Orion SKYQUEST XT12 User Manual download pdf (Page 18)

the sky, excluding the Sun and the Moon. It is so bright that

sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight!

Ironically, Venus appears as a thin crescent, not a full disk,

when at its peak brightness. Because it is so close to the Sun,

it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon.

No surface markings can be seen on Venus, which is always

shrouded in dense clouds.

MARS The Red Planet makes a close approach to Earth

every two years. Observing Mars is most favorable at these

times. You should see a salmon-colored disk with some dis

tinct dark patches, and you may be able to spot a whitish

polar ice cap. To see surface detail on Mars, you will need a

high power eyepiece and very steady air!

D. The Stars

Stars will appear as tiny points of light. Even powerful tele

scopes cannot magnify stars to appear as anything more than

pinpoints. You can, however, enjoy the different colors of the

stars and locate many pretty double and multiple stars. The

famous “Double-Double” in the constellation Lyra and the gor

geous two-color double star Albireo in Cygnus are favorites.

Defocusing a star slightly can help bring out its color.

E. Deep-Sky Objects

Under dark skies, you can observe a wealth of fascinating

deep-sky objects; that is, objects that reside outside of our

solar system. These include gaseous nebulas, open and

globular star clusters, and a variety of different types of galax

ies. The large aperture of the SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope is

particularly well suited to gathering light, which is critical for

observing these usually faint celestial entities. For deep-sky

observing it is important that you find an observing site well

away from light pollution. Take plenty of time to let your eyes

adjust to the darkness. As you become more experienced

and your observing skills get sharper, you will be able to ferret

out more and more subtle details and structure from these

fascinating objects.

Beginners are often surprised to discover that the deep-

sky objects they see through the eyepiece of a telescope

are mostly grayish, not colorful like those you see in long-

exposure photographs. The reason is that our eyes are not

sensitive to color in faint light. Still, there is something very

special about seeing an astronomical object in real time with

your own eyes — “live,” if not in living color.

Note About Astrophotography

The SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope is designed for visual, not

photographic use. The Dobsonian mount is not an equatorial-

type mount, so it cannot be motor driven for long exposure

astrophotography. The telescope has also been optically

optimized for visual use, since photographic optimization

degrades visual performance.

With that in mind, however, it is possible to do some simple

astrophotography with a SkyQuest XT12 IntelliScope. With

the use of afocal photography techniques (where the camera

is simply put right up to the eyepiece to take a picture) and

digital cameras, it is possible to take pictures of bright objects.

Certain photograph aids, such as the Orion SteadyPix, can

help in taking photos by the afocal method.

6. Optional IntelliScope

Computerized Object

Locator

Perhaps the most exciting feature of the SkyQuest XT12

IntelliScope is its compatibility with the optional IntelliScope

Computerized Object Locator (controller). When plugged into

the IntelliScope port on the telescope’s base, the IntelliScope

controller enables the user to point the telescope quickly and

effortlessly to more than 14,000 celestial objects with the push

of a button. After a simple two-star alignment procedure, you

just select an object to view from the intuitive keypad, then

read the guide arrows on the controller’s illuminated liquid

crystal display and move the telescope in the corresponding

direction. In seconds, the object will be waiting in the tele

scope’s field of view, ready to observe. It’s that simple!

Even without the optional IntelliScope controller, the SkyQuest

XT12 IntelliScope provides a tremendous observing experi

ence. But addition of the controller provides a whole new level

of convenience and capability, as you’re able to locate and

view more objects in an evening that you ever could before.

The IntelliScope controller works by communicating elec

tronically with a pair of high-resolution, 9,216-step digital

encoders, one of which will reside on one of the telescope’s

side bearings (this encoder is included with the optional

IntelliScope controller), the other of which you installed dur

ing assembly of the base. The encoders allow highly precise

positioning of the telescope to coordinates programmed into

the IntelliScope controller’s database for each object. Since

the telescope is not dependent on motors for movement, you

can point the telescope at your target much more quickly (and

quietly!) than other computerized telescopes can — and with

out guzzling all those batteries in the process.

The IntelliScope database includes:

• 7,840 objects from the Revised New General Catalog

• 5,386 objects from the Index Catalog

• 110 objects from the Messier Catalog

• 837 selected stars (mostly double, multiple, and variable

stars)

• 8 planets

• 99 user-programmable objects

With the user-friendly IntelliScope controller, there are

many ways to locate an object. If you know its catalog num

ber (NGC or Messier number, for instance), you can enter

it using the illuminated keypad buttons. Or you can press

one of the object-category buttons (Cluster, Nebula, Galaxy,

etc.) to access a list of objects by type. For a tour of the best

objects visible in a given month, you just press the Tour but

ton. Another great feature of the IntelliScope is the ability to

identify an “unknown” object in the field of view — just press

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Orion SKYQUEST XT12 User Manual Page 18

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