Related Manuals for Celestron 114LCM
Summary of Contents for Celestron 114LCM
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Assembling the Telescope ... 7 Attaching the Hand Control Holder ... 8 Attaching the Motorized Base to the Tripod ... 8 Leveling the Telescope ... 8 Attaching the Telescope to the Base ... 8 The Star Diagonal ... 9 The Eyepiece... 9 Focusing... 10 The StarPointer Finderscope ... - Page 3 TELESCOPE BASICS ... 26 Focusing... 26 Image Orientation ... 26 Calculating Magnification... 26 Determining Field of View ... 27 General Observing Hints... 27 CELESTIAL OBSERVING... 28 Observing the Moon ... 28 Lunar Observing Hints... 28 Observing the Planets... 28 Planetary Observing Hints ... 28 Observing the Sun...
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Page 4: Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the Celestron LCM telescope! The LCM ushers in a whole new generation of computer automated technology. Simple and friendly to use, the LCM telescope is up and running after locating just three bright celestial objects. It’s the perfect combination of power and portability. If you are new to astronomy, you may wish to start off by using the LCM's built-in Sky Tour feature, which commands the LCM to find the most interesting objects in the sky and automatically slews to each one. -
Page 5: Parts List
60/80LCM Telescope Objective Lens Motorized Base On/Off Switch Tripod Accessory Tray Tripod Leg Extension Clamp Hand Control Focuser Knob Star Diagonal Eyepiece StarPointer Finderscope Altitude Clutch Knob Telescope Mounting Bolt... - Page 6 114LCM Telescope Eyepiece Focuser Knob StarPointer Finderscope On/Off Switch Tripod Accessory Tray Hand Control Motorized Base Altitude Clutch Knob Telescope Tube Telescope Mounting Bolt...
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Page 7: Assembly
To begin, remove all of the accessories from their individual boxes. Remember to save all of the containers so that they can be used to transport the telescope. Before attaching the visual accessories, the telescope tube and mount should be attached to the tripod. -
Page 8: Attaching The Hand Control Holder
Place the bubble level on the top of the motorized base. Adjust the tripod legs until the bubble level shows the base to be level. Your telescope optical tube has a built on dovetail mounting bar used to attach the tube to the base. To attach the telescope tube:... -
Page 9: The Star Diagonal
(For 60 and 80mm Models) The star diagonal diverts the light at a right angle from the light path of the telescope. For astronomical observing, this allows you to observe in positions that are more comfortable than if you were to look straight through. To attach the star diagonal: Turn the thumbscrew on the eyepiece adapter at the end of the focuser barrel until it no longer extends into (i.e., obstructs) the inner diameter of the focus... -
Page 10: Focusing
To focus your telescope, simply turn either of the focus knobs at the eyepiece end of the optical tube. Turn the focus knob until the image is sharp. Once sharp, turn the knob towards you to focus on an object that is closer than the one you are currently observing. -
Page 11: Attaching The Hand Control
In case of a loss of power, the optical tube can be moved by hand in altitude (up and down) only. However, when powered on, the telescope should always be controlled via the hand control. The telescope will lose its star alignment if moved by hand when powered on. -
Page 12: Hand Control
The LCM's hand controller is designed to give you instant access to all the functions the telescope has to offer. With automatic slewing to over 4,000 objects, and common sense menu descriptions, even a beginner can master its variety of features in just a few observing sessions. -
Page 13: Hand Control Operation
This section describes the basic hand control procedures needed to operate the LCM. These procedures are grouped into three categories: Alignment, Setup and Utilities. The alignment section deals with the initial telescope alignment as well as finding objects in the sky; the setup section discusses changing parameters such as tracking mode and tracking rate;... -
Page 14: Alignment Procedure
Sky Align is the easiest way to get your telescope aligned and ready to observe. Even if you do not know a single star in the sky, the LCM will have you aligned in minutes by asking for basic information like the date, time and location. - Page 15 Pressing the UNDO button will allow you to go back and select a new city location or longitude/latitude. Use the arrow buttons on the hand control to slew (move) the telescope towards any bright celestial object in the sky. Align the object with the red dot of the finderscope and press ENTER.
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Page 16: Auto Two-Star Align
As with Sky Align, Auto Two-Star Align requires you to enter all the necessary time/site information as before. Once this information is entered, the hand control will prompt you to select and point the telescope at one known star in the sky. -
Page 17: One-Star Align
Solar System Align is designed to provide excellent tracking and GoTo performance by using solar system objects (Sun, Moon and planets) to align the telescope with the sky. Solar System Align is a great way to align your telescope for daytime viewing as well as a quick way to align the telescope for night time observing. -
Page 18: Re-Alignment
Press ALIGN to make the change. Now that the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose an object from any of the catalogs in the LCM’s database. The hand control has a key designated for each of the catalogs in its database. There are two ways to select objects from the database;... -
Page 19: Slewing To An Object
To see the next tour object, press the Down key. In addition to the Tour Mode, the LCM telescope has a Constellation Tour that allows the user to take a tour of all the best objects within a particular constellation. Selecting Constellation from the LIST menu will display all the constellation names that are above the user defined horizon (filter limits). -
Page 20: Direction Buttons
The LCM has four direction buttons in the center of the hand control which controls the telescope motion in altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left and right). The telescope can be controlled at nine different speed rates. Pressing the RATE key (11) allows you to instantly change the speed rate of the motors from high speed slew rate to precise guiding rate or anywhere in between. -
Page 21: Tracking Rate
Tracking Rate In addition to being able to move the telescope with the hand control buttons, the LCM will continually track a celestial object as it moves across the night sky. The tracking rate can be changed depending on what type of object is being observed:... -
Page 22: Identify
For example, if you would like to slew to an object that is close to the zenith and are certain that the tube will not hit the tripod legs, you can set the slew limits to 90º in altitude. This will allow the telescope to slew to any object above the horizon without warning. -
Page 23: Direction Buttons
– lets the user define the direction that the telescope will approach when slewing to an object. This allows the user the ability to minimize the effects of backlash For example, if your telescope is back heavy from using heavy optical or photographic accessories attached to the back, you would want to set your altitude approach to the negative direction. -
Page 24: Sun Menu
Goto Calibration calculates the amount of distance and time it takes for the mount to complete its final slow Goto when slewing to an object. Changing the balance of the telescope can prolong the time it takes to complete the final slew. - Page 25 LCM Ready NexStar SLT MENU ALIGNMENT TRACKING SKY ALIGN MODE Saved Site ENTER if OK UNDO to Edit ALT-AZ EQ NORTH Center Alignment Object 1 EQ SOUTH RATE SIDEREAL SOLAR AUTO TWO-STAR ALIGN LUNAR VIEW TIME-SITE Saved Site SCOPE SETUP ENTER if OK UNDO to Edit SETUP TIME-SITE...
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Page 26: Telescope Basics
Once you have found an object in the telescope, turn the focusing knob until the image is sharp. To focus on an object that is nearer than your current target, turn the focusing knob toward the eyepiece (i.e., so that the focusing tube moves away from the front of the telescope). -
Page 27: Determining Field Of View
Continuing with our example, multiply the angular field 1.4° by 52.5. This produces a linear field width of 66 feet at a distance of one thousand yards. The apparent field of each eyepiece that Celestron manufactures is found in the Celestron Accessory Catalog (#93685). -
Page 28: Celestial Observing
This can damage the telescope and/or any accessories attached to the telescope. For safe solar viewing, use a Celestron solar filter (see Optional Accessories section of manual) that reduces the intensity of the Sun's light, making it safe to view. With a filter you can see sunspots as they move across the solar disk and faculae, which are bright patches seen near the Sun's edge. -
Page 29: Solar Observing Hints
The best time to observe the Sun is in the early morning or late afternoon when the air is cooler. To center the Sun without looking into the eyepiece, watch the shadow of the telescope tube until it forms a circular shadow. -
Page 30: 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 layers have different densities and, therefore, bend light differently. -
Page 31: Telescope Maintenance
(a couple of drops per one quart of water) can be used. To minimize the need to clean your telescope, replace all lens covers once you have finished using it. This will prevent contaminants from entering the optical tube. -
Page 32: Aligning The Primary Mirror
Phillips head screws until you feel a slight resistance. Do not over tighten the screw. If your telescope is out of collimation, the best way to re-collimate it is with a good collimation tool. Celestron offers a Newtonian Collimation Tool (#94183) with detailed instructions that make it an easy chore. -
Page 33: Optional Accessories
For ease of reference, all the accessories are listed in alphabetical order. Adapter, Car Battery (#18769) – Celestron offers the Car Battery Adapter that allows you to run the LCM drive off an external power source. The adapter attaches to the cigarette lighter of your car, truck, van, or motorcycle. - Page 34 A full description of all Celestron accessories can be found on our web site at Vibration Suppression Pads (#93503) – These pads rest between the ground and tripod feet of your telescope.
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Page 35: Appendix A - Technical Specifications
APPENDIX A - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS LCM 60 Design Refractor Aperture 60mm Focal Length 700mm F/ratio of the Optical System Optical Coatings Fully Coated Highest Useful Magnification 142x Resolution: Rayleigh Criterion 2.31 arc seconds Dawes Limit 1.93 arc seconds Light Gathering Power 73x unaided eye Field of View: Standard Eyepiece 1.6º... -
Page 36: Appendix B - Glossary Of Terms
Sun against the stars". Equatorial mount A telescope mounting in which the instrument is set upon an axis which is parallel to the axis of the Earth; the angle of the axis must be equal to the observer's latitude. - Page 37 1 and those increasingly fainter from 2 down to magnitude 5. The faintest star that can be seen without a telescope is about magnitude 6. Each magnitude step corresponds to a ratio of 2.5 in brightness. Thus a star of magnitude 1 is 2.5 times brighter than a star of magnitude 2, and 100 times brighter than a magnitude 5 star.
- Page 38 Terminator The boundary line between the light and dark portion of the moon or a planet. Universe The totality of astronomical things, events, relations and energies capable of being described objectively. Variable Star A star whose brightness varies over time due to either inherent properties of the star or something eclipsing or obscuring the brightness of the star.
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Page 39: Appendix D - Maps Of Time Zones
APPENDIX D – MAPS OF TIME ZONES... - Page 47 2835 Columbia Street Torrance, CA 90503 Tel. (310) 328-9560 Fax. (310) 212-5835 Web site at http://www.celestron.com Copyright 2010 Celestron All rights reserved. (Products or instructions may change without notice or obligation.) This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rule. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and 2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operations.
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