Object Catalog
Selecting an Object
Once the telescope is properly aligned, you can choose
an object from any of the catalogs in the NexStar+ hand
control's database The hand control has a key designated
for each category of objects in its database; Solar System
objects, Stars and Deep Sky objects
• Solar System – The Solar System catalog will display
all the planets (and Moon) in our Solar System that are
currently visible in the sky To allow the Sun to be displayed
as a selectable object in the database, see the Sun Menu
option in Scope Setup Menu
• Stars – The Stars catalog displays custom lists of all
the brightest stars, double (binary) stars, variable stars,
constellations and selected asterisms
• Deep Sky – The Deep Sky catalog displays a list of all
the best galaxies, nebulae and clusters, as well as the
complete Messier and select NGC objects There is also
an alphabetical list of all deep sky objects in order by their
common name
Use the scroll keys to scroll through the catalogs to find the
object you want to view
When scrolling through a long list of objects, holding down
either the UP or DOWN key will allow you to scroll through
the catalog rapidly
Slewing to an Object
Once the desired object is displayed on the hand control
screen, you have two options:
• Press the OBJECT INFO Key. This will give you useful
information about the selected object such as magnitude,
constellation and extended information about the most
popular objects
• Use the UP/DOWN arrow buttons to scroll through the
displayed object info
• Use the BACK button to return to the object database
• Press the ENTER Key. This will automatically slew the
telescope to the coordinates of the object displayed on the
hand control While the telescope is slewing to the object,
the user can still access many of the hand control functions
(such as displaying information about the object)
NOTE: The Messier, NGC and SAO catalogs require the
user to enter a numeric designation. Once you have
selected the appropriate catalog button and selected the
Messier, NGC or SAO catalog, you will see a flashing
cursor indicating you are in numeric entry mode. Enter the
catalog number for the object you want to view. Press ENTER
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to command the telescope to slew to the object or hold the
OPTION button (the Celestron logo) and press OBJECT
INFO to see information about the object you selected.
CAUTION: Never slew the telescope when someone
is looking into the eyepiece. The telescope can
move at fast slew speeds and may hit an observer
in the eye.
SkyTour Button
The CGX-L mount includes a tour feature which allows
you to choose from a list of interesting objects
based on the date and time in which you are observing
The automatic tour will display only those objects that are
within your set catalog filters limits To activate the Tour
feature, press the SKY TOUR key on the hand control
1 Press the SKY TOUR button on the hand control
2 Use the SCROLL buttons to select Best of Tonight
3 The CGX-L mount will automatically slew in azimuth to its
starting position which will help minimize the chance of
wrapping the power cord during the tour
4 The hand control will display the best objects to observe
that are currently in the sky
• To see information and data about the displayed object,
press the OBJECT INFO key Press it once to display
the coordinates of the object Press it again to display
the coordinates of the object Press it again to display
the text description Press BACK to return to the
previous screen
• To slew to the object displayed, press ENTER.
• To see the next tour object, press the DOWN key
Identify Button
Pressing the IDENTIFY button will search the mount's da-
tabase catalogs and display the name and angular distances
to the nearest matching objects from the telescope's current
location This feature can serve two purposes First, it can be
used to identify an unknown object in the field of view of your
eyepiece Additionally, Identify Mode can be used to find
other celestial objects that are close to the objects you are
currently observing
For example, if your telescope is pointed at the brightest
star in the constellation Lyra, choosing Identify will no doubt
return the star Vega as the star you are observing However,
the Identify feature will also search its NGC and Solar
System databases and display any planets or Deep Sky
objects that are close by In this example, the Ring Nebula
(M57) would display as being approximately 6° away
The brightness and proximity of the objects displayed
can be defined by the user using the Identify Filter under
Telescope Setup