24
ROUGH ALIGNMENT
Begin by roughly aligning your telescope to the pole by using the mount’s
latitudinal scale. Set the declination scale to 0° to align the OTA with the
mount’s polar axis. Check the latitude of your viewing location and set the
latitude scale to the same number. For example, if you were viewing from
Sydney, Australia, you would point your telescope due south and set your
latitude adjustment to 34°, since Sydney lies at 34°S latitude. This will point
you approximately at the southern celestial pole.
STAR DRIFT ALIGNMENT
Star Drift Alignment is more precise than Polar Star Alignment, but can be
more difficult for a newer telescope user. Once you polar-align using the star
drift method a few times, it will get easier, but the first few attempts make
take considerable time and effort. For general-purpose viewing, the rough
alignment described above may prove to be sufficient. Star drift alignment
as described below can be used for more accurate alignment, and is
described using a standard eyepiece without an erecting prism.
1. After rough alignment, loosen the Latitudinal Adjustment Screws and
lower your telescope until the scale reads 90°, then retighten the screw.
Loosen the Mount Base Screw and rotate the telescope so that it points
6 hours away from the celestial pole and retighten the screws. You
may need to remove the R.A. Adjustment Cable in order to move the
telescope freely. Your telescope should now be pointing roughly where
the meridian and celestial equator intersect.
2. Find a bright star in the viewfinder of your telescope and use the
R.A. and Declination adjustment cables to center it precisely in the
crosshairs. Work up to your most powerful eyepiece, centering the star
in the viewfinder each time you replace the eyepiece.
ADVANCED OBSERVATION
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