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Celestron NexStar 8i User Manual

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ASTRONOMY BASICS................................................................................................................... 28

The Celestial Coordinate System........................................................................................................... 28
Motion of the Stars................................................................................................................................. 29
Polar Alignment (with optional Wedge) ................................................................................................ 30
Finding the North Celestial Pole ........................................................................................................... 31

CELESTIAL OBSERVING .............................................................................................................. 32

Observing the Moon .............................................................................................................................. 32
Observing the Planets............................................................................................................................ 32
Observing the Sun.................................................................................................................................. 32
Observing Deep Sky Objects.................................................................................................................. 33
Seeing Conditions .................................................................................................................................. 33
Transparency ......................................................................................................................................... 33
Sky Illumination..................................................................................................................................... 33
Seeing .................................................................................................................................................... 33

CELESTIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 35

Short Exposure Prime Focus Photography ........................................................................................... 35
Eyepiece Projection ............................................................................................................................... 36
Long Exposure Prime Focus Photography............................................................................................ 37
Terrestrial Photography ........................................................................................................................ 39
CCD Imaging......................................................................................................................................... 39

TELESCOPE MAINTENANCE ....................................................................................................... 40

Care and Cleaning of the Optics ........................................................................................................... 40
Collimation ............................................................................................................................................ 40

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES...........................................................................................................43

APPENDIX A – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS .......................................................................... 46

APPENDIX B – GLOSSARY OF TERMS....................................................................................... 48

APPENDIX C –LONGITUDES AND LATITUDES.......................................................................... 51

APPENDIX D – RS-232 CONNECTION ......................................................................................... 56

APPENDIX E – TIME ZONE MAPS................................................................................................ 57

SKY MAPS ...................................................................................................................................... 59