Polar alignment just south of the equator

[edjrgibbs]

Hi all

Looking for some help. How do you polar align a mount just south of the equator when you cant see the southern cross? I have a star adventurer with modded 450d and 50mm lens. Would a rough, just pointing south, alignment work for short subs (up to 1 min)? I'll be in Kenya on the east coast where normally you get some great clear nights. Looking at stellarium there's a lot to choose from including the antares region which I've wanted to image for years. 

Thanks
Ed

[Stu]

Sounds like a great place to image!

The Southern Cross is not at the Southern Pole so you don't need to be able to see it to polar align. Perhaps drift aligning after an approximate alignment would work, although at 50mm you may not need to

[wimvb]

I agree with Stu; you probably won't need to align accurately if you use a short FL. Start by using a compass for AZ and your local latitude for Alt. (Or use a star that you know is due  north for AZ) Then check with drift alignment, if your setup allows. I have found that with short FL polar alignment is not that critical.

 

Good luck

[edjrgibbs]

Thanks guys, i'll give it a try.