9
Confused About Pointing the Telescope?
Beginners occasionally experience some confusion about
how to point the telescope overhead or in other directions. In
Figure 1 the telescope is pointed north as it would be during
polar alignment. The counterweight shaft is oriented down-
ward. But it will not look like that when the telescope is point-
ed in other directions. Let’s say you want to view an object
that is directly overhead, at the zenith. How do you do it?
DO NOT make any adjustment to the latitude adjustment
L-bolts. That will spoil the mount’s polar alignment. Remem-
ber, once the mount is polar aligned, the telescope should be
moved only on the R.A. and Dec. axes. To point the scope
overhead, first loosen the R.A. lock lever and rotate the tele-
scope on the right ascension axis until the counterweight
shaft is horizontal (parallel to the ground). Then loosen the
Dec. lock lever and rotate the telescope until it is pointing
straight overhead. The counterweight shaft is still horizontal.
Then retighten both lock levers.
What if you need to aim the telescope directly north, but at an
object that is nearer to the horizon than Polaris? You can’t do
it with the counterweights down as pictured in Figure 1. Again,
you have to rotate the scope in right ascension so that the
counterweight shaft is positioned horizontally. Then rotate the
scope in declination so it points to where you want it near the
horizon.
To point the telescope directly south, the counterweight shaft
should again be horizontal. Then you simply rotate the scope
on the declination axis until it points in the south direction.
To point the telescope to the east or west, or in other direc-
tions, you rotate the telescope on its right ascension and dec-
lination axes. Depending on the altitude of the object you want
to observe, the counterweight shaft will be oriented some-
where between vertical and horizontal.
Figure 10 illustrates how the telescope will look when pointed
at the four cardinal directions: north, south, east and west.
The key things to remember when pointing the telescope are
that a) you only move it in right ascension and declination, not
in azimuth or latitude (altitude), and b) the counterweight and
shaft will not always appear as it does in Figure 1. In fact it
almost never will!
7. Specifications
Mount: German equatorial
Tripod: Aluminum
Weight: 29 lbs. 8 oz.
Counterweight: Large, 7 lbs. 9 oz. ; Small 4 lbs.
Slow-motion adjustment: R.A. and Dec. axes
Setting circles: R.A. scaled in 10 min. increments, Dec.
scaled in 2° increments for N or S hemisphere
Polar axis latitude adjustment: 5° to 75°
Polar axis finder scope: Optional
Motor drives: Optional
Figure 10.
This illustration show the telescope pointed in the the
four cardinal directions (a) north, (b) south, (c) east, (d) west. Note
that the tripod and mount have ot been moved; only the telescope
tube has been moved on the R.A. and Dec. axes.
a.
b.
c.
d.
