60 degree or above angle

[stardad]

Viewing from the garden requieres me to set the scope up with a degree angle of more than 60 which is higher than our lat position of 51.12.

I'm guessing that this will effect my ability to track objects as the scope's not set up correctly.

Will it damage the scopes mount?

[John]

The equatorial mount will only track accurately if it's set at your lattitude. You might as well have an alt-azimuth mount otherwise.

You can point your scope vertically with the EQ mount set to your latitude so it should work OK.

You need to loosten the 2 axis locks so that the scope can move around both the right ascension (RA) and declination (DEC) axis. It will be able to point to anywhere in the sky then.

[yeti monster]

I'm not sure I understand your problem here. Surely you can set your latitude to 51 degrees and therefore track, reasonably well, anything that pops up?

[stardad]

I'm not sure I understand your problem here. Surely you can set your latitude to 51 degrees and therefore track, reasonably well, anything that pops up?

You are quiet correct.

I'm still learning what moves at 51' and nothing has popped up so all I can suggest to do is move the 51' higher or lower and move all the EQ positions of RA/DEC to see things. (I've probably messed my scope setting up well and truely.)

The moon from where I am is at about 62' to look at that's all.

[Helen]

Try this for starters A Quick Tour of an EQ Mount - McWiki - it does it in manageable stages with animation

Helen

PS I think most of us struggled to get to grips with our first EQ mount

[Merlin66]

Whhhoooo

The 51 degree is the tilt of the polar axis ie hopefully points towards the pole star....nothing to do with setting the scope onto a target....

That's done by loosening the two axis RA/ Dec and swivelling the scope around in those two axis until the star/ planet/ moon is in the field of view....the angle of the polar axis never changes or gets moved.

I'm sure this is explained in the Skywatcher manual ( not a great reference but it should help you.)

[stardad]

Whhhoooo

The 51 degree is the tilt of the polar axis ie hopefully points towards the pole star....nothing to do with setting the scope onto a target....

That's done by loosening the two axis RA/ Dec and swivelling the scope around in those two axis until the star/ planet/ moon is in the field of view....the angle of the polar axis never changes or gets moved.

I'm sure this is explained in the Skywatcher manual ( not a great reference but it should help you.)

Didn't get a Skywatcher manual with a Celestron scope. So you can tell how much of a newbieee I am then.

[stardad]

Try this for starters A Quick Tour of an EQ Mount - McWiki - it does it in manageable stages with animation

Helen

PS I think most of us struggled to get to grips with our first EQ mount

Thanks.

:homework:

[yeti monster]

Ahhh! I'm seeing ye olde EQ newcomer error here me thinks!

Set your Latitude to 51 degrees and point it North, set the Declination to, well anything in sight really, then the RA can track the chosen object across the sky. The above links will explain it far better than I can....

The thing is, once you've seen it, it looks so obvious! Good luck now.

[Helen]

Getting to grips with an EQ mount reminds me of learning drive, when the instructors tried to explain clutch control and hill starts, and I was sure I'd never get to grips with doing all those things at once ... and then one day it all just clicked into place

Helen

[Astro Imp]

Try this for starters A Quick Tour of an EQ Mount - McWiki - it does it in manageable stages with animation

Helen

An excellent article that makes it easy to follow.

Thanks Helen.

[stardad]

Pity that when I swing mine through RA the adjuster knob clips the RA motor drive and when I swing the DEC part that adjuster knob hits the Dec degree wheel.

Why oh why did I take this up?

[Rols]

Getting to grips with an EQ mount reminds me of learning drive, when the instructors tried to explain clutch control and hill starts, and I was sure I'd never get to grips with doing all those things at once ... and then one day it all just clicked into place

Helen

Have you passed yet hellen??

[Helen]

What's scary is that its 27 years in a couple of weeks

Helen

[stardad]

Thanks Helen. Its a good article to read and follow.

[Helen]

Pity that when I swing mine through RA the adjuster knob clips the RA motor drive and when I swing the DEC part that adjuster knob hits the Dec degree wheel.

Why oh why did I take this up?

I remember that problem with my CG5 mount I think you can get rounsd it by just taking the mount back around the other way to the other side. (Which will probably also have the advantage of avoiding having the weights facing up.)

Keep at it - the sense of achievement when it all comes together will be HUGE

Helen