As Earth rotates around this axis, the stars appear to move against the background sky over the course of the night, rising in the east and setting in the west. Properly set up, the polar axis of an equatorial mount is parallel to Earth’s axis of rotation and, therefore, doesn’t need to be adjusted further. equatorial mount, you’ll need to be able to do this. Use a compass to adjust your mount away from magnetic north accordingly. That’s a lot of words … Putting your telescope on an equatorial mount allows you to follow stars as they continue their steady progress across the night sky. Make a right-angled triangle template from stiff card – this will be the tool you use to set the polar axis to the correct angle. Next, set up the tripod. If you are accurately aligned, Polaris should travel in a small circle within the finderscope’s field of view. Extend the tripod legs to a comfortable height suitable for the type of telescope you are using, then use a spirit level to ensure the top of the tripod is as level as possible. The Polaris or the North Pole lies within an angle of 1° of the rotational axis of the Earth. Make sure all the bolts are tight. You shoot multiple, long-exposure photographs with your DSLR through a tracking telescope. This will help you set up a bit quicker next time you head out observing, providing you plan to position the tripod in the same place – use the markers next time and you’ll find the tripod is near-level from the start. Point the telescope towards it so that it is perfectly parallel to the polar axis of the EQ mount. Equatorial mounts can be a bit of a mystery if you’ve never used one before, but they don’t come much simpler than the EQ-1, which many small telescopes come with. There’s a simple explanation for why … The advantage of an equatorial mount is that it only needs to be rotated around one axis so as to maintain the target object in your field of view. Also, there is a section that has the latitude setting for the North Star in certain areas. You can do this by checking your position against an Ordnance Survey map or online at iTouchmap.com. You might want to experiment with a carpenter’s level. 1) Keep you mount setup as simple as possible at first. In case it is not, make tiny adjustments to the azimuth and altitude of the mount head till it is so. This ‘How to’ originally appeared in the January 2014 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine. Take some stiff card and mark out a right-angled triangle that has one angle equal to your latitude. Extend its legs to a suitable height, and make sure that the top of the tripod is as level as it can be. There’s a simple explanation for why this is the case. Once you are familiar with how to set up an EQ-1 in this way you should find it easy to get going and be able to maximise your time out under the night skies. Image processing is then needed to bring out the fine details in the object, and correct the levels (brightness) of the image. An equatorial mount is made up of a tripod and a mount head, which holds the telescope and moves it about on two axes, one called right ascension (RA; east-west) and the other called declination (Dec.; north-south). For this you will need to use a spirit level to check the level of the tripod head, and then attach the mount head on that. Figure 3 – All the ways a German Equatorial Mount can twist and turn. The simple steps set out below page tell you how, and most of them can be performed during the daytime in anticipation of a clear night’s observing. It is actually quite easy to set up an equatorial mount. This makes it excellent for stargazing and viewing the various objects in space and the wider universe! You will need the following to get started. They even improve the accuracy of the most ordinary telescopes. You just have to rotate the telescope’s other axis – the declination axis – to stay on target. If you point your telescope so that it is parallel to the mount’s polar axis, Polaris should now be in the field of view of a low power eyepiece. A Compass – The compass should be easy to read under the red light. Once you know your latitude, mark a right-angled triangle on the stiff card which has one of the angles the same as your latitude. Position the completed mount so that the polar axis (the one you’re going to tilt) roughly points north. Feel free to ask any question you have on your mind in the comments below! Let’s understand how the Equatorial Mount works…, Follow the tips given here to easily set up an Equatorial Mount. Set up the scope in your viewing area. CG-4 German Equatorial Mount and Tripod from Celestron. Newcomers to astronomy are quite often easily put off from equatorial mounts by being told they are complex to set up and use. Hold the triangle against the mount, with the longest side of the triangle aligned against the polar axis, with the spirit level placed on the shortest side. My own personal experience is that they are no more difficult to manage than a standard alt-azimuth and have the advantage that when polar aligned they make life easier when your observing as you have only one control to handle to keep the telescope pointed at an object. You can track the motion of the object – whether it is the moon or a planet – by using a motorized telescope mount. Consider using a garden slab – this will give you stability too. Our planet also has an axis, tilted at 23.5°. The planet Earth is tilted on its axis at 23.5°. But the advantage is that equatorial mounts allow for a far more accurate tracking of celestial objects. Remember, one angle of the triangle needs to match the latitude of your observing location. The polar axis should be parallel to the Earth’s axis. Mark the height of each leg once levelled. When assembling your mount, make sure it is as level as possible – use a small spirit level on the tripod head before attaching the mount head. Tighten the bolts. In case of Equatorial mounts, the telescope moves along the polar axis and is pointed in the direction of the Pole Star. Turn the altitude adjustment bolt until the spirit level is level; the polar axis should now be parallel with Earth’s axis. A good & stable mount can drastically improve your viewing experience. Once the mount has been completed, it has to be positioned roughly towards the north. In this case, make sure that the polar axis is properly aligned and set it for the latitude of your area or wherever you are mounting the telescope. If you are on a hill, you’ll want to adjust the length of the legs. The north celestial pole lies within 1° of Earth’s rotational axis. Select the corresponding equatorial mount model in ASIAIR’s equatorial setup with a baud rate of 9600. Equatorial mounts are much harder to use as they require the polar alignment to be perfect. There is a famous saying that “Your Telescope is only as good as your Mount” an we believe that. , Ideally, one that shows angular degrees and is easy to read under red light, , To mark the position of each tripod leg after you’ve polar aligned your mount, to make the process quicker in future, How to collimate a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, Create a protective shield for your telescope pillar. You can find the direction of the true north in your area on the Grid Magnetic Angle Calculator. Decide where you are going to place your tripod. You will need to align to true north rather than magnetic north. The next step is to set it to true north, which can be several degrees east of magnetic north from the UK. . When the Earth rotates around its axis, the stars in the sky appear to move across the sky through the night. The main purpose of a telescope mount is to allow you to direct the optical tube at the object and take a good picture of it. Hold it against your mount, with the longest side against the polar axis, and place a spirit level on the shortest side – which should be uppermost. The tracking quality of an Equatorial mount will depend on how accurate the polar alignment is. Next, loosen the polar axis clutch to ensure the accuracy of the polar alignment. Note: ZEQ25 must stay on the menu page and accept the command connection successfully. Read our guide to set up your telescope's equatorial mount and get observing the night sky in no time. telescopefever.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Red light torch – Essential for your vision; protects your eyes against the dim light. You will need this when going through Step 4. You can check the accuracy of your polar alignment on any clear night by loosening the polar axis clutch and steadily rotating the telescope around this axis. You can do this during daylight by centring a distant object in your telescope’s eyepiece and checking whether it also lies behind the cross-wires of the finder. Look at telescope instructions for equatorial mounts and you’ll see a lot of information on adjusting setting circles, using a polar axis scope, and other heavy duty details. 2. The basic process for capturing deep-sky images is this: 1. This triangle can be used as a template to check the amount of adjustment needed to be made to the mount in order to get the perfect polar alignment. Markers – For marking the position of the tripod leg once the mount has been aligned. But once you set up an equatorial mount the first time, you will know how to do it again, for as many times as you like. If you ask me, my favourite is  CG-4 German Equatorial Mount and Tripod from Celestron. Set the latitude scale to your latitude and aim the polar axis so it points north. The principal part of a mount is the mount head, which has two fully rotatable axes: one in declination (dec.), the north-south axis, and the other in right ascension (RA). Sure, it’s not as easy as setting up an altazimuth mount – which is just like setting up a camera tripod. In case of Altazimuth mounts, the telescope moves on the up-down and right-left axes, just like any photographic tripod. The advantage of an equatorial mount is that it only needs to be rotated around one axis so as to maintain the target object in your field of view. 1) There are two types of telescope mounts – Altazimuth mounts and Equatorial mounts. Right, you can now move the altitude adjustment bolt until the spirit level is perfectly level. The tripod has to be placed in a single location. The Equatorial Mount is designed, (once polar aligned, set up, and locked onto a target) to follow your target across the sky. Spirit level – Allows you to level the tripod easily. For example, if you were in London you would be at a latitude of 51.5°N, so you’d need a triangle with an angle of 51.5° too. When the top of the template is level, the mount is ready to use. It’s useful to pick a single location as you can then mark the position of each leg on the floor after Step 4, making it speedier to set up in the future. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. You can find out the magnetic variance of your location using the British Geological Survey’s snappily named ‘Grid Magnetic Angle Calculator’. Select the corresponding equatorial mount model in ASIAIR’s equatorial setup with a baud rate of 9600. In most Star Atlas books there is a section that gives suggestions on which stars to use for the second star, I recommend using it. Install the mount head and roughly point the assembled mount northwards. After entering the menu, it cannot receive the control command from the serial port. It may be easier to set up a camera-type altazimuth (altaz) mount, but an equatorial mount has the advantage of only needing to be rotated around one axis to keep your target object in the field of view, rather than two. Motorized mounts are very important in astronomy as they allow for a very precise tracking of the planetary motion. A telescope mount is very important – it works as a motorized tripod. Copyright © text 2020 by telescopefever.com. Once you’ve worked out your magnetic variance, use a compass to offset the mount as necessary. 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