Celestron CGE1400 - Manuals

7 Attaching the Center Leg Brace For maximum rigidity, the Super HD Tripod has a center leg brace that installs on to the threaded rod below the tripod head. This brace fits snugly against the tripod legs, increasing stability while reducing vibration and flexure. To attach the center leg brace: 1. ...

8 5. Tighten the screws to hold the column securely in place. Attaching the Equatorial Mount After the tripod is set up, you are ready to attach the equatorial mount. The equatorial mount is the platform to which the telescope attaches and allows you to move the telescope in right ascension and decl...

9 Dovetail Slide Bar Dovetail Locking Knobs Mounting Platform Figure 2-5 5. Tighten the locking screw on the side of the weight to hold the counterweight in place. 6. Replace the counterweight safety thumbscrew and washer. Attaching the Optical Tube to the Mount The telescope attaches to the mount v...

10 Installing the Star Diagonal The star diagonal is a prism that diverts the light at a right angle to the light path of the telescope. This allows you to observe in positions that are physically more comfortable than if you looked straight through. To attach the star diagonal onto a CGE 800, 925 o...

11 focal length (i.e., the smaller the number) the higher the magnification. Generally, you will use low-to-moderate power when viewing. For more information on how to determine power, see the section on “Calculating Magnification.” Installing the Finderscope The CGE telescopes come with a 6x30 or 9...

13 Balancing The Mount in R.A. To eliminate undue stress on the mount, the telescope should be properly balanced around the polar axis. Proper balancing is crucial for accurate tracking. To balance the mount: 1. Verify that the telescope securing knobs on the telescope mounting platform are tight. 2...

14 On/Off Switch 1 2v DC Power Power Cord Strain Relief 5. Slightly loosen the knobs that holds the telescope to the mounting platform and slide the telescope either forward or backward until it remains stationary when the DEC clutch is loose. Do NOT let go of the telescope tube while the knob on th...

15 6. Remove the center leg brace from the tripod. 7. Collapse the tripod legs inward, towards each other. The telescope is now broken down into enough pieces to be easily transported. Note : Before transporting the optical tube it is recommended that the two mirror locking screw located on the rear...

16 The CGE has a hand controller designed to give you instant access to all the functions the CGE has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 40,000 objects, and common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions. Below is a brief des...

18 Alignment Procedures In order for the CGE to accurately point to objects in the sky, it must first be aligned to two known positions (stars) in the sky. With this information, the telescope can create a model of the sky, which it uses to locate any object with known coordinates. There are many wa...

19 (10) to scroll through the choices. Refer to Time Zone map in Appendix for more information. • Date - Enter the month, day and year of your observing session. • Finally, you must enter the longitude and latitude of the location of your observing site. Use the table in Appendix C to locate the clo...

20 Quick-Align Quick-Align uses all the date and time information entered at startup to align the telescope. However, instead of slewing to two alignment stars for centering and alignment, the CGE bypasses this step and simply models the sky based on the information given. This will allow you to rou...

21 Object Catalog Selecting an Object Now that the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose an object from any of the catalogs in the CGE's extensive database. The hand control has a key (4) designated for each of the catalogs in its database. There are two ways to select objects from the datab...

22 Tour Mode The CGE includes a tour feature which automatically allows the user to choose from a list of interesting objects based on the date and time in which you are observing. The automatic tour will display only those objects that are within your set filter limits (see Filter Limits in the Set...

23 up in the field of view of the eyepiece). However, if any of the slower slew rates (rate 6 and below) are used to center an object in the finderscope, you may need to press the opposite directional button to make the telescope move in the correct direction. 1 = .5x 6 = 64x 2 = 1x (sidereal) 7 = ....

24 sidereal time. Local sidereal time (LST) is useful for knowing the right ascension of celestial objects that are located on the meridian at that time. View Time-Site will always display the last saved time and location entered while it is linking with the GPS. Once current information has been re...

25 Named Object or Messier catalogs, the hand control will let you know that the Ring Nebula (M57) is approximately 6° from your current position. Searching the Double Star catalog will reveal that Epsilon Lyrae is only 1° away from Vega. To use the Identify feature: • Press the Menu button and sele...

26 button, go with the higher value for positive, but use a lower value for negative. CGE will remember these values and use them each time it is turned on until they are changed. Filter Limits – When an alignment is complete, the CGE automatically knows which celestial objects are above the horizon...

27 • DEC Switch - This is the declination switch error value set when Utilities / Calibrate Mount / DEC Switch - Cone is carried out. • RA Switch - This is the R.A. switch error value set when Utilities / Calibrate Mount / R.A. Switch is carried out. Utility Features Scrolling through the MENU (9) o...

28 1. With the telescope set up and roughly positioned towards Polaris, align the mount using the AutoTwo- Star Alignment method. 2. Select Polar Align from the Utilities menu and press Enter. Based on your current alignment, the CGE will slew to where it thinks Polaris should be. Use the equatorial...

30 CGE Menu Tree: The following figure is a menu tree showing the sub-menus associated with the primary command functions EQ NORTHEQ SOUTHOFF MODE SIDEREALSOLARLUNAR RAT E TRACKING VIEW TIME-SITE SETUP TIME-SITEANTI-BACKLASHFILTER LIMITSDIRECTION BUTTONSGOTO APPROACHAUTOGUIDE RATEMOUNT SETTINGS SCOP...

31 Figure 4- 1 A A c c u u t t a a w w a a y y v v i i e e w w o o f f t t h h e e l l i i g g h h t t p p a a t t h h o o f f t t h h e e S S c c h h m m i i d d t t - - C C a a s s s s e e g g r r a a i i n n o o p p t t i i c c a a l l d d e e s s i i g g n n Actual image orientation as seen with...

32 Figure 4-3 The emblem on the end of the focus knob shows the correct rotational direction for focusing the CGE . Focusing The CGE's focusing mechanism controls the primary mirror which is mounted on a ring that slides back and forth on the primary baffle tube. The focusing knob, which moves the p...

33 To convert degrees to feet at 1,000 yards, which is more useful for terrestrial observing, simply multiply by 52.5. Continuing with our example , multiply the angular field .66 ° by 52.5. This produces a linear field width of 34.7 feet at a distance of one thousand yards. The apparent field of ea...

34 Up to this point, this manual covered the assembly and basic operation of your CGE telescope. However, to understand your telescope more thoroughly , you need to know a little about the night sky. This section deals with observational astronomy in general and includes information on the night sky...

35 Motion of the Stars The daily motion of the Sun across the sky is familiar to even the most casual observer. This daily trek is not the Sun moving as early astronomers thought, but the result of the Earth's rotation. The Earth's rotation also causes the stars to do the same, scribing out a large ...

36 Latitude Scales The easiest way to polar align a telescope is with a latitude scale. Unlike other methods that require you to find the celestial pole by identifying certain stars near it, this method works off of a known constant to determine how high the polar axis should be pointed. The Celestr...

37 2. Loosen the DEC clutch knob and move the telescope so that the tube is parallel to the polar axis. When this is done, the declination setting circle will read +90°. If the declination setting circle is not aligned, move the telescope so that the tube is parallel to the polar axis. 3. Adjust the...

38 Declination Drift Method of Polar Alignment This method of polar alignment allows you to get the most accurate alignment on the celestial pole and is required if you want to do long exposure deep-sky astrophotography through the telescope. The declination drift method requires that you monitor th...

39 With your telescope set up, you are ready to use it for observing. This section covers visual observing hints for both solar system and deep sky objects as well as general observing conditions which will affect your ability to observe. Observing the Moon Often, it is tempting to look at the Moon ...

41 Seeing Seeing conditions refers to the stability of the atmosphere and directly affects the amount of fine detail seen in extended objects. The air in our atmosphere acts as a lens which bends and distorts incoming light rays. The amount of bending depends on air density. Varying temperature laye...

42 After looking at the night sky for a while you may want to try photographing it. Several forms of celestial photography are possible with your telescope, including short exposure prime focus, eyepiece projection, long exposure deep sky, terrestrial and even CCD imaging. Each of these is discussed...

43 • T-Max 400 • Any 100 to 400 ISO color slide film • Fuji Super HG 400 • Ektar 25 or 100 2. Center the Moon in the field of your CGE telescope. 3. Focus the telescope by turning the focus knob until the image is sharp. 4. Set the shutter speed to the appropriate setting (see table below). 5. Trip ...

44 act as a shutter. The card prevents light from entering the telescope while the shutter is released. Once the shutter has been released and the vibration has diminished (a few seconds), move the black card out of the way to expose the film. After the exposure is complete, place the card over the ...

46 Using Periodic Error Correction Once the telescope has been properly polar aligned, select PEC from the Utilities menu and press ENTER to begin recording your periodic error. Here’s how to use the PEC function. 1. Find a bright star relatively close to the object you want to photograph. 2. Insert...

47 • Konica 3200 (color print) • Fujichrome 1600D (color slide) • 3M 1000 (color slide) • Scotchchrome 400 • T-Max 3200 (black and white print) • T-Max 400 (black and white print) As you perfect your technique, try specialized films, that is films that are designed or specially treated for celestial...

49 F as tar L ens A s s em bl The key factors for good CCD imaging are; exposure time, field-of-view, image size, and pixel resolution. As the F/# goes down (or gets faster), the exposure times needed decreases, the field-of-view-increases, but the image scale of the object gets smaller. What is the...

50 with a 30 second exposure and can be improved upon dramatically if several 30-60 second exposures are added together . F/6.3 with Reducer/Corrector When imaging some objects like planetary nebula (for example M57, the Ring Nebula) and small galaxies (M104, the Sombrero Galaxy), larger image scale...

51 Auto Guiding The CGE telescope has a designated auto guiding port for use with a CCD autoguider. The diagram below may be useful when connecting the CCD camera cable to the CGE and calibrating the autoguider. Note that the four outputs are active-low, with internal pull-ups and are capable of sin...

52 While your CGE telescope requires little maintenance, there are a few things to remember that will ensure your telescope performs at its best. Care and Cleaning of the Optics Occasionally, dust and/or moisture may build up on the corrector plate of your telescope. Special care should be taken whe...

53 Figure 8-3 A collimated telescope should appear symmetrical with the central obstruction centered in the star's diffraction pattern. To accomplish this, you need to tighten the secondary collimation screw(s) that move the star across the field toward the direction of the skewed light. These screw...

54 You will find that additional accessories enhance your viewing pleasure and expand the usefulness of your telescope. For ease of reference, all the accessories are listed in alphabetical order. Adapter AC (#18773) - Allow DC (battery powered) telescopes to be converted for use with 120 volt AC po...

55 Fastar Lens Assembly – (#94 1 80 – 8", #94 1 79 – 11 ", #94 1 8 1 - 1 4 ) - For the ultimate in deep-sky imaging, a Fastar Lens Assembly can be combined with any of Celestron's Fastar compatible telescope to achieve amazing f/2 wide-field images. Celestron offers the lens assembly complet...

64 Appendix B - RS-232 Connection You can control your CGE telescope with a computer via the RS-232 port on the computerized hand control and using an optional RS-232 cable (#93920). Once connected, the CGE can be controlled using popular astronomy software programs. Communication Protocol: CGE-i co...

65 Additional RS232 Commands S S e e n n d d A A n n y y T T r r a a c c k k R R a a t t e e T T h h r r o o u u g g h h R R S S 2 2 3 3 2 2 T T o o T T h h e e H H a a n n d d C C o o n n t t r r o o l l 1. Multiply the desired tracking rate (arcseconds/second) by 4. Example: if the desired trackra...

CELESTRON TWO YEAR WARRANTY A. Celestron warrants this telescope to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years. Celestron will repair or replace such product or part thereof which, upon inspection by Celestron, is found to be defective in materials or workmanship. As a condition...