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Hello, everyone. Can you help us with a minor mystery? We're trying to identify the exact model and year of a Celestron NexStar telescope kindly donated to the Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club. It needs some repairs but it should be a valuable part of our telescope library. It's an older model NexStar so the current user manuals don't quite fit. The scope says item #31132, D=130mm, F=650mm. Celestron hasn't responded. The donor said the telescope is functional except for the external battery pack, which takes eight AA batteries. There is no internal power pack is there is in new models. We cleaned up some battery corrosion but no luck getting the hand controller to power on at all. Rose City Astronomers did give us some tips to go on (thanks, RCA!) but we need more info.
If you have any suggestions, let us know through our Contact page. Thanks in advance!
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Evening Sky Mars (magnitude 1.5) is visible high in the western sky as darkness falls. The red planet currently sets around 1:00am and about 30 minutes earlier by mid-May. The moon passes 1.5° north of (above) Mars on the evening of May 15. Venus (magnitude -3.9) has returned to the evening sky and now appears low in the south-southwest just after sunset. It continues to get slightly higher above the horizon each evening. A crescent moon appears less than 1° south of Venus the evening of May 12. Mercury (magnitude -1.3) returns to the evening sky toward the end of April. It appears low in the south-southwest just after sunset, a few degrees higher above the horizon than Venus. Like Venus, the innermost planet appears higher above the horizon each evening, but it also becomes dimmer, reaching magnitude 0.3 by mid-May. The Pleiades star cluster (M45) appears about 5° from Mercury on May 2, 3, and 4. The moon passes less than 3° south of Mercury on May 13. Morning Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.2) and Saturn (0.7) are visible in the early morning southeastern sky. Saturn rises first, currently just before 3:30am, with Jupiter following about 30 minutes later. Both planets remain visible until fading into the morning sunlight. The moon passes about 4° south of Saturn the morning of May 3, and about 5° south of Jupiter the next morning. Meteor Showers The Lyrids meteor shower is active from April 16 to April 30, peaking the night of April 21-22, with an expected rate of 18 meteors per hour at the peak when the moon is about 70% illuminated. The shower produces its highest rates over three nights centered on the peak. The Lyrids are so named because the meteors appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Lyra in the eastern sky. The Eta Aquariids meteor shower is active from April 19 to May 28, peaking the night of May 4-5. Best viewing is from the southern tropics, but even in the northern hemisphere the shower produces 10-30 meteors per hour at the peak just before dawn. The moon, about 40% illuminated, rises just before 4:00am on May 5. Activity is good for about a week centered on the peak. The Eta Aquariids are so named because the meteors appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Aquarius in the eastern sky. Total Lunar Eclipse A total lunar eclipse occurs in the early morning hours of May 26. The partial phase begins at 1:47am and ends at 5:52am. Totality is less than 15 minutes, lasting from 4:11am to 4:25am. More on this in next month’s sky report. Moon Phases Full (4/26), last (5/3), new (5/11), first (5/19), full (5/26)  Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.re to edit. 
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Mars (magnitude 1.1) is visible high in the western sky as darkness falls. The red planet currently sets around 1:30am and about 30 minutes earlier by mid-April. The moon appears about 2° south of (below) Mars on the evening of March 19, just west of Mars on April 16, and just southeast of Mars the following night. Venus returns to the evening sky in mid-April, and Mercury does the same toward the end of the month. Look for more details in next month’s sky report. Morning Sky Saturn (magnitude 0.7) currently rises in the east-southeast about 5:30am, with Jupiter (magnitude -2.0) following 30 minutes later, and Mercury (magnitude 0.0) edging above the horizon about 6:30am. By the end of March, Mercury disappears into the morning sunlight, but the innermost planet will return to the evening sky by the end of April. A crescent moon appears about 4° south of (below) Saturn on the morning of April 6, and about 4° southeast of Jupiter the next morning. By mid-April, Saturn rises in the southeast just before 4:00am and Jupiter just before 4:30am. Both planets rise earlier and climb higher above the horizon each month through summer. Meteor Showers The Lyrids meteor shower is active from April 16 to April 30, peaking the night of April 21-22, with an expected rate of 18 meteors per hour at the peak when the moon is about 70% illuminated. The shower produces its highest rates over three nights centered on the peak. The Lyrids are so named because the meteors appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Lyra in the eastern sky. Moon Phases First (3/21), full (3/28), last (4/4), new (4/11), first (4/20), full (4/26) Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Mars (magnitude 0.7) becomes visible high in the western sky as darkness falls and remains visible until setting around 1:00am and about 15 minutes earlier by mid-March. The moon passes 4° south of (below) Mars and just southwest of the Pleiades star cluster (M45) on the evening of February 18. Mars continues to get closer to M45 with each passing night, making its closest approach during the first week of March. Morning Sky Mercury and Saturn currently rise in the east-southeast just after 6:00am, with Jupiter following about 20 minutes later. The three planets form a triangle and rise a few minutes earlier each morning. On March 20, Mercury shines at magnitude 0.9 and gets slightly brighter each morning, reaching magnitude 0.0 by mid-March. Saturn and Jupiter remain at magnitudes 0.7 and -2.0 respectively during this period. On the morning of March 4, Mercury appears about 1° west of Jupiter, and 0.3° north of (above) Jupiter the following morning. The moon passes 4° south of Saturn the morning of March 9, and 4° south of Jupiter and Mercury on March 10. Moon Phases First (2/19), full (2/27), last (3/5), new (3/13), first (3/21), full (3/28) Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Mercury (magnitude -0.7) is now visible low in the south-southwest sky soon after sunset. Through January 31, the innermost planet sets about 6:30pm, but by then it dims almost two full magnitudes to 1.1. Mercury remains visible through the first few days of February, but it will be a tough target as it quickly becomes dimmer and sets earlier each evening. Mars (magnitude 0.2) becomes visible high in the southern sky as darkness falls. The red planet currently sets about 1:30am, and about 30 minutes earlier by mid-February. On the night of January 20, the first quarter moon appears just below Mars, with distant Uranus (5.8) directly between them and closer to Mars. Morning Sky Venus (magnitude -3.9) currently rises about 7:00am and remains visible until fading into the morning sunlight. Jupiter (-2.0), Saturn (0.7), and Mercury (1.9) cluster together with Venus in south-southeastern morning sky just before sunrise starting in early February, but all but Jupiter and Venus will be difficult to see in the brightening sky. Late February will offer better viewing of the morning planets. Moon Phases First (1/20), full (1/28), last (2/4), new (2/11), first (2/19), full (2/27). Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.0) and Saturn (0.6) become visible in the southwest evening twilight. The two planets currently appear about one moon-width apart and continue to inch closer together until December 21. That evening, Jupiter and Saturn appear just 0.1° apart, meaning the two planets can be seen in the same telescopic field of view at low power. Both planets currently set just after 7:00pm, but by mid-January they will set about 45 minutes after sunset. Mars (-0.7) becomes visible high in the southeastern sky as darkness falls. The red planet currently sets in the west just before 2:30am and becomes dimmer over the next month. By mid-January, Mars shines at magnitude 0.1 and sets in the west-northwest around 1:30am. The moon appears about 6° below Mars the evening of December 23. Then on the night of January 20, the first quarter moon appears just below Mars, with distant Uranus (5.8) directly between them and closer to Mars. Mercury (-0.9) returns to the evening sky in mid-January, setting in the southwest about an hour after sunset. The innermost planet sets later each evening but rapidly dims until reaching magnitude 1.1 by the end of the month. The week of January 17, especially later that week, should provide the best viewing. Morning Sky Venus (-4.0) currently rises in the east-southeast around 6:00am, and about a half hour later by mid-January. Meteor Showers The Ursids meteor shower is active from December 17 to 26, peaking the night of December 21-22. Normally a lower volume shower, this year the Earth passes near several past debris trails of comet 8P/Tuttle, the source of the Ursids. The debris trail left in the year 829 is predicted to produce the most favorable peak between 10:00-10:30pm on December 21. Unfortunately, west coast observers will need to deal with the first quarter moon. To view the Ursids, look to the northern sky, about half way between the horizon and zenith. Moon Phases First (12/21), full (12/29), last (1/6), new (1/13), first (1/20), full (1/28) |
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