Orion SKYQUEST XT10 - Manual (Page 17)

17
SATURN The ringed planet is a breathtaking sight. The tilt
angle of the rings varies over a period of many years; some-
times they are seen edge-on, while at other times they are
broadside and look like giant “ears” on each side of Saturn’s
disk. A steady atmosphere (good seeing) is necessary for a
good view. Look closely and you should see the Cassini divi-
sion, a thin, dark gap in the rings. You should also see one
or more of Saturn’s moons, which look like faint stars. The
brightest is the moon Titan.
VENUS At its brightest, Venus is the most luminous object in
the sky, excluding the Sun and the Moon. It is so bright that
sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight!
Ironically, Venus appears as a thin crescent, not a full disk,
when at its peak brightness. Because it is so close to the Sun,
it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon.
No surface markings can be seen on Venus, which is always
shrouded in dense clouds.
MARS The Red Planet makes a close approach to Earth
every two years. Observing Mars is most favorable at these
times. You should see salmon-colored disk with some distinct
dark patches, and you may be able to spot a whitish polar ice
cap. To see surface detail on Mars, you will need a high power
eyepiece and very steady air!
D. the Stars
Stars will appear as tiny points of light. Even powerful tele-
scopes cannot magnify stars to appear as anything more than
pinpoints. You can, however, enjoy the different colors of the
stars and locate many pretty double and multiple stars. The
famous “Double-Double” in the constellation Lyra and the gor-
geous two-color double star Albireo in Cygnus are favorites.
Defocusing a star slightly can help bring out its color.
E. Deep-Sky objects
Under dark skies, you can observe a wealth of fascinating
deep-sky objects; that is, objects that reside outside of our
solar system. These include gaseous nebulas, open and
globular star clusters, and a variety of different types of galax-
ies. The large apertures of SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonians
are particularly well suited to gathering light, which is critical
for observing these usually faint celestial entities. For deep-
sky observing it is important that you find an observing site
well away from light pollution. Take plenty of time to let your
eyes adjust to the darkness. As you become more experi-
enced and your observing skills get sharper, you will be able
to ferret out more and more subtle details and structure from
these fascinating objects.
Beginners are often surprised to discover that the deep-
sky objects they see through the eyepiece of a telescope
are mostly grayish, not colorful like those you see in long-
exposure photographs. The reason is that our eyes are not
sensitive to color in faint light. Still, there is something very
special about seeing an astronomical object in real time, with
your own eyes — “live,” if not in living color.
note about astrophotography
SkyQuest IntelliScope Dobsonians are designed for visu-
al, not photographic use. The Dobsonian mount is not an
equatorial-type mount, so it cannot be motor driven for long
exposure astrophotography. SkyQuests have also been opti-
cally optimized for visual use, since photographic optimization
degrades visual performance.
With that in mind, however, it is possible to do some simple
astrophotography with a SkyQuest IntelliScope. With the use
of afocal photography techniques (where the camera is simply
put right up to the eyepiece to take a picture) and digital cam-
eras, it is possible to take pictures of bright objects. Certain
photograph aids, such as the Orion SteadyPix, can help in
taking photos by the afocal method.
6. optional intelliScope
Computerized object
location
Perhaps the most exciting feature of the SkyQuest XT
IntelliScope is its compatibility with the optional IntelliScope
Computerized Object Locator (controller). When plugged into
the IntelliScope port on the telescope’s base, the IntelliScope
controller enables the user to point the telescope quickly and
effortlessly to more than 14,000 celestial object with the push
of a button. After a simple two-star alignment procedure, you
just select an object to view from the intuitive keypad, then
read the guide arrows on the Controller’s illuminated liquid
crystal display and move the telescope in the corresponding
direction. In seconds the object will be waiting in the tele-
scope’s field of view, ready to observe. It’s that simple!
Even without the optional IntelliScope controller, the SkyQuest
IntelliScope provides a tremendous observing experience.
But addition of the controller provides a whole new level of
convenience and capability, as you’re able to locate and view
more objects in an evening than you ever could before.
The IntelliScope controller works by communicating elec-
tronically with a pair of high-resolution, 9,216-step digital
encoders, one of which will reside on one of the telescope’s
side bearings (this encoder is included with the optional
IntelliScope controller), the other of which you installed dur-
ing assembly of the base. The encoders allow highly precise
positioning of the telescope to coordinates programmed into
the IntelliScope controller’s database for each object. Since
the telescope is not dependent on motors for movement, you
can point the telescope at your target much more quickly (and
quietly!) than other computerized telescopes can — and with-
out guzzling all those batteries in the process.
The IntelliScope database includes:
• 7,840 objects from the Revised New General Catalog
• 5,386 objects from the Index Catalog
• 110 objects from the Messier Catalog
• 837 selected stars (mostly double, multiple, and variable