Vixen Sphinx SXP - Manual (Page 25)

Right Ascension (Hour Angle)
Celestial Pole
Polaris
★ 天体
Celestial Equator
Equinox
★ Celestial Object
Ecliptic Ecliptic
Declination (Degree)
Chapter 4 AUTOMATIC GOTO SLEWING
Automatic Go-To Slewing
The moon and bright planets are found readily in the night sky as you can locate their positions with ease. However, less bright planets,
nebulae and star clusters are dim and mostly invisible with the unaided eye. Even if you know where these dim and blurred objects are in the
night sky, it often takes time and effort to look for them. The automatic Go-To slewing with the STAR BOOK TEN will assist you in locating
celestial objects easily and quickly.
The principle of the automatic Go-To Slewing
It appears that the positions of stars relative to each other in the sky are all but fixed due to their extrmemly long distances from us on the
earth. Because of this, the star's positions on celestial spheres can be measured on star maps using celestial coordinates. The right
ascention of the celestial spheres corresponds to latitude and the declination corresponds to altitude on the geograhic maps. The STAR
BOOK TEN acts as a celestial navigator like your car navigation system.
Startup Procedure
Locating the Mount
Point the mount toward the north celestial pole in the northern hemisphere (the south in the
southern hemisphere) so that the R.A. axis on the mount is parallel with the axis of the celestial
sphere in your observing location.
Setting Home Position
Loosen the clamps on the R.A and declination axes and move the telescope to the home
position by hand. Point the optical tube to due west horizon in the northern hemisphere (due
east horizon in the southern hemisphere) to fix the home position.
Two Star Alignment
Select two stars from the list in the STAR BOOK TEN to align the telescope. The more
alignment stars you select, the more centrally located the target objects will be in your
telescope's field of view.
Automatic GOTO slewing
Choose your target on the screen of the star chart or from the database of extensive celestial
objects in the menu and slew the telescope to your target. Enjoy your observing!
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