So far, after four nights, I am something less than sanguine. The smart drive mount works well enough, given some problems noted below. I have about 20 more pages of user manual to understand. That said, after the first engagements over four nights, the Celestron AVX go-to mount did the job after some angst and uncertainty. The "Information" and "Identify" buttons do make this a teaching tool, like an interactive planetarium with the actual sky above you right now as you see it. Tracking works well. I finally had the opportunity to sit in a chair and look at Jupiter for long minutes without having to turn a cable control knob. Not much happens quickly in the sky, but the rotation of Jupiter is one of them.
I need to learn the faux Arabic names of the stars - Caph for beta Cassiopeia, Mirfak for alpha Persei, etc., etc. Some I know: Betelgeuse, Rigel, Deneb, maybe a dozen easy ones, on top of other common names such as Antares and Polaris. However, here the entire database of Named Stars does not allow inputs such as delta Scorp. You can, indeed, choose epsilon Lyrae or eta Cassiopeia and many others from the list of Double Stars.
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| Celestron AVX Mount and Tripod with Explore Scientific 102 mm f/6.47 Achromatic refractor |
With a computerized telescope, I am reminded of Jurassic Park: All the problems of a major zoo and a major theme park. Here, you have two servo controlled motors and a warehouse of information databases, and all of it under the same menuing on a telephone style keypad, going back to the overhead crane come-along paddles of the 1970s. The UI/UX (user interface/user experience) people make their best guess and you learn the system they deliver.
The mount and tripod do thread up well. The mount pre-locks into place with two screws that meet on a flange. They call it "fine setting for azimuth" but it puts the mount in place for the central shaft screw that (1) secures the mount to the tripod and (2) secures the leg brace and accessory plate.
My other experiences included two large (8-inch and a 10-inch) Meade catadioptric telescopes. Integrated with the lens tubes as units, the mounts were difficult to set into the tripod. Getting the threaded rod into its threaded receptacle was a risky chore because I had to be careful not to lose control of the 35-lb telescope while tilting it and rocking it back and forth atop with one hand to find the engagement with the other while crouched below.
I have taken this apart and set it up four times now and it always goes together easily. (A couple of years ago, I replaced the thermostat in my Civic and the one-hour job took eight over two days with two installs to get it right. So, I'm a tough test for mechanical procedures.)
I had some problems. With Arcturus still above the tree line to my west, I chose that star for the first alignment and the telescope slued about a 90 degrees wrong northward and 90 degrees wrong in altitude. I powered down and waited. While it was unpowered, I checked north again. I use my cellphone aligned on the telescope. This is my backyard. I have been here ten years. I have recorded Polaris as a binary. I know north. But okay, I did it again, then powered up again.
10 September 2025 hours- I chose Arcturus again and this time it went well.
2027 hours - The next star was Antares. While jogging the instrument to align the star in the field of view, the paddle stopped responding. So, I waited, and five minutes later (2032) I selected Antares again and the mount aligned near the star and I brought the star into the center of the field of view at higher magnification.
2032- I chose Deneb for the 3rd star.
[Went in for dinner and to sleep and woke up about 3:00 AM.]
11 Sept 2021 0320 hours. Checked star charts before setting up because I could not see many stars up that I know by name.
0406 hours Aligned on Hamal (alpha Arietis) and Aldebaran, which was finally above the tree line to the east.
Chose the Solar System key on the pad and selected Uranus. Used magnifications 38, 77, 82 and 165 from 17mm and then 8mm both with and without 2X Barlow to repeatedly check the field, jog the instrument, select Uranus again, and again jog the putative target to center. If there was a planet in there, you could not prove it by me. The target offered was granted steadier and more circular than a star, but not by much. I have seen stars like that, especially when close the Airy limit. It was not much bluer.
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| The heaviest attachments: a 40 mm Ploessl ocular atop a 5X focal extender. Total instrument weight is below 14.3 lbs (6.5 kg). The mount is rated at 30 lbs and that is an occlusion. (See Part 1.) |
11 September 2021 2013 hours - Set up.
2050 hours - Aligned on Antares and Arcturus. No problems. Added Deneb and Nunki (now that I know which one is Nunki).
2051 - Chose the Deep Space key on the pad and then selected Messier, and entered 013.
2055 - Messier 13 the Hercules Cluster observed with 14mm and 2x Barlow for 94x. This was a win for me because I have been unable to find it on my own by star-hopping.
My intent here is to learn the locations of this and similar targets from the computerized go-to and then use a manual mount with a different telescope to find the target by star-hopping.
2105 - Messier 6, an object that I know.
2107 - Messier 7 - Ptolemy cluster well I know from previous sighting and manual tracking. It is a naked eye target.
12 September 09:19 hours.
Finishing this report. Last night after the 0100 AM session, I brought in the ocular kit, the power pack and the hand control. I covered the mount with a plastic garbage bag and covered that with a cloth-like water-resistant shower curtain. Nominally, the ambient temperature was 10 degrees F above the dew point, but weather is local and I know from previous sessions that my backyard gets wetter sooner. Celestron warns that the power pack in particular is not waterproof, and I take that to mean that nothing else is, either. This morning, the porch was damp to the touch, but the mount and tripod were dry. I brought them in.
After setting up in the living room, I used a Phillips screwdriver and a hex wrench to re-tighten the Right Ascension and then loosen and reset the Declination lock latch.
The forecast is for clouds and rain this week.
PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACTS
Misconduct in Science and Research
Junk Criminology as Pseudo-Science
Criminalistics: Science or Folkway?
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