what 3 stars

[darren west]

i have a heq5 pro and thanks to the guys on here i have sorted out polar alignment 

 

i live in essex and from my back garden my field of view is mainly east but can see north and south also 

can anyone recommend 3 easily found stars that i can try to learn for alignment please

 

 

thanks

 

 

[nightfisher]

Have a look on Stellarium to see the best to use

[wimvb]

Which stars to use depends on your local conditions, plus the season. When I started out in this hobby, I also had trouble finding suitable stars. Any star chart with names of bright stars can help, stellarium is a good choice. An app or a paper chart is generally more practical than a computer program.

In time you will learn the names of the brightest stars, and star alignment will become easier. My advice, added to @nightfisher: learn some of the star names in the most common constellations, and where to find them in the sky. It will also impress your friends & relatives. 

[ronin]

North: Nothing really, Polaris is usually not a great iea and Vega is too low.

East: Arctures - easy red one, find by following the curve of the plough handle.

South: Denebola and Regulus in Leo,

South/West: Procyon.

West: Castor, Pollux but Capella is easier, Aldebaren would be easy but a bit low, another easy to find red one

Should see Capella as it is high and West, generally best to have a spread across the sky.

All are bright and sit in the sky sort of alone, so if you are in the right bit of the sky then hopefully it is the big bright one.

[noah4x4]

Concur with Ronin in the current month, but in a  few months you will require some alternatives  (such as Vega). Probably your best bet is to get the FREE SkyPortal APP for Android or IOS. This very clearly depicts on your mobile phone (or tablet) the principle "bright" stars and their positions. 

However, I had trouble with this skill until I purchased a 9 x 50 illuminated RACI finderscope. Then to ensure that I secured an adequate star centered alignment I struggled until I purchased a 12.5mm reticle EP.  Now it's simple. You will probably also have more joy with a typical  'Two Star Align' where you need to identify your alignment stars than with the typical 'Auto-align' where you need to target three  stars that you don't have to identify. 

[darren west]

why cant i use polaris as 1 of my stars after i have polar aligned ?

[noah4x4]

21 hours ago, darren west said:

why cant i use polaris as 1 of my stars after i have polar aligned ?

It is because Polaris ALWAYS lies on the Meridian, which is an imaginary line drawn from North to South via the zenith.

Telescopes that get their initial bearings from an initial Polar alignment (or such similar calculations from the Meridian) can get confused if your Cal Star remains on the Meriden as how do they identify East from West when that star is in neither?  You should also avoid stars due south too.

[darren west]

ok that makes sense

thanks

 

[JOC]

17 hours ago, noah4x4 said:

Telescopes that get their initial bearings from an initial Polar alignment (or such similar calculations from the Meridian) can get confused if your Cal Star remains on the Meriden as how do they identify East from West when that star is in neither?  You should also avoid stars due south too.

Is today's lesson learned - I've not seen anyone on SGL point that out yet.  I'll stop using Polaris now.