellation designation after it. Now, select
the constellation in which you would like to view a galaxy. Use
the arrow buttons to scroll through the list of constellations. If
you are unsure which constellation the three-letter designation
represents, refer to Appendix E. Once you have selected the
constellation, press Enter. A galaxy in that constellation will
now appear on the LCD screen, along with the guide arrows
to lead you to the galaxy. The current constellation is shown in
the lower left, and the galaxy’s proper name or catalog number
is in the lower right. If you wish to have more information about
the galaxy selected, press the Enter button.
To go to the next galaxy in the selected constellation, simply
press the up arrow button. The guide arrows will now direct
you to the next galaxy in the constellation. If there are no more
galaxies available in that constellation, a galaxy from the next
constellation (in alphabetical order) will be displayed. To select
another constellation in which to view galaxy, press the Galaxy
button again.
F. locating Stars
The IntelliScope database contains 837 stars. Stars always
appear like tiny points of light. Even powerful telescopes can-
not magnify a star to appear as more than a point of light! You
can, however, enjoy the different colors of the stars and locate
many pretty double and multiple stars. You can also monitor
variable stars from night to night to see how their brightness
changes over time.
To view a star, press the Star button on the controller. The
LCD screen will then display the word “STAR” with the word
“NAMED” flashing next to it. From this screen, use the arrow
buttons to choose from “NAMED,” “DOUBLE,” “VARIABLE,”
and “CATALOG.”
Named Stars
The named stars are the brightest in the night sky. These are
the stars that the ancients gave proper names to, like “Arcturus”
or “Mizar.”
To select a named star, press Enter after selecting “NAMED”
from the Star button choices. You can now use the arrow but-
tons to scroll through the list of named stars. The stars are
listed in alphabetical order. Once you have found the named
star you would like to observe, the guide arrows will direct
you to move the telescope to the star’s position. The upper
left corner of the LCD screen will show the named star’s ST
catalog number (the IntelliScope’s entire ST catalog is printed
in Appendix F for easy reference), and the lower left shows the
constellation in which the star resides. Pressing Enter again
will display the star’s R.A. and Dec. coordinates, its magnitude,
and a brief description.
To find another named star to observe, simply continue scroll-
ing through the list of named stars.
Double (and Multiple) Stars
Many stars in the night sky appear to be single stars, but they
are not. They are actually double or multiple star systems.
Some of these systems comprise two or more stars gravi-
tationally bound to each other, while others are just two (or
more) stars in the same line of sight. At high magnifications, it
is possible to “split” many double (and multiple) stars into their
individual components. It can also be interesting to contrast
and compare the different colors and magnitudes of the stars
in the system. Be aware, however, that good seeing conditions
are critical for separating close components of a double or
multiple star.
To select a double (or multiple) star to observe, press Enter
after selecting “DOUBLE” from the Star button choices. The
LCD screen will then display the word “DOUBLE” with a flash-
ing three-letter constellation designation after it. Now, select
the constellation in which you would like to view a double star.
Use the arrow buttons to scroll through the list of constella-
tions. If you are unsure which constellation the three-letter
designation represents, refer to Appendix E. Once you have
selected the constellation, press Enter. A double star in that
constellation will now appear on the LCD screen, along with
the guide arrows to lead you to the double star. The current
constellation is shown in the lower left, and the double star’s
name is in the lower right.
Note: Double stars typically have names like “Zeta” (Greek
letter designation) or a number like “36” (Flamsteed number).
The full names for these double stars are actually linked to the
constellation they reside in. For example, in the constellation
Andromeda, these stars would be “Zeta And” and “36 And.”
For more information about the double star selected, press
the Enter button. (The “S=” now refers to the separation, in
arc-seconds, between the double stars. For multiple stars, the
“S=” refers to the separation between the two brightest stars.
The “M=” now refers to the magnitude of the brightest star.) To
go to the next double star in the selected constellation, simply
press the up arrow button. The guide arrows will now direct you
to the next double star in the constellation. If there are no more
double stars avail-able in that constellation, a double star from
the next constellation (in alphabetical order) will be displayed.
To select another constellation in which to view a double star,
press the Star button, select “DOUBLE”, and press Enter.
Variable Stars
Variable stars are stars that change their brightness, also
called magnitude, over time. The period of brightness change
varies greatly from star to star; some variable stars change
brightness over several days while others may take several
months to noticeably change. It is fun and challenging to watch
a star’s magnitude change over time. Observers typically com-