Setting of Equatorial Mount

I recently purchased a Skywatcher Telescope (With EQ3 Mount) for my wife for
Christmas. The Telescope came with proper instr;uctions on how to set up
the telescope but it had no ilnformation on how to use the Equatorial Mount
in watching the sky. I realize that you should set the RA and the DEC but
we don't know where to start. Could anyone suggest any webvsites or books
that would assist in learning this process.



Bill

Hi there. You posted:

I recently purchased a Skywatcher Telescope (With EQ3 Mount) for my wife for
Christmas. The Telescope came with proper instr;uctions on how to set up
the telescope but it had no ilnformation on how to use the Equatorial Mount
in watching the sky. I realize that you should set the RA and the DEC but
we don't know where to start. Could anyone suggest any webvsites or books
that would assist in learning this process.

Its actually not all that difficult to do this. The equatorial mount has two
shafts with two axes of rotation. The one with the scope and counterweidght
on it is called the declination axis, while the other one (the one often with
a motor for driving the scope) is the polar axis. The key is to point the
polar axis towards the north celestial pole (if you are in the northern
hemisphere that is). The north celestial pole is roughly in the direction of
the star Polaris, and can be approximated by pointing the axis north and
upwards at an angle equal to your local latitude. Most equatorial mounts have
the latitude indicator on them, so you just adjust the tilt of the polar axis
until it is the same as your local latitude, and then orient the rough
direction of the polar axis so that its highest end is pointed north. For
visual work, that is about all there is to it, although for more precise
tracking, you have to work a little harder at it to get the alignment better.
Such alignment is covered in a number of books like NORTON'S STAR ATLAS.
Clear skies to you.
--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

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