werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 8429
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Just a couple alignment tips here.
1/ if your Nexstar does not have index pointers for getting the ota orthagonal(perpendicular to the vertical axis of the mount) make some. It's easy, and speeds up the alignment process.
2/ Most of the time, a 2-star alignment well done is just as accurate as the auto-align, and simpler to do. No lat/long entries to do, no finding North. However, if you use the 2-star method, it will NOT goto the moon/planets unless you go into the Menu, and input date/time.
3/ Best Pair is a great little Windows app for determining the best alignment stars for a given time/evening.
4/ Speaking of Alignment Stars, don't do what I was doing, and assume that the ones the scope would choose are the best ones. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Play with it a little. For example with my N8, the old Vega-Arcturus pair is OK if you want to explore in, and around Lyra, but Altair-Arcturus gives better accuracy in, and around Cygnus, and coincidentally U Major.
5/ This is a big secret here: You DON'T have to use the goto universally! Yes, it's a great tool, but not critical. Try it the old fashioned way. Find your brighter objects with the star-pointer/finderscope. Starhop with it. Have fun. Above all, keep you sense of humor alive.
6/ That star-pointer can be replace with a magnifying finderscope relatively cheaply. No batteries to mess with, and it can help tweak a missed goto into view.
Just some tips for newb, and oldster alike. Pete 
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55
Starhopper 6" Dob
Spaceprobe 130EQ
Black C8 OTA
WO Zenith Star 66 Patriot Edition
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
8X42 Bushnell H2O Porro
7X35 Tasco
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters
Dell Inspiron Dual Core 531s
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" A.Einstein.
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square_peg
Postmaster
Reged: 03/26/04
Posts: 29457
Loc: Maple Valley, WA
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Quote:
...
3/ Best Pair is a great little Windows app for determining the best alignment stars for a given time/evening.
...
Just some tips for newb, and oldster alike. Pete
Is 'Best Pair' available as freeware/shareware somewhere?
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Tom (Pegster)
DSH-8 (GSO Dob)
15x70 Oberwerks
SVP/ED80
WO 66 Petzval
Sears Discoverer EQ 60/900
8x42 Regals
History is Philosophy teaching by examples.
Thucydides
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b1gred
Enginerd
Reged: 04/01/04
Posts: 15711
Loc: Castle Rock, CO 6677' MSL
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You can get "Best Pair" at http://www.ilangainc.com/bestpair/
It is "freeware" but they ask that you register it.
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"Dark Skies & Great Viewing"
RandyR / W0RDR
GPS 9.25 XLT/Sky Align /FeatherTouch
TV85 w/FeatherTouch
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 8429
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Sorry about that, my bad. I got mine from Michael Swanson's Nexstar site. Address is www.Nexstarsite.com . Pete
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55
Starhopper 6" Dob
Spaceprobe 130EQ
Black C8 OTA
WO Zenith Star 66 Patriot Edition
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
8X42 Bushnell H2O Porro
7X35 Tasco
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters
Dell Inspiron Dual Core 531s
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" A.Einstein.
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Michael_Swanson
super member
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 189
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Hi Pete,
Do you mean to say you got the software to suggest alignment stars at my site? If so, you were either suggesting Jean Piquette's program for generating suggested lists of alignment stars (found in the Downloads section) or NexStar Observer List which suggests stars on the Alignment Star Chart (which can also be printed - both the all sky charts and the suggested pairs). Both are freeware.
Best regards,
Mike Swanson
Author of "The NexStar User's Guide"
Author of "NexStar Observer List"
http://www.NexStarSite.com
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 8429
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Michael, I was speaking of Mr. Piquette's software. Extremely useful piece of code. Thank you for chipping in here sir. I will of course defer to your expertise with the Nexstar Series.  Pete
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55
Starhopper 6" Dob
Spaceprobe 130EQ
Black C8 OTA
WO Zenith Star 66 Patriot Edition
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
8X42 Bushnell H2O Porro
7X35 Tasco
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters
Dell Inspiron Dual Core 531s
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" A.Einstein.
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 8429
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Wow! Can I kill a thread, or what? Pete
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55
Starhopper 6" Dob
Spaceprobe 130EQ
Black C8 OTA
WO Zenith Star 66 Patriot Edition
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
8X42 Bushnell H2O Porro
7X35 Tasco
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters
Dell Inspiron Dual Core 531s
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" A.Einstein.
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square_peg
Postmaster
Reged: 03/26/04
Posts: 29457
Loc: Maple Valley, WA
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Sometimes us little dogs have to fill in till the big dogs get here. Mike is Da Man when it comes to Nexstars. His site got me off to a good start. Still refer back to it when I'm not on CN.
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Tom (Pegster)
DSH-8 (GSO Dob)
15x70 Oberwerks
SVP/ED80
WO 66 Petzval
Sears Discoverer EQ 60/900
8x42 Regals
History is Philosophy teaching by examples.
Thucydides
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 8429
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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I have gotten a lot of good stuff off of Mike's site. I just figured a sticky with what I know would be helpful. If any of y'all got any tips feel free to chip in. share the wealth! Pete
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55
Starhopper 6" Dob
Spaceprobe 130EQ
Black C8 OTA
WO Zenith Star 66 Patriot Edition
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
8X42 Bushnell H2O Porro
7X35 Tasco
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters
Dell Inspiron Dual Core 531s
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" A.Einstein.
Edited by werewolf6977 (07/31/04 08:17 AM)
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square_peg
Postmaster
Reged: 03/26/04
Posts: 29457
Loc: Maple Valley, WA
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Agreed. Yours is a great list of alignment tips and will be very helpful for Nexstar users. The order of the tips is correct, too. Make orthagonal marks and do two-star aligns. I made my marks shortly before the Table Mountain Star Party. With just a two-star alignment, every Messier Object I attempted was in the FOV (near center) of my 30mm Ultima at 33×. That method really works great.
One thing I might add to your list is the importance of aligning the red-dot star pointer. This is easily done during the daytime by using an 'artificial star' like the red light on top of a radio antenna tower. With the pointer properly aligned, most objects are easy to find without goto (much more fun). Carefully study the objects position on a star chart and aim your pointer accordingly. If it's not in the FOV, try drawing imaginary lines through neighboring stars to more accuratlely place the red dot. This will help you learn the constellations and the names of stars to use in future two-star alignments.
Great thread, Werewolf! 
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Tom (Pegster)
DSH-8 (GSO Dob)
15x70 Oberwerks
SVP/ED80
WO 66 Petzval
Sears Discoverer EQ 60/900
8x42 Regals
History is Philosophy teaching by examples.
Thucydides
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markf
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/13/04
Posts: 1935
Loc: Houston, TX
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Quote:
4/ Speaking of Alignment Stars, don't do what I was doing, and assume that the ones the scope would choose are the best ones. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Play with it a little. For example with my N8, the old Vega-Arcturus pair is OK if you want to explore in, and around Lyra, but Altair-Arcturus gives better accuracy in, and around Cygnus, and coincidentally U Major.
Pete,
Can you expand on this? Is GOTO only acurate for certain constellations, depending on the alignment stars you choose?
Mark
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Celestron C6N on a CG5-GT
Orion 80mm Refractor (guidescope)
ToUCam Pro II
Canon Digital Rebel
http://www.carsandfish.com/astroweb
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 8429
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Mark see my response to your next post.
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55
Starhopper 6" Dob
Spaceprobe 130EQ
Black C8 OTA
WO Zenith Star 66 Patriot Edition
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
8X42 Bushnell H2O Porro
7X35 Tasco
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters
Dell Inspiron Dual Core 531s
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" A.Einstein.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Is there any way I can find out the Latitude and Longitude of where I live? For when I Align My scope?
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rustynpp
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/27/04
Posts: 1011
Loc: Rye, NY
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Quote:
Is there any way I can find out the Latitude and Longitude of where I live? For when I Align My scope?
I love this site. It's amazing how useful it is.
http://www.zipinfo.com/search/zipcode.htm
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Nick P
N8i
Nikon 10x50
PST-SM40
Rye, NY
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
Quote:
Is there any way I can find out the Latitude and Longitude of where I live? For when I Align My scope?
I love this site. It's amazing how useful it is.
http://www.zipinfo.com/search/zipcode.htm
Thanks, I should have said but I live in England so I can't use that site! Thanks anyway 
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 8429
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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I think Skies Above can help. run a Google, and see what you find. Pete
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55
Starhopper 6" Dob
Spaceprobe 130EQ
Black C8 OTA
WO Zenith Star 66 Patriot Edition
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
8X42 Bushnell H2O Porro
7X35 Tasco
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters
Dell Inspiron Dual Core 531s
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" A.Einstein.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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X: 419400m Y: 560000m
Lat: 54:56:03N (54.9343) Lon: 1:41:53W (-1.6981)
Thats what I get but how do I enter that into my HC as it displays a differnt format.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I think you have what you need there. 54 deg, 56 min 3 sec North, 1 deg, 41 min, 53 sec W.
FYI - for simple coordinate conversions, I use this freebie.. http://www.mentorsoftwareinc.com/freebie/FREE1198.HTM
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haleymon
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/10/05
Posts: 1234
Loc: Spring, Texas N.W. of Houston
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This was a GREAT thread I leard quite a bit
Thanks Guys
Dave
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Clear Skies to all
Dave
Celestron CPC 800 XLT
2" Astro Tech Dielectric Diag.
Orion Shorty Plus Barlow
Telrad
Canon 40D DSLR (On Its Way)
NexImage w/LE Mod
Starry Night Pro 5.0
5mw GLP
-------Haley's Haven Observatory-------
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Chris Emley
member
Reged: 04/24/04
Posts: 17
Loc: San Francisco, Marin
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You oughta try Google Earth (a free download from Google). I gives aerial surveys of most of the globe. I found my own backyard on it, centered the cursor on the concrete pad where I set up to stargaze, and read the very precise coordinates. Sure improved my Goto results!
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NexStar 8 with 8i controller & base
Denk Std with Dual Power Switch
19mm Panoptics
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