THE CELESTRON ULTIMA 91/4 AND ULTIMA 11 INSTRUCTION MANUAL Table of Contents INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................... 4 HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL ............................................................................................................................ 4 THE SCHMIDT-CASSEGRAIN OPTICAL SYSTEM ................................................................................................ 6 ASSEMBLING YOUR ULTIMA 91/4 AND 11........................................................................................... 7 SETTING UP THE TRIPOD.................................................................................................................................. 9 ADJUSTING THE TRIPOD HEIGHT.................................................................................................................... 10 INSTALLING THE DELUXE LATITUDE ADJUSTER............................................................................................. 11 Latitude Adjust Assembly Installation....................................................................................................... 11 Azimuth Adjust Assembly Procedure ........................................................................................................ 11 ATTACHING WEDGE TO TRIPOD..................................................................................................................... 13 ATTACHING THE TELESCOPE TO THE WEDGE................................................................................................. 14 INSTALLING THE FINDER ................................................................................................................................ 15 Attaching the Finder Bracket.................................................................................................................... 15 Attaching the Finder to the Bracket.......................................................................................................... 16 OPTIONAL ILLUMINATOR OPERATION ............................................................................................................ 17 Installing the Battery ................................................................................................................................ 17 Operating Information .............................................................................................................................. 17 INSTALLING THE VISUAL ACCESSORIES ......................................................................................................... 18 The Visual Back ........................................................................................................................................ 18 The Star Diagonal..................................................................................................................................... 18 The Eyepieces ........................................................................................................................................... 19 MOVING THE TELESCOPE IN R.A. AND DEC.................................................................................................. 19 ADJUSTING THE WEDGE ................................................................................................................................ 22 TRANSPORTING YOUR ULTIMA TELESCOPE................................................................................................... 23 STORING YOUR ULTIMA TELESCOPE ............................................................................................................. 24 TELESCOPE BASICS ............................................................................................................................... 25 FOCUSING ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 ALIGNING THE FINDER SCOPE........................................................................................................................ 25 DAYTIME OBSERVING.................................................................................................................................... 26 NIGHTTIME OBSERVING................................................................................................................................. 26 CALCULATING MAGNIFICATION ..................................................................................................................... 27 DETERMINING FIELD OF VIEW ....................................................................................................................... 27 GENERAL OBSERVING HINTS......................................................................................................................... 28 GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHY HINTS.................................................................................................................... 28 ASTRONOMY BASICS............................................................................................................................. 30 THE CELESTIAL COORDINATE SYSTEM .......................................................................................................... 30 MOTION OF THE STARS .................................................................................................................................. 31 POLAR ALIGNMENT ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Finding the Pole ....................................................................................................................................... 33 Latitude Scales.......................................................................................................................................... 34 Pointing at Polaris.................................................................................................................................... 35 Declination Drift....................................................................................................................................... 36 Aligning the RA Setting Circle.................................................................................................................. 37 USING THE DRIVE................................................................................................................................... 38 POWERING UP THE DRIVE.............................................................................................................................. 38 THE HAND CONTROLLER BUTTONS ............................................................................................................... 39 TRACKING RATE SELECTION.......................................................................................................................... 40 PERIODIC ERROR CORRECTION...................................................................................................................... 40 CONNECTORS................................................................................................................................................. 42 THE HAND CONTROLLER............................................................................................................................... 43 REPLACING THE BATTERY ............................................................................................................................. 43 TROUBLE SHOOTING...................................................................................................................................... 44 CELESTIAL OBSERVING ....................................................................................................................... 45 OBSERVING THE MOON ................................................................................................................................. 45 Lunar Observing Hints ............................................................................................................................. 45 OBSERVING THE PLANETS.............................................................................................................................. 45 Planetary Observing Hints ....................................................................................................................... 45 OBSERVING THE SUN ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Solar Observing Hints............................................................................................................................... 46 OBSERVING DEEP SKY OBJECTS.................................................................................................................... 46 Using the Setting Circles .......................................................................................................................... 46 Star Hopping............................................................................................................................................. 47 SEEING CONDITIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 49 Transparency ............................................................................................................................................ 49 Sky Illumination ........................................................................................................................................ 49 Seeing........................................................................................................................................................ 49 CELESTIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 51 SHORT EXPOSURE PRIME FOCUS PHOTOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 51 PIGGYBACK PHOTOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................... 52 EYEPIECE PROJECTION................................................................................................................................... 54 Effective Focal Length .............................................................................................................................. 55 Effective Magnification............................................................................................................................. 55 Effective f# or f-ratio................................................................................................................................. 56 LONG EXPOSURE PRIME FOCUS PHOTOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 56 TELESCOPE MAINTENANCE ............................................................................................................... 58 CARE AND CLEANING OF THE OPTICS ............................................................................................................ 58 COLLIMATION ................................................................................................................................................ 58 OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES .................................................................................................................... 60 THE MESSIER CATALOG ...................................................................................................................... 64 LIST OF BRIGHT STARS ........................................................................................................................ 68 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................................ 69 FURTHER READING ............................................................................................................................... 70 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Celestron world of amateur astronomy! For more than a quarter of a century, Celestron has provided amateur astronomers with the tools needed to explore the universe. The Ultima series telescopes continue in this proud tradition combining large aperture optics with ease of use and portability. With mirror diameters of 9.25 and 11 inches, your Celestron Ultima 91/4 and 11 have a light gathering power of 1,126 and 1,593 times that of the unaided human eye respectively. Yet, their optical systems are extremely compact and portable despite their large aperture because they utilize the Schmidt-Cassegrain design. This means you can take your Ultima telescope to the mountains or desert or wherever you wish ...