TheSky6 Astronomy Software

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Software Bisque's TheSky6 is used at the observatory to control the various telescope mounts.

Contents

[edit] Starting

  1. Start and initialize the telescope mount.

    The procedures differ for the Paramount ME's and the Meade 16" LX200GPS. Please refer to the appropriate documentation for the mount being used.

  2. Start TheSky6 software using either the desktop icon or the Windows [Start] menu.
  3. Confirm the computer's time is accurately set using TheSky's Data | Time... menu, and adjust if needed. Also confirm the 'Use Computer's Clock' option is selected (the small clock face icon on the bottom of the Time dialog). Close the Time dialog when done.

    There are two radio-controlled clocks at the observatory that provide accurate time via the NIST time service. One is found in the top drawer of the imaging system's accessory cart, the other in the visual system's accessory cart.

  4. Use Data | Location to confirm the option is set for 'Onan Observatory'. Close the Location dialog when done.

[edit] Establish link to mount

  1. Use Telescope | Setup... to verify the telescope name is correct for the mount being controlled. Close the dialog when done.
  2. Confirm the telescope mount is powered on and initialized before proceeding.

    Note: The Meade LX200GPS telescope must first be synchronized using the Autostar hand paddle before it can be synchronized with TheSky6. The Paramount ME mounts must be 'homed' before synchronizing. Refer to the Meade 16" LX200GPS and Paramount ME documentation for specifics.

  3. Use Telescope | Link | Establish to establish the communication link between TheSky6 and the mount. If successful, a 'cross-hair' icon will appear on the screen.

[edit] Synchronize with mount (Paramount ME)

  1. Select a bright star well east of the local meridian and click on it. The Object Information dialog will open. Confirm the correct star is selected using the [General] tab.
  2. Click on the small, green telescope icon at the bottom of the dialog. TheSky6 will respond with a request to confirm the slew. Click [OK].
  3. The telescope will slew to the object, or close to it. Once the slew has stopped, use its hand paddle to center the star in the telescope's field-of-view, using an eyepiece of relatively high power.
  4. Once the star is centered, click on the [Telescope] tab and then click on the [Synch] button to complete the synchronization of TheSky6 and the mount.

[edit] Synchronize with mount (Meade LX200 GPS)

  1. If the Meade 16" LX200GPS is not already centered on a relative bright, easily recognizable star, use the Autostar hand paddle to locate and center a suitable star.
  2. Select the star on TheSky6 sky display by clicking on it. The Object Information dialog will open. Confirm the correct star is selected using the dialog's [General] tab.
  3. Click on the Object Information dialog's [Telescope] tab and then click on the [Synch] button to complete the synchronization of TheSky6 and the mount.

[edit] Using

[edit] GO-TO operations

  1. Locate the desired object using TheSky6 software, and click on it. The [Object Information] dialog will appear (if it is not already on the screen).
  2. Confirm the desired object is indeed the one select using the [General] tab of the dialog. If it is not, either select the correct one from the drop-down list, or re-click the object on the sky display.
  3. Click on the small, green telescope icon near the bottom right of the [Object Information] dialog. TheSky6 will ask you to confirm the slew.
  4. After confirming the area around of the telescope is clear of people and equipment, click the [OK] button on the slew confirmation message. The telescope will move to the desired object.

    In the event you must interrupt the slew before it completes, click on the [Cancel] button found on the slew progress box.

[edit] Re-synchronization

On occasion, you may need to re-synchronize the mount with TheSky6 over the course of an evening.

  1. GO-TO a bright, easily discernible object using TheSky6.
  2. Using the mount's hand paddle or joystick, center the object in the telescope's field of view.
  3. On the [Object Informration] dialog for the object, click the [Telescope] tab, and then click the [Synch] button. A confirmation message will appear.
  4. Click the [OK] button on the confirmation message to complete the re-synchronization.

[edit] Shutting down

[edit] Park the mount

[edit] Trouble-shooting

[edit] Problem: Inaccurate GOTO operations

Your initial GO-TO's immediately after sychronizing may be inaccurate.

  • Check the date, time and location values in TheSky6 as described above.

Over the evening, GO-TO results may degrade due to accumlating errors with the mount (poor polar alignment, mechanical / encoder variances, etc).

[edit] Problem: Sky display keeps 'snapping back' to current telescope position

This will manifest itself when you try to scroll the sky display away from the area of the sky to which the telescope is pointing.

  • Check Telescope | Settings and if the Keep crosshairs on the screen option is selected, clear it.

[edit] Problem: The scope returns to an incorrect park position when using TheSky6

TheSky6 and the mount must be synchronized before the telescope can be parked.

  • If the telescope is moving to a position other than the standard position, click on the [Cancel] button to stop the parking process.
  • If TheSky6 and the the mount have not been synchronized, use the mount's joystick to manually park the telescope.

[edit] Problem: Unable to establish link with the mount

For the Paramount ME's, check to ensure the USB cable from the mount is connected to laptop

For the Meade 16" LX200GPS, verify that the computer cart's AC power was 'on' before the controlling laptop was started. (If not, the USB adapter attached to the laptop will not be operational.) Also, check the connection cable to ensure one end is firmly seated in the RS-232 adapter (permanently connected to the computer cart's USB-to-serial adapter) and the other end connected to the [RS-232] jack on the mount.

[edit] Other References

Retrieved from "http://www.mnastro.org/onanwiki/index.php/TheSky6_Astronomy_Software"
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