Orion STARBLAST 6/6I - Manual (Page 24)

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then use the up/and down arrow buttons to scroll through sev-
eral more specific options (“STAR”, “DOUBLE”, “CLUSTER”,
“NEBULA”, and “GALAXY”). If you know which one of these
object types you are looking at, selecting the object type will
make the identification quicker and more accurate. This is
because the computer will search through a shorter list of
potential object matches, and will allow proper identification if
there are several objects within the same field of view. If you
are unsure of the object type you are looking at, simply select
“ANY” from the list of choices. Once you have selected the
object type (or “ANY”), press the Enter button.
The identity of the object centered in the eyepiece will now
be displayed in the lower right area of the LCD screen. The
constellation in which the object resides is shown in the lower
left. As always, to get more information about the object, press
the Enter but-ton.
An interesting feature of the ID function is that once initiated, it
is continually active. So, if you press the ID button, and choose
“STAR”, for instance, you can move your telescope from star
to star in the sky, and the controller will automatically display
the star’s identity when you center the star in the eyepiece.
This can be a fun and easy way to identify the stars in the sky.
In fact, you can even make a “Name That Star” game out of it!
Point your finger at a bright star in the sky and see if you can
name it. Then, just point the telescope at the star to see if you
were correct or not. If the centered star is not in the controller’s
database, it will display the identity of the closest star that is in
its database.
To exit the identify function, simply press any other of the con-
troller’s function buttons. If you would like to identify another
object type, press the ID button again.
I. adding user-Defined Objects
Not only does the IntelliScope’s database contain over 14,000
fascinating objects to view, you can even add your own! Up to
99 user-defined objects can be entered into the database by
means of the User button. These user-defined objects can be
random stars, a faint object not contained in the controller’s
database, or just a pretty object that you would like to come
back to at some point in the future.
To enter a user-defined object into the database, you must
have the right ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.) coor-
dinates for the object. If you are currently observing an object
that is not in the controller’s database and you wish to add it,
but don’t know its coordinates, you can use the FCN button to
obtain its coordinates (described in next section).
To input a user-defined object, begin by pressing the User but-
ton. The LCD screen will display the word “NEW” with a two-
digit number flashing after it. Since no user-defined objects
currently exist, press Enter to create user-defined (“NEW”)
object number 01. The LCD will display the R.A. and Dec.
coordinates for the “NEW” object selected in the lower left.
Since no data has been input yet, these coordinates will be
00:00 +00.0. The first four digits indicate the R.A. coordinate
(in R.A. hours and minutes), and the remaining digits (and the
± sign) indicate the Dec. coordinate (in degrees). Now, press
the Enter button, and the first two digits of the R.A. coordinate
(R.A. hours) will begin flashing. Press the two numerical but-
tons on the keypad that correspond the hours value of the R.A.
coordinate. If the value of the R.A. hours is less than 10, make
sure to enter a zero first. Then the second two digits of the
R.A. coordinate (R.A. minutes) will begin flashing. Press the
two numerical buttons that correspond to the minutes value of
the R.A. coordinate. If the R.A. minutes are less than 10, make
sure to enter a zero first. Next, the sign of the Dec. coordinate
will be flashing. Use the arrow buttons to select “+” or “-”for the
Dec. coordinate. Then, the first two digits of the Dec. coordi-
nate will begin flashing. Press the two numerical buttons that
correspond to the degrees value of the Dec. coordinate. Then
the tenth of a degree value for the Dec coordinate will begin
flashing. Press the numerical button that corresponds to the
tenths of a degree value for the Dec. coordinate.
You have now input the data for your first user-defined object.
Remember that this object is now “NEW01”. If you wish to view
this object in the future, press the User button, and press Enter
once “NEW01” is selected. The guide arrows will then tell you
where to point your telescope to find the user-defined object.
If you wish to input another user-defined object, select
“NEW02” (by using numerical buttons or the arrow buttons)
after pressing the User button and input the data as out-lined
previously. If you select a “NEW” object number that you have
already entered coordinates for and attempt to input new data,
you will lose the data that was input previously. You may find it
convenient to keep a written log of the “NEW” objects so that
you can easily keep track of them.
J. The Function (FCn) Button
The IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator has several
other useful functions, a couple of which can be accessed by
using the FCN (function) button.
R.A. and Dec. Coordinates
By simply pressing the FCN button, the controller will give a
continuous readout of the telescope’s current R.A. and Dec.
coordinates. This can be helpful and powerful in a number
of ways. You can easily find any object in the night sky if you
know its right ascension and declination coordinates. Grab any
star atlas, choose any object you wish to view, be it faint gal-
axy or random star, and jot down its coordinates. Then, once
you have aligned the IntelliScope system, you can point the
telescope to that location by simply pressing the FCN button
and moving the telescope until the R.A. and Dec. coordinates
displayed match the coordinates of the object you wish to view.
You can also press the FCN button at any time to display the
current R.A. and Dec. coordinates of whatever you are cur-
rently viewing.
A common use for the FCN button is to locate “transient”
objects, such as comets and asteroids. To find these objects
you will need to learn their coordinates from astronomy
resources, such as Astronomy or Sky & Telescope magazines
or a reliable astronomy website. Comet and asteroid positions
will change from night to night, so entering the current coordi-
nates into the user-defined database is generally not useful.
After pressing the FCN button, the R.A. and Dec. coordinates
corresponding to the center of the telescope’s field of view are