Meade ETX Series Instruction Manual Download | Manualshive

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Diffuse Nebulae

are clouds of dust and gas where stars are formed. The Great Nebula in Orion (M42) is a diffuse

nebula that appears as a faint wispy gray cloud. M42 is 1600 light years in distance from Earth.

Galaxies

are large groupings of stars, nebulae, clusters, and more. The most common shape is spiral, but galaxies

also are elliptically-shaped, or even seen as irregular blobs. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the closest spiral-type
galaxy to the Milky Way. This galaxy appears faint, fuzzy, and cigar-shaped, is 2.2 million light years away and is a
fascinating object to see through the ETX.

Open Clusters

are loose groupings of young stars, all recently formed from the same diffuse nebula. The Pleiades

(M45) in Taurus is an open cluster. M45 is 410 light years away. Through the ETX several hundred stars are visible
in the Pleiades.

Constellations

are large, imaginary groupings of stars and are too large to be seen through a telescope To learn

the constellations, start with an easy grouping of stars, like the Big Dipper in Ursa Major. Then, use a star chart to
find your way from there.

3. Helpful Charts

a. Latitudes of the World

To aid in the polar alignment procedure, previously described in this manual, latitudes of major cities around the
world are listed below. To determine the latitude of an observing site not listed on the chart, locate the city closest
to your site.

Northern hemisphere observers (N): If your site is over 70 miles (110 km) north of the listed city, add one degree
for every 70 miles. If your site is over 70 miles south of the listed city, subtract one degree per 70 miles.

Southern hemisphere observers (S): If your site is over 70 miles north of the listed city, subtract one degree for
every 70 miles. If your site is over 70 miles south of the listed city, add one degree per 70 miles.

UNITED STATES

City

State

Latitude

Albuquerque

New Mexico

35° N

Anchorage

Alaska

61° N

Atlanta

Georgia

34° N

Boston

Massachusetts

42° N

Chicago

Illinois

42° N

Cleveland

Ohio

41° N

Dallas

Texas

33° N

Denver

Colorado

40° N

Detroit

Michigan

42° N

Honolulu

Hawaii

21° N

Jackson

Mississippi

32° N

Kansas City

Missour

39° N

Las Vegas

Nevada

36° N

Little Rock

Arkansas

35° N

Los Angeles

California

34° N

Miami

Florida

26° N

Milwaukee

Wisconsin

46° N

Nashville

Tennessee

36° N

New Orleans

Louisiana

30° N

New York

Now York

41° N

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma

35° N

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

40° N

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Summary of Contents for ETX Series

Page 1: ...irements for optical quality and field performance The result of more than five years in development by an elite team of Meade optical designers and engineers the Meade ETX is without question one of the most revolutionary telescopes to be developed in the past 25 years We urge the ETX user to read this manual thoroughly in order that you might avail yourself of all the designed in features at you...

Page 2: ...ay be necessary to slightly unthread the six alignment screws 4 and 6 Fig 2 to fit the viewfinder into the bracket With the viewfinder inside the bracket tighten to a firm feel only the six alignment screws down against the viewfinder tube Alignment of the viewfinder is detailed in this manual b Remove the SP 26mm eyepiece 1 Fig 1 from its plastic storage container and place it in the telescope s ...

Page 3: ...from moving horizontally Turning the R A Lock counterclockwise unlocks the telescope horizontally enabling the telescope to be freely moved by hand in a horizontal direction Turning the R A Lock clockwise locks the telescope in horizontal position R A Slow Motion Control 10 Fig 1 With the R A Lock in the unlocked position the R A Slow Motion Control may be used for manual slewing of the telescope ...

Page 4: ...ide the eyepiece before reaching focus Focal length is usually printed on the side of the eyepiece The Meade ETX is supplied with one eyepiece as standard equipment a Super Plössl SP 26mm eyepiece Thus the focal length of the provided eyepiece is 26mm Super Plössl refers to the optical design of the eyepiece a design specifically intended for high performance telescopes and one which yields a wide...

Page 5: ...he ETX viewfinder unlike most telescope viewfinders presents a correctly oriented image both up and down and left to right This orientation particularly facilitates the location of terrestrial objects The 8 x 21mm viewfinder is also a tremendous aid in locating faint astronomical objects before their observation in the main telescope a Focusing the Viewfinder The ETX viewfinder has been factory pr...

Page 6: ... the telescope on its drive base as shown in Fig 1 the telescope may be used for an extremely wide range of land observations Keep in mind however that terrestrial images through the ETX Astro Telescope will be right side up but reversed left for right Normally such an image orientation is not bothersome unless the observer is trying to read a distant sign for example If the telescope is to be use...

Page 7: ...e allows full use of its many optical and electromechanical capabilities It is in astronomical applications where the ETX s extremely high level of optical performance is readily visible The range of observable astronomical objects is with minor qualification limited only by the observer s motivation Understanding how and where to locate celestial objects and how those objects move across the sky ...

Page 8: ...onomical observations in the same way as just described for terrestrial observations simply set the telescope on a tabletop locate objects through the viewfinder and then observe through the main telescope Objects can be tracked or followed as they move across the sky by turning one or both of the R A and Dec Slow Motion Controls 10 and 16 Fig 1 Such usage of the telescope however is unnecessarily...

Page 9: ...umbscrew which locks the inner section to the outer section e Replace the center leg in the drive base The latitude scale will now be placed at an easily readable position 4 Unlock the R A Lock and Dec Lock 11 and 21 Fig 1 and rotate the telescope so that it is oriented as shown in Fig 8 Re lock the R A Lock and Dec Lock In this orientation the telescope s optical tube is lined up parallel to the ...

Page 10: ...lable and allows for polar alignment as high as 66 latitude Important note For almost all astronomical observing requirements approximate settings of the telescope s latitude and polar axis are acceptable Do not allow undue attention to precise polar alignment of the telescope interfere with your basic enjoyment of the instrument c Alternate Polar Alignment Procedure If desired more precise polar ...

Page 11: ...control system powered by three AA size batteries located inside the telescope s drive base see GETTING STARTED To use the motor drive follow this procedure 1 With the telescope polar aligned as described above turn the motor drive on using the switch 8 Fig 3 located on the bottom of the drive base 2 Northen Southern Hemisphere Operations Observers located in the Earth s northern hemisphere e g No...

Page 12: ...to read the R A of the object 3 The R A circle is now calibrated to read the correct R A of any object at which the telescope is pointed The Dec circle is already calibrated as described above 4 Without touching the setting circles move the telescope manually by unlocking the R A and Dec Locks or by using the R A and Dec Slow Motion Controls so that the setting circle indicators 5 and 6 Fig 7 read...

Page 13: ...hotography has its own rewards however rewards that short focus lenses can not duplicate A few tips on photography through the ETX 1 Use a rigid tabletop or the optional Meade ETX Field Tripod as a platform for the telescope At effective focal lengths of 1250mm to 1450mm even small external vibrations can easily ruin an otherwise good photo 2 Use a cable operated shutter release Touching the camer...

Page 14: ... half and full much like those of the Moon The disk of Venus appears white as sunlight is reflected off its thick cloud cover Mars is about half the diameter of Earth Mars appears as a tiny reddish orange dot It may be possible to see a hint of white at one of the planet s polar ice caps When Mars is closest to Earth additional detail on the planet s surface may be visible Jupiter is 11 times the ...

Page 15: ...e 3 Helpful Charts a Latitudes of the World To aid in the polar alignment procedure previously described in this manual latitudes of major cities around the world are listed below To determine the latitude of an observing site not listed on the chart locate the city closest to your site Northern hemisphere observers N If your site is over 70 miles 110 km north of the listed city add one degree for...

Page 16: ...N Frankfurt Germany 50 N Glasgow Scotland 56 N Helsinki Finland 60 N Lisbon Portugal 39 N London England 51 N Madrid Spain 40 N Oslo Norway 60 N Paris France 49 N Rome Italy 42 N Stockholm Sweden 59 N Vienna Austria 48 N Warsaw Poland 52 N SOUTH AMERICA City State Latitude Asuncion Paraguay 25 S Brasilia Brazil 24 S Buenos Aires Argentina 35 S Montevideo Uruguay 35 S Santiago Chili 34 S ASIA City ...

Page 17: ...rius Canis Major 06h45m 16 43 Winter Aldebaran Taurus 04h35m 16 31 TELESCOPE MAINTENANCE AND SERVICING 1 General Maintenance The ETX Telescope is a precision optical instrument designed to yield a lifetime of rewarding applications Given the care and respect due any precision instrument the ETX will rarely if ever require factory servicing or maintenance Maintenance guidelines include a Avoid clea...

Page 18: ...arm summer day excessive ambient temperatures can damage the telescope s internal lubrication and electronic circuitry A set of three English format hex wrenches is provided with each ETX Astro Telescope These wrenches are used as follows Small wrench 050 Use the small wrench to tighten the set screws of any knobs which may loosen e g the Dec Slow Motion Control knob Focus knob R A Lock R A Slow M...

Page 19: ...ice If you have a question concerning your ETX telescope call Meade Instruments Customer Service Department at 949 451 1450 or fax at 949 451 1460 Customer Service hours are 8 30AM to 4 30PM Pacific Time Monday through Friday In the unlikely event that your ETX requires factory servicing or repairs write or call the Meade Customer Service Department first before returning the telescope to the fact...

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