Celestron NexStar 8 User manual

2021/10/09 17:28 1/9 C8 & Celestron Advanced GT
OST Wiki - https://polaris.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/wiki/
C8 & Celestron Advanced GT
The Celestron 8 (C8) is our smallest Schmidt Cassegrain telescope not accounting for binoculars or
finderscopes. The telescope is usually attached to a Celestron Advanced GT mount, which can be can
be set up by a single person because of its compact construction.
Assembly
In the following the setup of this telescope and the mount will be explained step by step:
Description Used parts Telescope after the corresponding step
1
One needs to
carefully choose
the place where
the telescope
should be placed.
For example, the
relevant part of
the sky needs to
be visible (the
dome covers a
certain part of
the sky when the
telescope is
setup on the
roof) and the
cables of the
power supply or
the cameras
should not
become tripping
hazards. The
example setup
was performed in
the laboratory-
course room
directly behind
the door →
directly in the
way, hidden, and
no sky → Bad
choice!

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2
The tripod is the
backbone of the
telescope.
3
This disk is used
to stabilize the
legs of the tripod
from the inside.
The rod that
punctures this
disk will be
screwed (with
the side showing
the thread) from
below into the
basis of the
tripod. This
needs to be done
until the thread is
completely
visible on the
other side. The
rod should now
be vertically
slidable.

2021/10/09 17:28 3/9 C8 & Celestron Advanced GT
OST Wiki - https://polaris.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/wiki/
4
Now the mount
can be put on the
tripod basis. One
has to take care
that little
chromed pin
from the basis of
the tripod needs
to be placed in
the
corresponding
housing of the
mount.
5
In the next step
the
counterweight
bar and the
counterweights
needs to
attached to the
back-end of the
mount. First the
counterweight
bar needs to
thread into the
opening of the
declination axis.
Afterwards the
screw at the end
of the
counterweight
bar can be
removed and the
counterweight
can be place and
fixated on the
counterweight
bar.
Subsequently,
the screw can be
reattached to the
end of the
counterweight
bar.

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6
In the next step
the tube needs to
be attached to
the mount. The
tube is equipped
with a so-called
dove tail (the
orange thing)
that allows a
quick and easy
attachment of
the tube to the
mount. Simply,
insert the
dovetail into the
clamp of the
mount and
tighten the screw
of the clamp.

2021/10/09 17:28 5/9 C8 & Celestron Advanced GT
OST Wiki - https://polaris.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/wiki/
7
Afterwards the
hand terminal
and the power
supply can be
connected to the
telescope. Both
can be simply
plugged into the
labeled ports of
the mount. For
the hand
terminal the
corresponding
holder should be
attached to the
tripod first, so
that it can be
safely stored.
8
Subsequently,
the cover can be
removed from
the tube.

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9
If needed, the
sun filter can be
attached to the
tube. Thread the
screws on the
side of the sun
filter, so that it
cannot fall off
when the
telescope is
moving.
10
Before using the
telescope you
have to tare the
rotation axes.
First lose the
clutch knobs
fixing the right-
ascension axis,
until you can
freely move the
telescope around
this axis. Now
adjust the
position of the
counterweight
such that there is
no movement
along this axis
anymore. Tighten
the clutch knobs
again and repeat
this procedure
for the
declination axis.
As there are no
counterweights
for this axis, one
has to shift the
tube along the
clamp to tare the
declination axis.

2021/10/09 17:28 7/9 C8 & Celestron Advanced GT
OST Wiki - https://polaris.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/wiki/
11
Afterwards the
axes need to be
justified. To do
this, they need to
be move to the
index positions
as illustrated in
the image.
12
Now the
alignment can be
performed. This
procedure is very
similar to the one
of our C11 with
the exception
that the mount
will not
automatically
move to the
index positions
but fortunately
you already did
this in the step
before.

Last update:
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13 Finished!
Functions such as Hibernation
The operation of the Advanced GT as well as features like hibernation do not differ from the CGE-Pro
and can be found in the article on the C11.
Troubleshooting
Known error sources and their solutions can be found here.
Additional documentation
More details on the Celestron Advanced GT and the C8 can be found in the corresponding manuals in
the lab course room.
From:
https://polaris.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/wiki/ - OST Wiki
Permanent link:
https://polaris.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/wiki/doku.php?id=en:ost:telescope:c8_bedienung
Last update: 2021/06/08 14:24

2021/10/09 17:28 9/9 C8 & Celestron Advanced GT
OST Wiki - https://polaris.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/wiki/