Polaris Transit

[cuivenion]

When choosing a Polaris transit for Polarscope calibration does it matter if the transit is in the past? I chose a transit of 16:30 24/02/2016 that has now passed. Am I OK to carry on using this and if so for how long?

[jaygpoo]

Hi, Everytime you set up your scope etc you need to polar align using the current time and polar position. With computor controlled mounts its easy as I have one but if you need to know the current polar position all you need to do is download a free app on your phone or ipad. This will show you a picture of where the polar star is in the transit circle at the current time. Hope that helps. Jay

[cuivenion]

Hi Jay, Thats right but in order to calibrate the polarscope you have to set a date and time for when  polaris is at its highest point for your location. I'm a little unclear about how long these calibrations last and what the best transit to pick is. Is it better to choose a transit that is several months in the future, or is a transit that has just passed OK for a while.

I'm in the middle of sorting out AstroEq for my EQ5 mount at which point I'll probably use Alignmaster. Until then I'll be using an RA Motor and polarscope.

[cuivenion]

I think I'll give this a bump.

[jaygpoo]

There are some youtube videos from the Astronomy shed guy that I used when I  started and they may well help you .