Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

EQ Alignment when drift align not possible


UKJay1971

Recommended Posts

I am observing from my back garden which is enclosed on all sides and so drift alignment is not a realistic possibility due to me not getting within 40° of the horizon on any of the cardinal points. Are there any other ways to get solid alignment or am I going to have to get as close as and use auto guiding? I am looking to start imaging deep sky objects so need decent exposure times for the subs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you cannot view near the horizon then it is not so critical to drift align there. So just get your altitude as good as you can and drift align near the meridian to get the azimuth spot on.

Irrespective of your polar alignment you will need to auto guide anyway if you are after long exposures. Unless you are imaging with very short focal lengths.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a clear view of Polaris and will be able to offset slightly for the NCP using a polar scope so SharpCap sounds promising. I know I will have to guide anyway however, with a mount that is as close to true alignment as possible, it should hopefully smooth out the mount movements due to guiding. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

What kind of skies do you have? My exposures are not long enough that periodic error becomes an issue before skyglow is too great. For me autoguiding would require either a dark sky site of narrowband.

Semi urban so yes, light pollution will be an issue (I use a filter to try and block out as much as I can). I am still learning my craft so I want to get competent before I start heading out to dark sites to spend a night imaging. If I can grab subs of around 1-3 mins then I think I can do ok on brighter objects using stacking to boost SNR

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.