Polar Alignment

[darlingtonskies]

Ok, so i have my scope and can get to see saturn and mars but it goes out of view straight away.

now i was thinking i would set up my polar alignment and get polaris righ in middle.

But this is the next bit. if i want to look at the planets (different direction) i have to move the mount as i cant turn left and right more that 25 degrees either way.

also the latitute changes if i lower the scope.

Someone please help as i have read the instructions 6 times and still looking at it as if it was in a different language.

Please can someone explain the eq2 and how i move the telescope so i can film the planets with a webcam.

Please explain in leymans terms and what i will probably do is print it out and relook at it.

Oh and the last thing is - when i try to twist left and right it only turns maximum of 25 degrees. why is this?

[Merlin66]

I see you have an EQ2 mounting.....

There are two axis.... one which should point towards the pole star ( RA axis) and one at right angles ( Dec axis)

Point the RA as close as you can to the pole star.....

Undo the clutches and check the counterweight will "balance" the telescope. Slightly, not too tight, tighten the clutches so the telescope can still move in both axis, and by moving around you should be able to point at any visible star.. when you're in position tighten the axis and use the RA control to slowly follow the object.

Hope this helps,

Ken

[mickyjd]

Hi Darlingtonskies the mount should have realease clamps on both axis thus allowing you to slew the scope in any direction once realeased turn the the telescope so that the counterwieghts and scope are horizontal with the ground then lock off then turn the scope to the part of sky you wish to observe. Then once you have centered your target you lock the clamps and use your slow motion controls to track with. This can take some getting used to at first but you should be able to the hang of it pretty quickly. As for the filming unless you have a motor drive for the mount you might find it a bit tricky. Hope this helps i'm not to far away from you in Sunderland if you need any hands on help.

[darlingtonskies]

but if i move it around then the mount is not point to pole star.

the instructions say -

After your telescope is polar aligned, no

further adjustments in the azimuth and latitude of the mount

should be made in the observing session

but i cant turn it around without turning the mount. does that make any sense. I know your probably thinking 'OMG what a tw**' but im sorry. its just like some people cant comprehend what others find easy.

[ottUp]

Ok, so i have my scope and can get to see saturn and mars but it goes out of view straight away.

Please explain in leymans terms and what i will probably do is print it out and relook at it.

It seems you are confusing the movements you use to polar-align the mount with the movements you use to point the telescope. They are not the same, but it's easy to get them confused.

Try this set of articles and see if it helps get you organized.

- Richard

[themos]

I think learning the EQ mount is safer if you take the telescope tube and weights off the mount.

[steppenwolf]

This subject causes much confusion with new equatorial mount users and before I upgraded my mount to GoTo, I often had to have a couple of stabs at rotating the two axes to locate the objects I wanted to observe!

When you have completed a polar alignment, it is the RA axis that is polar aligned, NOT the telescope itself - this axis then remains in polar alignment for the rest of the session provided you don't move the tripod. Although some of the movements will seem counter-intuitive slackening off both clutches as advised above will allow you to point the telescope at any object above your horizon but it may take a couple of stabs if you go the wrong way first!

[darlingtonskies]

so, let me get this, the ra needs to point so the axis of the mount points to polaris +1 degree and then i slacken the others so i can move up down left and right at will. and the levers to turn the right and left, these are fine tunes to get the planet, galaxy etc in focus.

am i getting it now?

I would like to get this right as it would be nice to get planets more than 5 seconds before i have to move it.

[Cornelius Varley]

Equatorial mounts can be difficult to understand at first. (How can I point the telescope in one direction if the mount is pointing in another without moving the tripod). eq mount tutorial shows how the telescope can move around the sky without the tripod being touched.

The EQ2 mount has a limited movement in the dec axis using the slo-mo controls, about 25 degrees, and these should only be used to follow an object across the sky for short periods. For any larger movements of the mount the clutches should be released and the mount slewed manually. For prolonged tracking, ie photography, you should buy the RA motor for your mount, the multispeed ra drive for the EQ2 costs about £61.

Peter

[darlingtonskies]

I have the RA motor that come standard with the scope from SkyWatcher Explorer 130M Reflector Telescope (sorry sponsors, did not know about you before i bought this) im now thinking i should have got a goto now, but still going to persist for the moment.

[Merlin66]

Sounds like you're getting there....

The RA axis when pointing to the pole star is sitting parallel to the Earth's axis, the other Dec axis is a right angles.

So when stars appear to rise in the East, swing across the sky and set in the west you can follow this movement by only rotating the RA axis at the same speed as the Earth rotates....

To find an object, think about it as a place on the earth's surface where you need a long/ latitude reference ( RA and Dec position in the sky) so when you unclamp the axis they can only move along lines of Long/Lat (RA/Dec) - there's no left or right up or down anymore....

The Dec axis only allows you to point north or south.....

[brantuk]

First set the tripod up pointing North and make sure its perfectly level.

Set the mount angle for your position on earth.

Then if you look at page 6 "Operating your telescope" Fig C. You can use the alt (t-bolt) and az (base knob) adjustments to fine tune pointing at polaris.

Now you are set correctly for viewing. Release the RA and Dec lock nuts in Fig D.

This will let you point the scope in any direction without moving the tripod but it takes a bit of getting used to. Lock the nuts back up once pointed at the sky you want and use the ra/dec cables to fine tune an object. You should find you can track with only 1 cable (ra).

If the finder and ep are in an awkward place (e.g. underneath) then losen the tube rings and spin the OTA round to bring them into a comfy viewing position. Retighten the tube rings.

Hope that helps.

[darlingtonskies]

thank you.

I think all of it together brings it to an answer and think i can do this now.

Thank you so much all of you

[darlingtonskies]

WOW!!!

penny has clicked. went outside to my scope and ciggy. played around and it all makes sense. it is a bit awkward but i spose it will become easy after a while.

Thank you all for the links and all your help.

Im sure il be posting about somet else very soon

[darlingtonskies]

ok, so i have aligned it with polaris and then found saturn through ra/dec - now the monitor was going at 2x speed which states the right speed but by the time i changed to 10mm 2 x barlow it had gone. played with the motor and would not move anywhere.

what would this be. i balanced it. it was moving to polaris and the used top 2 controls (dec/ra) but still dint work

i managed to see saturn, orion nebular and nearly got andromeda. so i am workng around the sky. very good night.

[darlingtonskies]

sorry a double cluster (not andromeda) i also played around with pleides. i really cant spell at moment. fingers still cold.

[Talitha]

Sorry if this sounds repetitive, but are you sure the mount and tripod are level? The only time anything drifts out of the fov that quickly for me is 1) when the scope isn't level or 2) when my guesstimate of the declination needs an adjustment.

Also, sudden increases in magnification often place targets out of the field of view (fov). Try gradually increasing the power and re-centering the target as you go along, and see if it helps.

Basically though, it sounds like you're doing quite well... Kudos!

[Merlin66]

Don't understand the comment about the x2 motor speed (?)

The siderial rate is normally the "base" drive rate and the x2 or x4 settings are only used to move the scope to better find/ frame the object....

It may be you have a problem with the batteries not giving enough voltage, the output drops in the cold.....

Ken

[themos]

I always say an equatorial mount is not for beginners, they are just too confusing.

Darlingtonskies, can you confirm that your scope and motors are as shown in these two links?

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 130

Skywatcher - Skywatcher RA Motor Drive for EQ2

[darlingtonskies]

themos - yes they are.

mount was stable and conditions good. i started with wide angle. then 2 x barlow. then moved to 10mm then added the barlow.

it was visible in 10mm but wouldnt stay up with it.

the callibration was right so not sure. and themos your right. the eq isnt beginner friendly. as i said in another post. should really have got a goto.

[themos]

If the object drifts away from the eyepiece view at high magnification, then you may need to work on your polar alignment.

First you have to establish which direction (as you peer into the eyepiece) is east-west. That's easily done : you just turn off tracking and watch which way the object goes: that's west.

Then turn tracking on and centre the object with the handset controls. Pop in the high power eyepiece (barlow + 10mm) and watch which way it goes off. If it's the same direction your RA motor needs adjusting (can you do that with that model?). If it's in a perpendicular direction, you need to improve the polar alignment.

I have a youtube video that helps explain what's going on

the sound is bad but there's subtitles for everything

[brantuk]

Hi again Darlington

As people are saying - if you align using a 20mm lense, the object looks as if it's in the center of field of view - but this won't reveal any minor errors in polar alignment. If you then drop the 10mm in (doubling the magnification) and the object is gone, then it means the alignment is slightly out (adding a barlow will emphasise the error even more).

The trick I find is to try and do the polar alignment with the highest magnification possible (e.g. 5mm) - then you'll know that any lesser magnification will allways have the object in the centre. Also - once polar aligned - realign the finder with the tube on the pole star - makes stuff a lot easier to find.

I'm not familiar with your ra drive or controls so I'm sorry I can't comment on that but I hope I've helped.

[themos]

In my last message I didn't make it clear that the object you should be looking at should be fairly low in the east or south or west, not anything near Polaris.