Meade LX200R Manuel d'instructions télécharger pdf (Page 72)

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Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope

at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.

In the early 17th century Italian Scientist Galileo, using a telescope smaller than your

LX200R, turned it skyward instead of looking at the distant trees and mountains. What

he saw, and what he realized about what he saw, has forever changed the way

mankind thinks about the universe. Imagine what it must have been like being the first

human to see moons revolve around the planet Jupiter or to see the changing phas-

es of Venus! Because of his observations, Galileo correctly realized Earth's move-

ment and position around the Sun, and in doing so, gave birth to modern astronomy.

Yet Galileo's telescope was so crude, he could not clearly make out the rings

of Saturn.

Galileo's discoveries laid the foundation for understanding the motion and nature of

the planets, stars, and galaxies. Building on his foundation, Henrietta Leavitt deter-

mined how to measure the distance to stars, Edwin Hubble gave us a glimpse into the

possible origin of the universe, Albert Einstein unraveled the crucial relationship of

time and light, and 21st-century astronomers are currently discovering planets around

stars outside our solar system. Almost daily, using sophisticated successors to

Galileo's telescope, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray

Telescope, more and more mysteries of the universe are being probed and under-

stood. We are living in the golden age of astronomy.

Unlike other sciences, astronomy welcomes contributions from amateurs. Much of the

knowledge we have on subjects such as comets, meteor showers, double and vari-

able stars, the Moon, and our solar system comes from observations made by ama-

teur astronomers. So as you look through your Meade

LX200R telescope, keep in

mind Galileo. To him, a telescope was not merely a machine made of glass and metal,

but something far more—a window of incredible discovery.

AutoStar II Glossary

Be sure to make use of AutoStar II’s Glossary feature. The Glossary menu provides

an alphabetical listing of definitions and descriptions of common astronomical terms.

Access directly through the Glossary menu or through hypertext words embedded in

AutoStar II. See

GLOSSARY MENU, page 27, for more information.

Objects in Space

Listed below are some of the many astronomical objects that can be seen with your

LX200R:

The Moon

The Moon is, on average, a distance of 239,000 miles (380,000km) from Earth and is

best observed during its crescent or half phase when Sunlight strikes the Moon’s sur-

face at an angle. It casts shadows and adds a sense of depth to the view (Fig. 65).

No shadows are seen during a full Moon, causing the overly bright Moon to appear

flat and rather uninteresting through the telescope. Be sure to use a neutral Moon fil-

ter when observing the Moon. Not only does it protect your eyes from the bright glare

of the Moon, but it also helps enhance contrast, providing a more dramatic image.

Using your

LX200R, brilliant detail can be observed on the Moon, including hundreds

of lunar craters and maria, described below.

Craters are round meteor impact sites covering most of the Moon’s surface. With no

atmosphere on the Moon, no weather conditions exist, so the only erosive force is

meteor strikes. Under these conditions, lunar craters can last for millions of years.

Maria (plural for mare) are smooth, dark areas scattered across the lunar surface.

These dark areas are large ancient impact basins that were filled with lava from the

interior of the Moon by the depth and force of a meteor or comet impact.

Twelve Apollo astronauts left their bootprints on the Moon in the late 1960's and early

1970's. However, no telescope on Earth is able to see these footprints or any other

artifacts. In fact, the smallest lunar features that may be seen with the largest tele-

scope on Earth are about one-half mile across.

BASIC ASTRONOMY

Fig. 65: The Moon. Note the deep

shadows in the craters.

Fig. 66: The planet Jupiter. Jupiter's

four largest moons can be observed

in a different position every night.

Fig. 67: Saturn has the most exten-

sive ring structure in our Solar

System.

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Meade LX200R Manuel d'instructions Page 72

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