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Polar alignment
The polar alignment ensures, that the RA-axis of the telescope is
parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This makes tracking of objects in
the night sky much more comfortable and allows the use of setting
circles to centre on dark and hard to find objects. For visual
observation, an approximate polar alignment is often enough.
1 Approximate polar alignment
1.1 A quick and approximate polar alignment is possible without a
polar scope. You need to know your local latitude. The latitude is one
of the geographic coordinates to describe a position on the globe. It
runs from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the North Pole (and -90° at the
South Pole). You can check the latitude of your location with most GPS
devices or maps. You can also simply search online for the latitude of
the nearest city. For this approximate polar alignment, it is enough to
know the latitude to an accuracy of 1°.
1.2 Open the altitude adjustment clamp on the side of the mount
head. You only need to loosen it by a small amount. Then rotate the
altitude adjustment handle and note how the arrow at the latitude
scale moves accordingly. Adjust the altitude until the arrow points at
your local latitude. Re-tighten the altitude adjustment clamp.
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1.3. The telescope mount must be pointed towards the celestial pole
(north for the northern hemisphere). For an approximate polar
alignment, you can use a compass or the night sky to orient yourself.
The north star Polaris is usually visible with the naked eye, even under
light polluted skies. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (Big and Little Dipper)
are one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky. Polaris is
the last star of the handle of the Little Dipper. The RA-axis of the
telescope mount must be pointed in the direction of Polaris. Pick up
the telescope mount from the ground and position it towards north.
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