Celestron NexStar 60GT User manual

Site name Description
Web site address
NexStar Resource Site The author's
web site www.NexStarSite.com
NexStar FAG Site Articles and tips for NexStar www.grcooperjr
.com/faq .htm
tele scope s
Yahoo NexStar Group Discussion group for all groups
.yahoo .com/group/
models of NexStar telescopes NexStar
Yahoo NexStarGPS Discussion group for the GPS groups .yahoo .com/group/
Group models of NexStar teles
cope sNexStarGPS
NexStar 50 Club
Web sitefor the NexStar 50 www .Ne xStarSite .com/
observerclubs - awards are nexstar50club.htm
given for a general list afobjects
and observa tionof lunar features
N exStar I mage Gallery A collection ofhundredsof www.buyastrostuff
.com/dons
imagestaken with all models of
NexStar telescopes
Matthias Bopp's Site A unique collection of technical www.dd 1us.de
information and tips for
NexStartelescopes
The Unofficial NexStar Dave Cole's
web sitefeaturing www.ne
xstarl1.com
11 Suppo rtSite tips
and resources for the
NexStar ~/1 1 GPS telescopes
Celestron's Web Site Official web siteof Celestron, www.celestron.com
manufacturerof NexStar
telescopes
Celestron's Download Productmanuals
and other www.celestron .com/
Site
downloads downloads/inde x.htm
259

260 The
NexStar User's Guide
Site name
American Associat ion of
Amateur Astronomers
Astronomical
league
Astronomy Magazine
Cloudy Nights
Telescope Reviews
NASA Web Site
ScopeReviews .com
Sky and Telescope
SkyMaps
Students for the
Exploration and
Development of Space
Description
Web site of theAssociation -
general astronomy information
Web site of the league - an
organization for amateur astronomers,
general astronomy information,
observation programs and
awards
Web site of Astronomymagazine -
news and general information for
amateur astronomers
Equipment reviews subm itted by
amateur astronomers
Official web site of the United States'
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
Equipment reviews by Ed Ting
Web site of Sky and Telescope
magazine - news and general
informationfor amateur astronomers
Free mon thly sky charts
Great source of informationon solar
system, deep sky objects, and
general astronomy
W eb site address
www .corvus.com
www .astroleague.org
www .astronomy.com
www.c1oudynights.com
www .nasa .gov
www .scopereviews.com
skyandtelescope .com
www.skymaps .com
seds.lpl.arizona.edu
Vendor and Manufacturer Web
it - "< .' " ',' ," .... , . "
Company
Adirondack Video
Astronomy
Adorama
Alp ine Astronomical
Anacortes Telescopes
Apogee Instruments
Apogee, Incorporated
AstroMart
Products - not es
CCD and v ideo cameras ,automated
focusing software, imaging accessories
Telescopes , accesso ries
The Baader Bracket, Baader astre-
photography adapters, other accessories
Telescopes , accessor ies
CCD astronomy cameras
Telescopes , accessories
Used equipment; you can both buy
and sell
W eb site add ress
www .astrovid.com
www .adoramaphoto .com
www .alpineastro.com
www .buytelescopes.com
www .ccd.com
www.apogee inc.com
www .astromart.com

Internet Resources
Company
Astronomics
Astronomy-Mall
Astro-Physics
Baade r Planetarium
BuyAstroStuff .com
Campmor
Cases and Covers
Coleman
Coronado
GRABBER Warmers
Hands On Optics
ITE Telescopes
Jim's
Mobile, Inc. UMI)
Kendrick Astro
Instruments
Losmandy
Morrow Technical
Serv ices
Optec
Orion Telescopes
and Binoculars
Pelican Cases
Peterson Engineering
REI
S . King Company
SAC Imaging
Santa Barbara
Instrument
Group
(SBIGI
ScopeGuard Cases
ScopeStuff
Products -notes
Telescopes, accessories
A short listing of astronomy vendors and
free classified ads for astronomy
equipment
Diagonals, Baader Solar Film, Baader
Color Filters, Baader Skyglow Filter,
portable piers
Telescopes , the Baader Bracket, filters,
astrophotography accessories ,
other accessories
Ray's Bracket, observing cha irs
Outdoor equipment supplier
You guessed it - telescope cases
and covers
Out
door equipment supplier
HAlp ho solar filters
Chemical hand warmers
Telescopes , accessories
C CD and
video cameras , other
accessories
Telescope accessories
Dew prevention systems, other
accessories
Rails, counterweights,mounting
accessories
Bob 's Knobs (no-tools collimation
screws for SCTs). no-tools tripod bolts
for the
N8/1 1GPS
Focal reducers (telecompressorsl
Telescopes, accessories
Telescope cases
EyeOpener 2" adapter for SCTs
Outdoor equipment supplier
A co llectionof 12V d .c.
convenience equipment
Video astronomy cameras
CCD astronomy cameras
Telescope cases
Accessories
261
Web site addres s
www.astronomics.com
astronomy-mall.com
www .astro-physics .com
www .baader·
planetarium.de
www .buyastrostuff.com
www.camp mor.com
casesandcovers .com
www .coleman.com
www .coronadofilters.com
www .grabberwarmers.com
www .handsonoptics .com
www .itetelescopes .com
www .jimsmobile.com
www .kendrick-ai.com
www .losmandy.com
www .bobsknobs .com
www .optecinc .com/
astronomy
www .telescope.com
www .pelican.com
www .peterson-web .corn
www .rei .com
www .skingco.com
www .sac-imaging.com
www .sbig.com
www .scopeguard .com
www .scopestuff.com

262 The NexStar User's Guide
Company
Products -notes Web site address
ScopeTronix Digita l ca mera adapters ,other www.scopetronix.com
acc essories
SightAndSoundShop Tel
escope s, acc essories www.sightandsound
shop.com
SKB Golf
cases suitablefor some www.skbcases.com
telescopes
and tripods
Starizona Telescopes,
accessorie swww.stari
zona .com
Starlight Xpress CCD as tronomy
cameras www.starlight-
xpress.co .uk
Tele Vue Telescope,
eyepiece , and accessory
www.televue.com
manufacturer
The Teles
cope Unique astronomy accessories
www.astronomy-
Warehouse mall.com/telescope-ware
house
Thousa nd
Oaks Filters www .thousandoaks
optical.com
UniversityOptics Eyepieces, Barlow lenses www.universityoptics.com
Van Slyke Engineering Zero-image-shiftfocusers, off-oxis www.observatory.org
guiders
Warehouse Photo T-mounts and various camera
www .war ehousephoto .com/
adapters
lenses&.htm
W illiamOptics Telescopes,accessories www.william-optics.com

The objects in the NexStar database areorganized byseveralcategories.Several ofthecat-
egoriesare thewell-knowncatalogs discussed in Chapters 2 and 6.
Named Stars (Alignment Stars)
The brighteststars in thesky are listed, pri mar ily for use asalignmentstars.
Nam e RA D ec M ag Constellation
Ac
hern ar Olh37m43' -57 °14' 0.6 Eri
Acrux 12h26m36'
-63 °05' 1.6
Cm
Albireo 19h30m43' +27 °58' 3.2 Cyg
Aldebaran 04h35m55' + 16°31' 1.1 Tau
Algenib
OO h 13m14' + 15°11' 2.9 Peg
Alpha Centauri 14h39m36' - 60°50' 0.0 Cen
Alp
hard 09h27m35'
-08 °39' 2.2 Hya
Alphecca 15h34m41' +26 °43' 2.3 CrB
Alpheratz
OO h08m23' + 29°06' 2.1 And
Altair 19h50m47' + 08° 52' 0.9 Aql
Antares 16h29m24'
-26 °26' 1.1 Sco
Arcturus 14h15m40' + 19°13' 0.2 Boo
Betelgeuse 05h55m10' +0 7°24' 0.6 Ori
Canopus 06h23m57'
-52 °42' - 0.9 Car
Capella 05h16m41' +46 °00' 0.2 Aur
Caph
OO h09m11' + 59°09' 2.4 Cas
Cas
tor 07h34m36' + 31° 53' 1.6 Gem
Deneb 20h41m26' +45 °17' 1.3 Cyg
Denebola
Il
h49m04' + 14°34' 2.2 Leo
Dubhe
Il
h03m44' +61°45'2Uma
Fomalhaut 22h57m39'
-29 °37' 1.3 PsA
Hadar 14h03m50' - 60°23' 0.9 Cen
Hama l02h07m10' + 23°28' 2.2 Ari
Mim osa 12h47m43' - 59°41' 1.5 Cru
M irach Ol h09m44' +35 °37' 2.4 And
263

264 The
NexStar User's Guide
Mi rfak 03h24m19' + 49°52' 1.9 Per
Mizar 13h23m56' +54°55' 2.4 Uma
Navi
OOh 56m43' +60°43' 2.8 Cas
Peacock 20h25m39'
-5 6°44' 2.1 Pay
Polar is 02h31m50' +89°16' 2.1 Umi
Pollux 07h45m19' +28°02' 1.2 Gem
Procyon07h39m18' +05°14' 0.5 Cmi
Rasalhague 17h34m56' +12°34' 2.1 Oph
Regulus 10h08m22' + 11°58' 1.3 Leo
Rigel 05h14m32' - 08°12' 0.3 Ori
Scheat 23h3m46' +28°05' 2.6 Peg
Si
rius 06h45m9' - 16°42' - 1.6
Cma
Spica 13h25m12' -11 °10' 1.2 Vi r
Suhai l 09h08m00' - 43°26' 2.2 Vel
Vega 18h36m56' +38°47' 0.1 Lyr
Double Stars
The reare 55 double sta rs in the NexSta r dat ab a se. Ad ditio nal d oubl e stars can be accessedw ith the
Star b
utt on on the h and contro l.Lis ts of those sta rs (h un dre dsfor the GT, thou s and s for the other
NexS ta r mod els) are available in the
Down loa ds sectio n of my NexStar Res our ce Site -
http ://www.NexStarSite.com.''
Nam e Ra Dec Mag Sep
/Po s angle Con ste llation
107 Aqr 23h46m01' - 18°41' 5.8 7" 1143 °Aq r
145 Cma 07h16m36'
-23 °19' 4.8 27" 1 65°
Cma
17 Cyg 19h46m26' +33°44' 5.0 26" 173° Cyg
19Ly n 07h22m54' +55°17' 5.6 14 .8" 1 315° Lyn
24 Com 12h35m08' + 18°22' 5.2 20
"/27 1° Com
30 Ari 02h37m00' +24°39' 6.6 39" 1274° Ari
32 Eri 03h54m18' - 02"57' 5.0 7" 1 347° Eri
35 Com 12h53m18' +2 1°15' 5.1 29" 1Trip le Com
38 Gem 06h54m39' +13°11' 4.7 7" Gem
54 Leo 10h55m37' + 24°45' 4.5 6.8" 1 110° Leo
61 Cyg 2l h06m36' +38°42' 5.4 30" 1 148° Cyg
94 Aqr 23h19m07' - 13°27' 5.3 13" 1350° Aqr
95 Her 18hoi- 30' +21°36' 5.1 6.5" 1258° Her
Acamar
02h58m16' - 40°18' 4.4 8" 182° Eri
Adh ara 06h58m38' - 28°58' 1.6 7.5" 1 161° Cma
Albireo 19
h30m43' + 27°58' 3.2 35" 154° Cyg
Algieba IOh19m58' + 19°50' 2.6 4.4" 1 124° Leo
Algorab 12h29m52' - 16°31' 3.1 24" 1 214" Cry
Almac h 02h03m55' +42°20' 5.1 10" 163° And
Beta Mo n 06h28m49' - 07°02' 4.7 3" 1132° Mo n
Casto r 07h34m36' +31°53' 1.6 1.8"
117 1° Gem
Cor Caro li 12h56m01' +38°19' 2.9 19" 1229° CVn
Dabih 20h21m01' - 14°47' 3.3 205" 1 267° Cap
Delta Cep 22h29m10' +58°25' 4.0 20"
1192 °Cep
Delta Ser 15h34m48' + 10°32' 5.2 3.9" 1 179° Ser
Epsilon Boo 14h44m59' + 27°05' 2.7 3" 1 303° Boo
Epsilon Lyr I 18h44m20' +39°40' 6.0 2" 1 353° Lyr
Epsilon Lyr 2 18h44m23' +39°37' 4.5 2.2" 180° Lyr
Epsilon Peg 21h44m11' +09°53' 2.5 83" 1 320° Peg

Objects in the NexStar Hand Control 265
Eta Cas OOh 49m03' + 57°49' 3.6 12" /312° Cas
Eta Puppis 07h34m20'
-23 °28' 5.9 10" /117° Pup
GammaAries O
lh 53m30' + 19°19' 4.8 8" /360° Ari
GammaCe t 02h43m18' +03°14' 3.6 2.7" /297° Cet
Graffias 16h05m26' -19°48' 2.9 14"
/21 ° Sco
IotaCancer 08h46m42' +28 °46' 4.2 31" /307° Cnc
Kappa Boo 14
h13m29' +51°47' 4.6 13"
/236 °Boo
Kappa Puppis 07h38m48' - 26°48' 4.6 10" /318° Pup
Lamda Aries
Olh 57m54' + 23°36' 4.8 38"
/47 °Ari
Mintaka 05h32m00' -00°18' 2.5 53" Ori
M izar 13h23m56' + 54°55' 2.4 14
"/1 51° Uma
Nu Dra 17h32mII ' +55°11' 5.0 62" /312° Dra
Omicro nCap 20h29m54' -18°35' 6.1 19" /239° Cap
Polaris 02h31m50' +89°16' 2.1 18" /218° Umi
Porrima 12h41m40' - 01°27' 2.9 3" /287° Vi r
Psi Piscium
Ol h05m42m+21°28' 5.5 30"
/1 59° Psc
Rasalgethi 17h14m39' +14°24' 3.5 4.6"
/10 7° Her
Rigel 05h14m30' -08°12' 0.3 9" /203° Ori
Sigma Cas 23h59m01' + 55°45' 4.9 3" /326° Cas
Tau I Aqr 22h47m43' - 14°03' 5.7 23" /121° Aqr
Tegman 08h12m13' + 17°39' 6.0 9" /89° Cnc
Theta 2 Cnc 08h26m48' +26°56' 6.3 5"
/2 17° Cnc
Xi Boo 14h51m23' + 19°06' 4.6 7" /326° Boo
ZetaAqr 22h28m50' +00°01' 4.6 2"
/207 °Aqr
Zeta Lyr 18h44m46' +37°36' 4.3 44" / 150° Lyr
Zeta Piscium 01h13m42' +07°35' 5.6 23"
/63 °Psc
Variable Stars
The hand co ntro l databaseincludesa small selectionof the most interesting variablestars.
Name RA Dec Min Max Period Constellation
mag mag in days
Algol 03h08m10' +40°57' 2.2 3.5 2.9 Per
Beta Lyr 18h50mOS ' + 33°22' 3.5 4.3 12.9 Lyr
Delta Cep 22h29m10' +58°25' 3.6 4.3 5.4 Cep
L Car 9h45m15' - 62°30' 3.4 4.1 35 Car
Mira 02h19m21' - 02°59' 3.4 9.2 332 Cet
R Car 09h32m15'
-6 2°47' 4.6 9.6 309 Car
R Cen 14h16m34' - 59°55' 5.9 10.7 546 Cen
R Cyg 19h36m26' +50°13' 7.5 13.9 426 Cyg
R Dra 16h32m39' +66°45' 7.6 12.4 246 Dra
RH or 02h54m06' - 50°52' 6.0 13.0 404 Hor
RLeo 09h47m34' +U026' 5.8 10.0 312 Leo
R Tri 02h35m47' +34°41' 6.2 11.7 266 Tri
RRL yr 19h25m27' +42 °47' 7.3 8.1 0.6 Lyr
SCar IOh09m22' -61°33' 5.7 8.5 150 Car
SS Cyg 21h42m34' +42°26' 8.2 12.4 50 Cyg
TCen
13h41m46'
-33 °36' 5.5 9.0 91 Cen
TCe p21
h09 m32' +68°30' 6.0 10.3 388 Cep
UGem
07h ssm 06' +22°40' 8.2 14.9 103 Gem
UU ma IO
h44m38' +68°46' 7.5 13.0 302 Uma
Zeta Gem 07
h04m07' +20°34' 3.7 4.3 10.2 Gem

266 The NexStar User's Guide
Named Obiects
A listingof some of the most spectacular deepsky objects.
Name RA Dec Mag S ize Type Const Comments
A
ndrom eda OOh 42.7
ffi
+41°16' 3.5 178' Gal Andromeda M31. The closest spiral
Ga
iaxyM 31 galaxy to earth.
Spanning3°across, the
Andromedagalaxy is
thefarthest objectthat
can be seen with the
nakedeye. Distance
=
2.8million Iy.
Di
amet er =180000 Iy.
Barnard 's 19h44.9ffi -14°48' 9.0 10.2' Gal Sagitt ariu s Irregular
dwarf galaxy.
Galaxy Distance=1.7
milly .
NGC 6 822 Diameter=10000 Iy.
Bear Paw 08
h13.2 ffi
+46°00' 11.7 1.7' Gal Lynx Moderatelybright,
Galaxy round,and well-resolved
NGC 2537 galaxy.
Beehive OC 08h40.l
ffi
+ J9059' 3.1 95' OC Cancer Open cluster containing
M44 over 200 stars,visible to
the naked eye.Also
called Praesepeand M44.
Distance=525 Iy.
Diameter=40 Iy.
Black-Eye 12h56.7
ffi
+21°41' 8.5 9.3' Gal Coma A spiral galaxy with a
Gai
axyM 64 Berenicesstrikingdark dust cloud
near thecentral nucleus.
Distance=20 million Iy.
Blinking Plan 19h44.Sffi + 50°31' 10.0 2.3' PN Cygnus Planetary nebuladisc
NGC 6826 with 11th-magnitude
centralstar.
Blue Planetary II h50.3
ffi
- 57°11' 8.0 0.2' PN Centaurus Small,r
ound planetary
NGC 3918 nebula.Blue in color
with 7th-mag nitudes
tar
in center.
Blue Snowball 23
h25.9 ffi
+42°33' 9.0 2.2' PN Andromeda A h azy blue planetary
NGC 7662 nebulaestim atedto be
1800 to 5600Iy awayand
20000 to 50000 AU
across.
Bode's Nebula 09h55.6
ffi
+69°04' 6.9 25.7' Gal Ursa Ma
jor A massive galaxy witha
M8 1 luminosity equalto 20
billionsuns and a total
mass of approx 250 solar
masses. Distance7
millio
nl y.
Diamet er
=36000 Iy.
Box Nebula 17h14.1
ffi
- 12°55' 11.0 1.1' PN Ophiuchus This planetary nebula
NGC 6309 has a greenishdisk and
appears rectangularin
shape, henceits name.
The Box Nebula is best
seen using an 0III
nebula filter.
BubbleNebula 23
h20.7 ffi
+61°12' 15' SR Cassiopeia Remnantof a supernova,
NGC 7635
named for its gaseousarc

Objects in the NexStar Hand Control 267
Name RA Dec Mag Size Type Const Comments
thatresemblesa large
bubble.
Distance=11000 ly.
Bug Nebula 17
h13.7 ffi
-37°06' 13.0 0.8' PN Scorpius Irregular-shaped
NGC6302 planetarynebula.
ButterfiyOC 17h40.1
ffi
-32°13' 4.2 15' OC Scorpius Also called M6. Bright
M6 open clustercontaining
about50 stars.
Distance=1300ly.
Diameter
=20 ly.
California 04h00.7
ffi
+36°37' 145' Neb Perseus Very faint, large, and
Nebula diffusenebula
NGC 1499 resemblingtheshapeof
Californ ia. Best seen
using ahydrogen-beta
filter.
Cat's Eye l7h58.6
ffi
+66°38' 9.0 5.8' PN Draco One of thebrightest
Nebula planetarynebulaewith a
NGC6543 centralstar nearly 100
times theluminosityof
the Sun.
Distance=3200 ly.
Diameter
=0.33 ly.
Christmas 06h
4I.l m+09°53' 3.9 60' OC Monoceros A very young open
Tree cluster,also called the
NGC 2264 Cone Nebula, with 150
members
surrounded by
dark nebulosity.
Distance=2600 ly.
Diameter
=20 ly.
Cocoon 21
h53.4 ffi +47°16' 7.2 12' Neb Cygnus A faint openclustersur-
Nebula roundedby nebulosity
IC 5146 that islocatedESEof a
large
dark nebula-
Barnard168.
Crab Nebula 05
h34.5 ffi
+22°01' 8.4 6' SR Taurus Also called Ml.
Ml Supernova
remnant that
was recordedby the
Chinese in the year 1054.
At itsbrightest,it was
visible evenin the
daytimeand cast a
shadowin thenighttime.
Distance=6500 ly.
Diameter
=10 ly.
Crescent 20h12
ffi
+38°21' 20' Cygnus A faint, very large
Nebula nebularwith adouble
NGC6888
star visibleinside. Best
seen with an OlII filter.
Deer Lick 22
h37
.1
ffi
+34°25' 9.5 10.7' Gal Pegasus A fairly brightelongated
Galaxy galaxy with four small
NGC 7331 companiongalaxies sur-
roundingit.
Double 2
h19 ffi
+57°09' 4.0 30' OC Perseus Two openclusters
Cluster visible

268 The NexStar User's Guide
Name RA Dec Mag Size Type Const Comments
NGC
869/884
to thenakedeye, each
with a diameterof about
70 ly.Both clustersare
veryyoung. NGC 884 is
8500 ly in distanceand
11.5 million years old.
NGC 869 is 7000
lyaway
and 6.4millionyears old.
Dumbbell 19h59.6
ffi
+ 2Z043' 8.1 15.2 PN Vulpecula One of theclosest
NebulaM27 plan
etar ynebulaeto
earth.Expandingat a
speed of 27
km/ s,it can
be estimatedto beabout
48 000 years old.
Distance= - 750 ly.
Diameter = 2 ly.
Eagle Nebula 18h18.8
ffi
-13°47' 6.0 35' Neb Serpens A large
open cluster
MI6
surrounded by adiffuse
nebula.A very active
region ofstarfo
rmation .
Distance= - 8000 ly.
Diameter= 70 ly.
Eight Burst 10h07.0
ffi
-40°26' 8.0 0.8' PN Vela Bright central star.
Nebula Namedafterits multi-
NGC 31 32 ring structure visible in
photographs.Distance=
2500 ly.
Diameter=0.7Iy.
Eskimo 07h29.2
ffi
+20°55' 10.0 0.7' PN Gemini Bright
inner ring
Nebula separatedby a
dark gap
NGC 2392 from
another faint outer
ring. Distance= approx.
2500 ly.
Ghost Of 10h24.8
ffi
-18°38' 9.0 20.8' PN Hydra Pl
anetar ynebula with an
Jupiter elongated inner ring.
NGC 3242 Distanc e= - 2600 ly.
Diameter =0.5 ly.
Helix Nebula 22h29.6
ffi
-20°48' 12.8' PN Aqu ariu s The largestand closest
NGC 7293 planetarynebulawith an
angulardiameterof half
the full Moon.
Distance= - 300 ly.
Diameter= 1.751y.
Hercules GC 16h41.7
ffi
+36°28' 5.9 16.6' GC He rcules Globularclustervisible to
M13 thenakedeye. The cluster
contains about I million
stars and isestimatedto
be 10billionyears old.
Distance= 25 000ly.
Diameter= 160 ly.
H ind 's 04h22.9
ffi
+l9 °32
mNeb TaurusVery faintreflection
Variablenebula.
Nebula
NGC 1555
Horsehead 05h41
ffi
-O Z024 'II.3 60' Neb Orion A
dark nebula that
Nebula resembles theshapeof a
IC 434 horse head, positionedin
fr
ont of a bright diffuse