Meade Instruments LX600 - Manual (Page 69)

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Appendix I
APPENDIX I:
THE MOON MENU
The Moon option of the Object menu allows you to observe the
moon in a way never possible before. You will be able locate
many specifi c features of the lunar surface, including hundreds
of craters, mare, valleys, and mountains. One special feature
allows you to view all six Apollo landing sites. While you won’t
be able to see details such as any of the lunar landers or lunar
excursion modules left behind by the astronauts (the best earth-
based telescopes can only resolve features of about a half-mile
across), you’ll be able pinpoint the landing sites and study the
terrain surrounding these sites.
When AutoStar II syncs to a lunar feature, the telescope switches
to Selenographic coordinates, i.e., lunar latitude and longitude.
To observe the Apollo 15 landing site using the
Moon option:
1. Initialize and align the telescope system as
previously described.
2. Press “5” on the AutoStar II keypad. “Solar
System: Mercury” displays.
3. Press a Scroll key until “Solar System: Moon”
displays. Press ENTER.
4. “Moon: Overview” displays. Press GO TO. The
telescope slews to the Moon.
5. With “Moon: Overview” on AutoStar II’s display,
use the Scroll keys to browse through the menus
options. Five categories of features are available:
Landing Sites, Craters, Mountains, Mare and
Lakes, and Valleys and Rills.
6. Select a distinct lunar crater with which you are
familiar, such as Copernicus or Kepler, from the
Craters option and press ENTER.
7. Then press GO TO to slew to that feature.
Center the feature in the eyepiece and hold
down ENTER for more than two seconds to
ENTER TO SYNC. The telescope is now synced to
Selenographic coordinates.
8. Press MODE twice to return to the features
list. Press a Scroll key until “Moon: Landing
Sites” displays.
9. Press ENTER. “Landing Sites:
Apollo 11” displays.
10. Press a Scroll key until “Landing Sites: Apollo
15” displays.
11.Press GO TO. The telescope slews to the Apollo
15 site.
12. Press MODE to return to the previous menu
option. Continue to press MODE to exit this
menu.
Use this method to fi nd other lunar features and points of interest.
When you have selected a feature, press the “?” key or use the
Scroll keys to display detailed information about the feature.
Press MODE to return to the menu options.
Fig. 26. Some easily recognized lunar craters.
Tycho
Kepler
Copernicus