Page 48 - BBC Sky at Night Beginners Guide to Astronomy - 2017 UK

GO-TO

TELESCOPES

LOCATE CELESTIAL OBJECTS
AT THE PUSH OF A BUTTON
WITH OUR GUIDE TO USING
A GO-TO TELESCOPE

To get an idea of just how much modern AN EQUATORIAL
technology has infl uenced astronomical
observing, take a look at the Go-To scope. GO-TO SCOPE
A Go-To is basically an ordinary telescope,
but added to its mount are motors and a
digital map of the night sky containing tens of
thousands of astronomical objects. All this is
stored in computer circuitry within the mount Go-To mount
and it’s this, rather than the scope itself, that and drive
The nerve centre of a
is really the ‘Go-To’ part of the system.
Go-To system, such as
Once the Go-To has been correctly set
this Sky-Watcher 130P
up, you simply choose a celestial object that EQ3-2, includes a digital
you want to view by using the buttons on the map of the night sky
handset. It’s at this point the motors kick in
and the whole mechanism whirs and turns
around, ‘going to’ the object you’ve chosen,
which will eventually appear in the eyepiece.
Pretty straightforward, don’t you think?
Certainly, but there’s a reason why Go-To Power
telescopes come with such a substantial The mounts on equatorial
manual. Before you can get to the impressive Go-Tos need an external
power source. Altaz Go-To
stage of being driven around the sky to
PAUL WHITFIELD X 3, THINKSTOCK, CORDELIA MOLLOY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
mounts often take batteries
objects you’ve selected, you fi rst need to have
your Go-To scope set up correctly. Using
a Go-To is not the straight-out-of-the-box
method of stargazing it might at fi rst appear. Cable Handset
Be careful that the You key in destination
SETTING UP cable doesn’t catch details here. The buttons
in the mechanics, and readout should be
There are a few things you need to know in
particularly on an illuminated in red to
order to get a Go-To scope working. Firstly,
equatorial mount preserve night vision
not every scope has the same set-up routine,
nor are these routines all as easy to perform
as each other. When deciding on a Go-To
scope, you should do plenty of research to Tripod
The tripod needs
avoid buying one that you’ll never use because
to be sturdy and
it’s too complicated. level to ensure the
There’s some basic information that the Go-To’s readings
Go-To computer needs to know when you’re are accurate
48 skyatnightmagazine.com 2012