NEQ6 Polar Scope Reticule Orientation

[adamw]

This is not a question on how to polar align but on the reticule orientation in the polarscope. When the counterweight bar is in the vertically down position.  Should the Polaris bubble on the reticule be at the bottom when I look through the polar scope, see image below. I am asking this because if I use  polarfinder to polar align it shows me the position of Polaris relative to the NCP. I have read lots of different threads and articles but still cannot find a definitive answer.

Adam

[Uplooker]

Yes, have you aligned the polar scope to the mount?

ian

[Stevie P]

I personally believe it dosent really matter where the Polaris bubble is when the wieghts are down, just so long as it is at the correct position, when you polar align, and as I am sure you are aware this changes day to day and hour to hour...

[frugal]

I think you need to move the orientation Of the polar scope depending on the time of day. After all Polaris moves completely around the celestial north pole every 24 hours.

There is a little program that Will show you the orientation you need based on your location and time. Unfortunately I can't find it just now as I am on the train.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

[66mikeg]

the program's "polar finder" and is also available as an app for android and iphone

[CodnorPaul]

The reticule needs to be aligned to the mount - but that does not mean it needs to be in the 6 o'clock position.  The important thing is it is aligned to the setting circle on the axis, so that when you change that to the right time setting, the polaris circle is in the right position.  All I did was use a ballbearing and shine a light off it - then get that in your polar scope in the crosshairs, after that move your mount so the light goes onto the bottom line of the larger circle, then rotate the mount so the light is in the polaris circle, then you know you are perfectly below the crosshairs - then just set the setting circle and away you go.  Jump on Youtube and look for complete mount set up videos

[jambouk]

We need the ultimate simple guide to polar alignment to be made as a sticky thread....

It doesn't matter where the little circle is most of the time. It just needs to be rotated to the correct position when you are polar aligning.

You also need yo make sure the reticle is aligned with the RA axis.

James

[CodnorPaul]

Sounds like you are offering James...

[themos]

Another vote for "doesn't matter where the Polaris bubble is when the weights are down". During November, if you are setting up at around 6pm, Polaris is to the east of NCP and so would appear at the 9 o'clock position in the finderscope (it inverts). So, for the immediate future you could argue that "weights down" should correspond to  "bubble on the left", just for convenience (nobody likes weights going very high!).

[jambouk]

No, i'm not offering. Someone must have written a good guide for this already, though when i started out with an equatorial mount 6 months ago i couldn't find anything all encompassing.

I have set my setting circle to zero when the small polaris bubble is at 6 o clock, so i just use the hour angle and rotate the RA to the right time and i know he bubble is in the right place. Then i just look through the polar scope (via my right angled viewer) to adjust elevation and azimuth to centre polaris.

James

[adamw]

Thanks for the advise everyone. I think the penny has finally dropped.   I now realise all that matters is the that the position of polaris to the NCP in the polar scope matches where it is in reality (or on the polarfinder app) at the time of polar alignment and thus aligning the centre X to the true celestian pole.

Many Thanks
Adam

[jambouk]

Adam, your summary has just hit the nail on the head. I wished I'd made this connection as quickly as you when I started out with equatorial mounts!!!!

Now you have to help explain this to everyone else who comes on here asking for Polar Alignment help

Good luck with your astronomy adventures.

James

[Steve Ward]

Links here to a complete set of guides to setting up the NEQ6 ....   

http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1893

http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=514

http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=5121

http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4006

[glowjet]

I am sure that Polar aligning must, for a lot of newcomers, be quite a testing challenge, however, this question is relating to the Polar finder program and the diagram location of Polaris in relation to the NCP.

Jason Dales, Polar Finder program shows four diagrams and the different positions of Polaris over a period of three hours marked on an inner circle of some 43' radius relative to the central point of the map, the NCP. If those new to this take a close look at the diagrams you will see that the stars that lie very close to Polaris are also marked as small black dots and not just spots of dust on your screen   This establishes its correct fixed Heavenly orientation as it revolves around the the NCP every 24 hours. The important thing to note is, that the NCP will always lie 43' along on a straight line drawn from Polaris through the NCP and onwards in the direction of Ursa Maj, so make sure you are moving your mount in the right direction when Polar aligning. 

Transit time, this is the position of Polaris when it crosses the Meridian, The polar finder program shows this position at the bottom of the diagram, it has been taken into account that the optics of  most scopes will turn the true vision upside down, so in reality Polaris will be at its correct 12 00 o-clock position. this is a tick box function and can disabled at any time, if you want. Some Polar aligning programs require you to set your mount to a transit time, You do not have to wait for this to come about, it can be achieved at any time using a constant, the date for this is 1700 hrs. on the 15th December of any year, using the same criteria, the same applies for March, June and September. Try it for yourself and see, by entering into the finder program.

All this preparation using time scales and verniers could be avoided if telescope mount manufactures produced a polar scope, with the information factory set on the

central axis and which can be fitted into the mount to freely revolve, without any slop, on its central axis. After setting up the mount using recommended procedures,  Polar aligning would simply be a matter of revolving the Polar scope to match the visual position of Polaris and the NCP taken from such as Polar Finder and adjusting for offset. One of the few manufactures to already do this is Losmandy. If you have a method by which you could do this with your own Polar scope, try it

[themos]

   that the NCP will always lie 43' along on a straight line drawn from Polaris through the NCP and onwards in the direction of Ursa Maj

for "always" = "next few years", as the NCP will come closest to Polaris in 2102 (at about 27.5'), but I'm nitpicking!

[glowjet]

Yes, very true, wrong choice of words. There will be a lot of things we will all not be around to see in the Astronomical future