how important is having a tracking or motorised mount?

[lostinspace]

how important is having a tracking or motorised mount? i`ve recently been bought a skywatcher 6" neq3 mount, it is entirely manual. i`ve noticed on single digit mag that the moon scoots by pretty quickly, am i to expect to have to constantly ajust if looking at saturn, if so, how will i ever find it? i have vissions of chasing it through the night sky...

[yeti monster]

You only "need" auto-tracking if you are imaging, or suffer some disability which affects you ability to turn a screw.

Use a finderscope or RDF to locate. Once you have located your target, you do indeed have to track it, unless you can manage to halt the earths rotation for a few hours.

[TheThing]

Motor tracking is not essential. Once you've found something like Saturn, M42 etc, it's pretty easy to keep it in the FOV (field of View) with just minute adjustments of the slow motion controls. A motor does make it much easier, but it is not essential.

Practice makes perfect - you'll soon get the hang of it!

[lostinspace]

aha, so the speeding bullet analages are exagerated! phew, cheers TheThing.

[steppenwolf]

Speeding bullets no, you will indeed find it easy to do provided you have got at least some semblance of a polar alignment.

[dark knight]

Also it is worth mentioning the higher the magnification you are using the faster the object you are observing will move across your field of view..

[yeti monster]

And the more it will ding about each time you tweek the slow motion screw.

[steviestuboy]

Personally I use the halting of the earths rotation method as I'am the greatest astronomer thats ever lived, you mere mortals could learn a thing or two from me.

[Neutrino]

Personally I use the halting of the earths rotation method .

Fine, but I do wish that you would stop doing it while I'm at work.

[Capricorn]

Yep, you can do it all manually all the twiddly bits are provided, but it is a pain in the rear.:eek:

It is very nice and easy to peer at an object and while doing so press a cursor button with one hand to keep the object in the field of view.

Even more use when moving to something new.

I always budget in the motors, just basic ones, for any mount at the initial purchase.

[yeti monster]

I enjoy the challenge of locating an object and then the "driving" to keep it in view, especially after an EP swap. It does make it tricky when I nip in to drag SWMBI out to "look at the pretty lights in the sky", as by the time she's dragged herself away from the couch, the object in question (celestial, not the wife) has long drifted out of view.........

[acey]

Put it this way - did Messier and Herschel use one? No, and they managed fine.

[yeti monster]

Ferzakerly!

[crepitis]

Put it this way - did Messier and Herschel use one? No, and they managed fine.

I hope you dont have a scope of more than 4" aperture, after all, if it was good enough for Messier......

[Capricorn]

did Messier and Herschel use one?

No, they didn't have the internet either for forums like this, PC's, the exotic glasses for ED refractors, or machinery able to make the parabolic mirrors to the accuracy we expect. Add in the nice big scopes in Hawaii, Tenerife, Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer, all the radio telescopes, GPS and auto align.

Sorry the EP's you have will be in excess of what they had available, never mind the scope you use and the mount it is on.

We have developed quite a bit since Messier and Herschel and I cannot see why I should not use what we have produced.

[Astro_Baby]

If you have a reasonable polar alignment on an EQ mount its not so tough to turn the RA fine adjustment BUT - in every scope I have owned so far using the fine controls introduces some wobble at higher magnifications.

On balance I prefer motors and let the mount get on with tracking the object while I enjoy the view. They arent essential I'd agree but they make life a bit simpler.

Sorry but if Herschel was too tight to spend on a GoTo or decent optics how is that my problem ?

[crepitis]

Sorry but if Herschel was too tight to spend on a GoTo or decent optics how is that my problem ?

[steve_bham]

Goto or tracking is not essential, but if you have lmited time its a great way of spend a few hours looking at objects at a push of a button. Some hate goto's some love them. Im the latter they are great nice to have extras on a scope if you can afford them.

For me they also help teach me the sky. Also if you have goto you dont need to use it if you can spend longer outside so you will have the best of both worlds.

Steve

[TheThing]

Not essential - but nice to have, I agree.

[geoff_k]

I think a motorised mount certainly helps but go-to can complicate matters.

As has already been said, anything that helps in our time-limited skies is a blessing.

Geoff

[steviestuboy]

Look my minion's as iam so incredibly rich and powerful let me tell you a thing or two, back when I invented the telescope motors were not available so i set about inventing them as well, now the world is a happy place thanks to me.

Bow down!