Meade LXD55 Series, Instruction Manual

34

Observing Satellites

In this procedure, you will prepare your telescope to observe a satellite pass.

1.  Navigate to the "Object: Satellite" menu option and press ENTER.

2.  Use the Scroll keys to scroll through the list of satellites. 

3.  Select a satellite from the list and press ENTER.

4.  "Calculating...." and then "Tracking..." displays. If the satellite is going to make a

pass, "Located" displays.

5.  Use the Scroll keys to display data about the pass: aos – acquisition of signal and

los – loss of signal. If you subtract the aos from the los, you can calculate how
long the satellite will be visible. Location information also displays.

6.  "Alarm" displays after the location information. Press ENTER and Autostar auto-

matically sets the alarm to sound a minute before the satellite's scheduled
appearance. You may return to regular observations until the alarm goes off. 

7.  When the alarm goes off, return to the Satellite menu and press a Scroll key until

the desired satellite is on the top line of the display. 

8.

Press GO TO. Autostar slews the telescope to where the satellite should appear.
The motor drive stops and a countdown is displayed. 

Note: If the scheduled appearance position of the satellite is obstructed
(i.e., by a building, tree, or hill), press ENTER and Autostar starts to move
the telescope along the expected satellite track. When the track clears the
obstruction, press ENTER again to pause the telescope, then continue
with this procedure.

9.  With about 20 seconds left on the countdown timer, start watching through the tel-

escope viewfinder for the satellite to enter the field of view. 

10. When the satellite enters the viewfinder field of view, press ENTER. The tele-

scope starts to track with the satellite. 

11.  Use the Autostar Arrow keys to center the object in the viewfinder, then look

through the eyepiece to view the object. 

Satellite orbits change and new satellites (including the Space Shuttle) are launched.
Visit the Meade website (www.meade.com) approximately once a month to get
updated information and instructions on how to download this data to Autostar. If
orbital parameters are more than one month old, the satellite pass may not happen at
the time predicted by Autostar. Downloading requires the optional #505 AstroFinder™
Software and Cable Connector Kit. See 

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES

, page 38. 

Note: Satellite observing is an exciting challenge. Most satellites are in
low orbit, travelling at approximately 17,500 mph. When visible, they move
quickly across the sky and are only in the field of view for a few minutes,
requiring Autostar to slew the telescope rapidly. Best viewing is near
Sunrise or Sunset when the sky is still dark. Viewing in the middle of the
night can be problematic because the satellite may pass overhead, but not
be visible as it is in the Earth's shadow.

Landmarks

This menu option allows you to define and store terrestrial objects in the Landmark
database. First, a landmark needs to be stored in memory using the "Landmark: Add"
option. To view a landmark, use the "Landmark: Select" option. Landmarks may also
be viewed using the "Landmark Survey" option in the Utilities menu.

To Add a landmark to the database:
In this procedure, you will store the location of terrestrial landmarks in Autostar's
memory.
1.  Note for future reference where the telescope is located.  Select an easily recog-

nizable reference object and center the object in the telescope eyepiece. Each time
you wish to view landmarks you have added to the database, setup the telescope
in this location and center the reference object in the eyepiece. If you do not use a
consistent point of reference, the telescope will not be able to locate the objects you
have added to the database.

Tip:
To use the Landmark func-
tion, the telescope must be
located and aligned exactly
as when the landmark(s)
was added to the database.