do i need polaris

[the bishop]

Hi,

I find myself in what seems to be a very common dilemma of just which scope am I going to get?? Though after several years of backyard stargazing I can find my way around the sky with bins... I find the prospect of looking through a scope a different kettle of fish and so i have been strongly considering getting a “goto” mount a200p on a eq5pro this however depending on the time of day and my mood... changes, and changes and changes I am struggling to make a final decision mainly between stability and portability and goto or not goto

So can I ask what could well be a major deciding question, What if you cannot see Polaris from where you are viewing?

Is it a written in stone must...to be spot on north via Polaris for setting setting up a goto mount?

Where I live I have a pretty fair panorama from the southeast thru south to west but north at least as far as Polaris is concerned is out of view, this is due to the close proximity of my and neighbours house,

If I move to the front garden the recently upgraded lamppost is far, far too bright.

Using bins I can get away with it somewhat, by getting into different viewing positions but with a scope I don’t think it’s going to be a good prospect. And so I would have to travel, hence a portability issue.

So do I have to have a clear view of Polaris for a goto??

And is there anything different or anything not included on a STD eq5 that is not on an eq5 pro?

Except for the sync scan stuff, and is everything that is needed in the upgrade “kit”?

Or is there anything else fitted on the pro that would make a difference?

Thanks

gra

ps

Please forgive me but I have this question more or less posted in another thread but as its on page 5 and post #99 i'm not sure if it will get read... sorry

[munro]

Think you might be stuck if you want an EQ mount. However I dont think you need polaris with some of the smaller scopes (up to about 127 Mak) on an ALT-AZIMUTH mount

[rowan46]

A compass will do for rough alignment visually. But if you intend to image. Polar alignment needs to be as accurate as possible Drift alignment will then need to be done after a compass setup or some sort of sofware alignment. The eq5 pro differs from the eq5 only by its synscan. and all the parts necessary to upgrade are provided in the synscan upgrade package.

[knobby]

Gra

I'm a newbie with EQ mounts myself, so I could be wrong ... but I'm pretty sure that if you just set your tripod nice and level and set the dec to your area (52 ish ?) then aim North with a decent compass, then the mount will be fine for goto.

Accurate polar alignment is for Astro imaging ...

O.K. ... now lets get some answers from peeps who have had their EQ mounts longer than me... ie: 3 days

[Ags]

"Is it a written in stone must...to be spot on north via Polaris for setting setting up a goto mount?"

If you get an alt-az goto scope, like the Celestron SE series, or Skywatcher SLT, you do not need to align on Polaris at all. When I lived in Wales I observed from a location with no view of Polaris with no trouble at all.

You only need to polar align if you are using an EQ mount, which are heavy and I think overkill for visual observing - they are however necessary for astrophotography.

Our fellow travelers in the southern hemisphere seem to manage without any view of Polaris at all :-)

[mareprah]

Short answer:

For visual, aligning the scope with a compas might be fine enough, but for AP driftalignment should be used. I wouldnt worry too much.

[cosmological]

If it's a goto mount then you don't need to be able to see Polaris (but it helps if you can point your mount as close to north as possible), once you've done all the star alignments then it should find stuff and be able to track fairly well. I don't really know much about the Skywatcher mounts, mine is the Celestron CG5 and I don't need to be able to see the northern half of the sky, once I've done the 2 alignment stars and the 4 calibration stars I then just need to use the Polar Align in the software and hey presto, the telescope is polar aligned.

[SnakeyJ]

I'm in the same predicament for viewing from home. However, as Rowan46 said for visual use a compass is ok (though you should also set the lattitude and make sure the mount is level), if you want to do any long exposure photography then drift alignment will allow you to refine the accuracy and is more accurate than straight polar alignment.

Once you are setup is position and aligned its a good idea to mark the position of the mount legs, which will make it much simpler/quicker to get setup and observing next time.

Re the EQ5 Pro, this should have everything needed in one go. The EQ5 standard lacks the polar scope, though if you are not planning on leaving the backyard you won't be missing this and it is available to buy separately if needed later. If you think you may want to try some AP, the common view is the EQ5 is really at its limits for visual with the 200P - it might be better to go for the heavier HEQ5 Pro.

Good luck choosing and clear skies when the new toys eventually arrive.

Jake

[munro]

Wish the SW GOTO was as simple

[Aenima]

I just saw the other post - pasted reply here anyways - Best of luck

Hi there,

I understand the stress involved when trying to decided on a scope, and questions like the one above is the best way to go about it in the interest of not regretting your purchase.

One thing that will make the difference - photography - whether you want to try imaging (most people say its not an issue, then take a look through a scope and are immediately hooked! I was, for sure. Didnt think it was important and got a scope for visual and have been compromising and compensating ever since. So, for imaging an EQ driven mount is a bonus for lunar planetary and a must for deepsky stuff.

Otherwise, for visual with goto you would only need a rough polaralignment - if you get an EQ that is - with AZgoto polar alignment is not even important.

Face the tripod leg north with a compass/ a idea of where polaris is and this will do for most purposes including goto (and lunar/planetary photography is still do-able too)

My EQ5 is a chunky thing and the difference between it and the bigger mounts is more stability than size, its still a heavy mount/tripod with large weights - it dwarfs my 130p AZ goto (which in comparison is 'my grab n go' scope now!)

EDIT; my EQ5 standard came with polarscope - this happens occasionally.

Hope this helps,

Regards