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Appendix I: Advanced Polar Alignment Procedures

As you increase the focal length of your camera lens and/or the exposure

length of your photos you also increase the need to make your polar

alignment more precise. The sign that you need to increase its precision is

elongaon of the stars in your images. Errors in polar alignment cause stars

to dri o of the path your camera is making and onto new sets of pixels on

the camera sensor. The result is seen as streaks where pinpoint star images

should reside.

Fortunately, SAM is equipped with accessories to make very precise polar

alignments. The Polar Scope is the most important of these as it provides

you with a clear view of Polaris in the North and the Sigma Octanis group in

the South. Further, the Star Adventurer mini Console provides a Polar Clock

funcon to guide your polar alignment with remarkable precision.

NOTE: A Polar Scope is REQUIRED for the Advanced Alignment Procedures.

The Equatorial Wedge is not a requirement for the Advanced Polar Alignment

Procedure but it is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED accessory. The ne altude

and azimuth adjustment knobs on the Equatorial Wedge make precision

poinng of SAM much easier than with the comparavely coarse adjustment

resoluon of a lt/pan head or ball mount.

In the Southern Hemisphere there is the added diculty of geng an inial,

coarse polar alignment due to the lack of naked-eye stars in the vicinity of the

South Celesal Pole. We include in the Advanced Polar Alignment Procedure

for the Southern Hemisphere secon a detailed procedure for achieving an

inial alignment that will be sucient to get the Sigma Octanis group into

the eld of view of your Polar Scope. From that point, it is a simple maer

to achieve a very precise alignment by matching the view in the polar scope

eyepiece to the view given by the Polar Clock Ulity provided in the Star

Adventurer mini Console.

NOTE: Because the Equatorial Wedge is such a highly recommended opon

Star trails can make beauful pictures, but

only when then are intended! SAM elim-

inates trailing over long exposures to give

you pin point star images.

SKY-WATCHER star adventurer mini User Manual

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