How to Polar Align Your Telescope Mount - EQ Polar Alignment
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2024
- Polar Alignment Step-by-step: astrobackyard.com/polar-align...
Polar alignment is an essential part of your telescope set up process. In this video I show you how to polar align a german equatorial telescope mount (EQ) in the Northern Hemisphere.
The mount I am using for my demonstration is a Sky-watcher HEQ-5 Pro Synscan. To properly align your telescope, it is important to know your latitude coordinates on Earth so you can make the appropriate adjustments to your tracking EQ mount.
Full Post with Instructions: astrobackyard.com/polar-alignm...
Latitude/Longitude Finder: mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/lati...
The techniques and tips I share in this video are what I use to capture DSLR astrophotography images from my backyard. For more information please visit: astrobackyard.com/ - Наука та технологія
Thanks from a 70yr old beginner - in the UK
I’m only 9 years younger!
@@leatherindian I'm 45 years younger than you
@@asseel70iraq99 im 3 years younger than you :D
@@nytarskongen0072 😂😂😂
I m a 58 yr beginner
Hi Trevor. I've had a telescope for years and have been obsessed with the stars and astronomy all my life. I gave up pretty quickly on my telescope because I never really knew how to use it. I purchased a DSLR camera about 2 years ago to try night sky photography and gave that up after a few tries as I thought it was too hard. I came across the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer a year or so ago and finally bought it a couple of weeks ago. I tried it for the first time on Saturday night, during the Perseids, and, frustratingly, missed most of the meteors that I could see in my light polluted area trying to polar align the Star Adventurer. I tried the official manual, well reviewed site's tutorials and some videos but I just couldn't get it. After watching your video I feel this is the simplest and most straightforward explanation on how to do it and I feel confident that I'll be able to do it on my next try. So, for that, thank you!
+David Murphy Thank you David! We have all been there.. Im so glad I could help. All the best
So, how has your progress been since you posted this? Did you have success? Did you pursue it further, give up, etc?
Thanks a very easy to understand tutorial Trevor. You are a great presenter and humble, which is so refreshing man! and Rudi the dog just melts my heart when i see how loving and loyal he is to you! I think it's great you include him in your videos as it gives you and your videos a whole new level of Authenticity and shows your human qualities. It's so sweet seeing him n you interact, as i'm a huge Dog lover and i understand the love n trust between a Dog and his or hers mummy and daddy! I also love it when Rudi just wanders in to your vids having a little sniff and look around and checking his daddy is ok! Beautiful and so special! Great Vids Trevor, please keep up the great work! From Liverpool, UK.
Great production value and instruction as always! Please don't stop making videos-they are the well-made, excellently executed videos the astronomy community needs!
Just got an EQ6-R and used it for the first time - its my first EQ mount (what a beast!). I don't see Polaris from my balcony. I pointed it north using a simple compass, used APTs DARV routine and then finished with the built in synscan polar alignment of the mount. 120s unguided - round stars. Its really easy and I was very happy it worked so well for me as a first timer! Now tonight I am already looking into plate solving.
Thanks. Having used my Meade LS-8 for several years, I just got a Sky-Watcher Esprit 150 with the EQ6-Pro mount... moving from a completely self adjusting scope not suitable for astrophotography to this beauty. Your explanation was simple and to the point aligned with a good dose if empathy.
Hi, Trevor, great videos. Keep ‘em coming. Clear skies!
A sight for the sore eyes. Thank you for making this so easy to understand.
Thanks Trevor - you explain things in a way that anyone can understand.
I've learned so much from you. Thank you for fantastic videos and great explanations. Cheers!
Man you put together both entertaining and educational videos. Great job
Hi Trevor, thanks for the simplicity explaining on how to Polar Align, I was watching a video in a different channel on how to do it, and gave me a headache, it was sort of like learning how to split the atom. thanks again. Clear Skies!!!
Hi Trevor, I have watched a few videos to get my HEQ5 aligned but your video is really straight forward. I was aware why but I never got it right. Now it's crystal clear :-)
Next clear night I will apply your method. Thanks a lot! And the App Polar Finder is easy to use.
Well done Trevor and Rudi really enjoyed it.
Mike
Brilliant quick and easy description video for polar alignment. 👏 thanks!!!
Thanks, I’m just learning as much as I can before I buy a telescope. Your video was easy to understand.
Of course this is a useful video, thanks for share your knowledge in a more accessible manner.
Very well explained, good tutorial. A greeting from Spain.
Your video tutorials are superb!!
Great job. Have found your videos very helpful.
Very useful, thanks! Took me 30 (thirty) minutes to realize why I couldn't see through the polarscope of my new NEQ5 Pro mount until I realized that the axis must be in that certain position. Felt so dumb )) If watching this video before, it had saved me time.
as a visual dob user, its nice to understand what my astrophotography buddies have to go through
Have Subbed a Long Time Ago,But Just Got a New Eq Mount and Needed This..Thank You Trevor🙏🏼🔭❤️🌏
I just got my first EQ mount, Vixen SP. Thx for the video explaining the polar scope alignment. Cheers
Easiest alignment video ever! Thanks very much. :)X
Great vid. Just started with an goto eq mount and this helps a lot in the proces. Thnkx
i will support you in what ways i can on youtube... i love Astrophotography but cannot afford equipment to do so.. so i am glad to see you on youtube doing what i like (:
Thank you! I hope you are able to pursue the hobby in the future.
I'm watching all of your videos from beginning in 2021💖
Very good video. I use Polemaster with CGEM mount and found it very handy and great time saver. Once you follow the basic steps that video shows such as setting latitude, leveling mount and roughly pointing towards polaris using pole master you can get very accurate and quick polar alignment. It is is bit expensive but time saver in my opinion. When I started using it I was not sure how helpful it would be but after using it for 3-4 times I can get accurate polar alignment. You can search for videos on polemaster.
Great tutorial Trevor. Compared to manual drift alignment, the polar scope + PolarFinder app requires very little setup time, so you can spend more time taking pictures.
The alignment is usually good enough for 60 sec unguided shots with my EQ5 and 400 mm scope (Orion ST-80).
thank you for this great video. before I saw this video, I usually just pointed my polar alignment scope directly at Polaris :-), again, thank you
Awesome video!! Thanks so much!
Again, very useful video, all i can do at the moment is drift alignment but i will use your video if i can see polaris.
Thank you, thank you! Finally makes sense!
Hey Trevor, nice video! I am from Sydney, NSW, Australia....I found out i may use Sigma Octantis, (Polaris of the South) to align my telescope....But Octantis may be harder to find as it is fainter than polaris. :) But the procedure is the same as finding a polaris. :) THanks so much
Hi Trevor! It is very important before starting to use a new mount to check the collimation of the polar finder. I have accidentally discovered that mine was off by maybe 1/2 degrees.
So it is recommended to check the collimation of the polar scope during daytime against a distant target before using it for astrophotography especially when autoguiding is not used. Otherwise there is no point in being too precise with positioning Polaris relatively to the reticle.
Great tutorial, thank you.
Saludos Trevor, desde Barcelona 41° Cataluña, Gracias por tu video.
Thanks for the help!
I just got in my HEQ5 today. Can't wait to give it a whirl. This will be my first computer mount. Like a lot of people, I thought polar aligning was simply aiming at Polaris. The first time I tried it I must have hit it right on the nose because I was imaging Mars and it didn't move a bit lol. Never happened again.
Hey Trevor,
I love the videos! I was just wondering could you do a video on all of your telescopes, mounts and equipment and what each one is best for? Because I don’t understand why you pick certain telescopes for certain images/visual? Thanks!
great video, thanks...
Thanks let see if I can get it to work
Great video Trevor, thank you. I do have 2 questions, what is the dial for around the polar scope for and how do I use it and when?
Thanks for this video Trevor. How do you make sure that your polar scope isn't rotated too far one way or the other? for example, in your video at 1:23, the big dipper and cassiopeia which are printed on the screen of the scope are right and left of the NCP respectively, however if the scope were "twisted" slightly, they might be above and below the NCP, for example, and then surely the whole thing wouldn't work?
Thanks Trevor, i just got the eq6pro as my next step. maybe no more start hopping yeah
wow that cleared so much up for me, thank you so much
+Doug McMillan Glad I could help!!
Hey Trevor, living in another light polluted area in Canada I'm lucky that about an hour after sunset I can make out Dracos a little bit, that with the lower portion of the Big Dippers two stars gives me a good idea of where to find Polaris. This hobby has such a big learning curve, even finding Polaris has taken me a ton of different outings. Why don't the manufacturers who already put a GPS in their mounts/controllers have an auto align that can compensate for time, all we would have to do is a tiny fine adjustment to put polaris in the locator circle in the finder... seems like an easy fix to me
Doug McMillan Excellant, as always. My CG-4 mount is close to yours.
It only has to support an Orion CC6 Classical Cassegrain so, even with accesories it’s stable.
Photos will have to wait for a better night, here in the Philly Burbs.
So far, visually, it’s outstanding. Love your doggie💜. Sela
I enjoy your videos - but always wondered why they were so serious. It was nice to see you joke and smile... Impointant! = )
Hi Trevor i watch your videos and find them so helpful but today i just got my 1st heq5 and in the standard park position the small circle is at 12oclock at the top does that matter thanks bud!.
well done
Do you find that polar aligning with the polar scope is good enough for AP or is there benefit to further refine the alignment using tools such as sharpCaps polar alignment tool?
First of all, I really like your videos and the way you explain things!
It's very disappointing that the PoleMaster can only be mounted on a limited set of mounts? I own a Skywatcher EQM-35 pro for example and I've been looking so long for a solution. I only got the mount recently but I regret it already only because of the missing support with automatic polar alignment.
Keep on making those video's. Clear Skies!
Excellent video and so clear. Just a quick question , how accurate do i need to be locating Polaris.- to the nearest seconds? I m using Sam console and polar finder. They differ by several minutes and seconds. Any suggestions?
Hello :) and Thank You for this Video, 1 question....do you align WITH your scope ect on the mount?
Just watched this video. I have a similar mount and following this procedure I always found my scope to be off polar alignment. I found out that the polar scope was not exactly aligned with my mount axis. I am trying to resolve that issue but it is apparently not simple. You can easily check if your polar scope is aligned with the mount axis by turning the RA while looking through the scope. The "polaris ring" in the scope view field should not wobble as the RA turns, it should remain perfectly stable.
Great video. Anyway doing pola alignment at 3degree that we cannot see polaris? =)
Hi Trevor. I'm new to this polar alignment process so I watched your video and also downloaded the app as you suggested. My question is what to the numbers indicate. My app now is showing HA:355 degrees, PA 184 degrees, then (06h08m) 39.3', LST: 02:30:07 and counting up. The remaining numbers I understand. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated as I'm having a difficult time adjusting my scope. Thank you. Gerry D.
What is the difference between a Motor Driven Equatorial Mount and say a Meade LX200 Mount on a Wedge ? Is one better performing than the other ? I have used Dobsonians my entire life and and thinking about doing some astrophotography. I am currently using a 16" Computerized Nightsky Dob, without motor drive but wondering if I should sell it and buy a dedicated Astrophotography set up. Refractor or Cassegrain ? what are my options.
Tyvm for the tutorial, very helpful!
Music name?
Thanks.
Hi Trevor.I am a bit puzzled here...about the alignment of the Polar Scope Illuminated Reticle with the Nights sky - using the app..Do you actually need to rotate the RA axis to match the Polar scope's reticle (Polaris circle place, Big Dipper and Cassiopeia on the reticle) with the night sky at the time observingis that accurate enough...to do it by eyeThanksEyal
excelent! One question please: I just bought a new skywatcher120/1000 rig with equatorial neq5 and I'm still learning the equatorial (before it had a 70mm with altaz mount. Once I managed to put it in parking position (orient the tripod to the north with a quality compass, level the tripod , level right ascension and level declination and adjust latitude of Madrid), can I consider that I am aligned with the polar? even if it is fake alignment? because sometimes you want to see the moon during the day or because there is something that does not allow you to see the polar. And Would you know how many degrees you have to deviate to true north in the location of Madrid, since the compass will indicate magnetic north?
Polar Finder App. Voila. That’s why I found this vid. 👍
thank u
Hi Trevor,
Thanks for the video. This is probably a stupid question but should Polaris be right in the cross hairs through the polar aligner or is it enough to just be inside the inner circle?
I just bought a second hand Celestron C8 and Skywatcher Eq35 mount and I'm struggling with alignment.
Thanks
Eamonn
UPDATE: Hi Trevor. I had a look at the instructions on your webpage and I understand what I need to do. Thank you so much for this video!
Thanks for the valuable information. I don't understand why I see polar in the polar finder while I don't in the telescope eyepiece. In your opinion, is it possible to adjust the mount's losmandy bar to align it with the polar finder? Because when I do astrophotography, aligning the three stars is complicated. Thank you
Hey. Trevor. Can you make a walkthrough on all sky pillar allingment having a hard time trying to get pass the 2 phase of PA. On the ASIAIR
Hi Trevor. Can you do a vid on polar alignment during the day? This is for the conjunction which will good at dusk. Thank you. I am using a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer with a camera on it. Thanks.
Love your videos. I noticed that you didn't place polaris in the tiny circle of the polar scope. Also when you polar align, how important is the dial (right ascension and declination circles)? Do they play a role when polar aligning? Thanks for explaining.
Polaris is not exactly at the north celestial pole. It is off to the side a wee bit. It is close but not quite good enough for astrophotography.
Do I need to get the ring in the polar scope turned around to match the app? You didn't cover this pat
Just remember, If your polar alignment scope image is upside down and you use the polar finder app on your phone make sure to turn the phone upside down or you will find your alignment off by a 1 degree plus..
I was not aware of this and never seen it mentioned anywhere else, my alignment has always been off as well, going to try this tonight and thanks in advance !
They have an option in settings where you can set your view type to naked eye or telescope which will flip the view to correlate better with how you will be spotting Polaris.
yeah im pretty sure if you flipped it you might actually have done it wrong again, watch out
I have an Orion EQ-1 mount and it doesn't come with a polar finder hole or anything. I can just attach it to a single axis motor drive.
I have been always trying drift alignment manually and it has not been a pleasant process. Do you have any good approaches with my gear?
I wish to use it with my 60mm apo refractor (f-6) for DSO imaging and always get trails past 5 sec.
Welcome to AstroBackyard! :)
I have a Sky-Watcher 114/900 Eq2 mechanical telescope. Unfortunately there is no polar scope for my mechanics. How do I set it to pole? I've thought about putting a plastic tube on the side of the mechanics and looking through it. I know I can't get it exactly right this way, but do you think it would be OK? Or do you have any other ideas?
Thanks in advance if you have any ideas for this problem.
Have a good stargazing and clear skies :)
Is that Celestron cg5 behind heq5?
This is great, but may I ask, I have access to my Wife’s old Telescope - a Helios 114mm Reflector - but when it comes to the setting circles, the pointer’s RA setting circle needed adjusting, so how do I know which way is negative, please, because I noticed that some co-ordinates use a negative number? Oh, and presumably, once it’s polar aligned, from there onwards, I only adjust the DEC and RA adjusters to find the objects in the sky? Thanks and keep up the great work.
should polaris be in the middle of the circle or where the "app" shows us?
Hi. Thanks for the time you give doing these tutorials. I want to subscribe to your channel, however, when I went and looked at your videos you have on your channel, there were so many that just trying to find ones that follow after the other was a bit daunting. Is there any way of putting videos in an order of which follows which for new people to ap? I have been learning now for about 3 years, and only recently got into ap. I have a good set-up, but due to the absolutely crappy weather conditions in Ireland I seldom get the opportunity to get the scope out. If it's not raining it is cloudy here, leaving long periods between "scope out" times, which means sometimes forgetting certain parts of the process. How I long to live in a country that has clear skies!
I did just subscribe btw.......had a second thought.
Hello, good video but can I point you to the EQMod Ascom website which has a program that will turn your polarscope to the exact position on the inner ring and it is simple to place Polaris bang into the little circle.
Thank you for the tip Peter! I need to look into EQmod and start using it.
AstroBackyard I'm set up to use it on my PC via an extension cable. Definitely worth looking into :)
Nice video... Whats the background music you used?
Hi Trevor I have a question is polar alignment is nassary and if why? What happens if we don't aline only for astronomy ? Plz answer
thank you! any chance of something on cone adjustment?
Yes please more on this!
Using a polar scope, when i have put polaris at the right location. I now wanna align the finder scope aswell, do i then just simply center polaris using the knobs? Its what i have been doing so far and i believe it works but i would like a confirmation if that is the correct method.
Can you recommend the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 Equatorial GoTo Mount for a beginner? (Not a photography beginner but an astro-beginner)
Hey Trevor. Balaji from India here. I been following your channel and site from 2017. Good stuff you are doing...educating people with your experience.
I have a Q. My mount is a iOptron IEQ30 PRO bought in 2019. After a year of me and the equipment gathering dust just started setting it up. Hit the first of the few small hindrances. The spirit level on the polar scope (green liquid...yuk) has leaked. First look tells me the scope and the internals are fine...Its only sticky near the illuminating LED socket. Hope it wont be a disaster for the scopes. The guy who sold it to me tells me to use a Level indicator app (seems its more accurate) on my phone for this purpose.
The circle at 1:23 mine has 0 and 6 on it and I'm told its important to have the zero at the top and the 6 at the bottom. I see yours is upside down. Is this important? If so how do you adjust it and to what accuracy a few degrees, half a degree?
Would you explain how to track the moon? Is it the same process?
great video! i have 1 question, how to polar align if you are living in the equator? u know i never seen polaris in my life :)
Point at the horizon towards the north I guess
I have a question for you. My neck doesn't like looking up at the polar scope on my EQ6-R so I'm looking for alternate ways to polar allign. PHD2 and Sharpcap both use the camera on the telescope to allign the mount. How can you be sure that the telescope is perfectly parallel to the axis of the mount ? If your telescope is polar aligned but your mount is not, won't you get errors in tracking. Every time you take the telescope off and put it on the mount, it seems that you will never get it back on exactly as it was before(paint chipping etc). Thanks.
I use my Polar reticle scope on my AVX mount but it is not perfect. The All Sky Polar Alignment routine works best for me. I think I can get up to 45 second unguided exposures when I use this method. By the way, is there a easy and simple way to take flats after the imaging session?
Looking through the polarfinder should the 0 be at the top?
How would you point your scope/camera say towards the south or the zenith in this case?
Is it required before polar aligning, on an EQ6-R, to rotate the RA about 20 degrees to make the reticle inside the scope perfectly vertical so that the 12 and 6 o’clock marks are vertical? Some say yes, some say not necessary.
I don’t see the need. Just position Polaris in the same spot around the reticle circle that corresponds to the polar hour/minute on the polar align app.
Would appreciate some advice.
Hi, I'm completely new to astronomy so this may be a silly question. Once you've polar aligned the mount as shown in the video, do you then go onto setting the date, time and when Polaris was last in transit on the setting circles on the EQ5pro mount itself? or do you just align using Synscan. You didn't mention it in your video and I wondered if it was necessary. Many thanks. Neil
The setting circles don't really need to be used & have no bearing on how successful the PA is
Do you have to polar align? Like if I don’t plan on doing any kind of astrophotography is it completely necessary? I’ll still be able to just point my telescope at the sky and look around correct?
Trevor I have a potentially embarrassing question. I have a Skywatcher EQ 6 R pro mount. Is the Polar alignment scope process primarily for astro photography? I am primarily a visual observer and am having trouble setting up alignment to 'goto' certain objects. Should I concentrate more on using the 1, 2, 3, star alignment process to get it 'dialed in' and not worry about polar alignment?
Thanks for the video! That telescope is really nice! It seems to be the perfect compromise between size and performance!
What is the use of the little circle that is on Polaris path in the finder? I thought you had to locate Polaris inside that little circle.
You can use the markings on the outside of the polar scope to rotate the little circle to the correct position. However, I found the PolarFinder app easier.
You have indeed to locate the polaris in that small circle.
But beware : the polar scope, like any other refractor, reverse the image in both directions (up becomes down, right becomes left) : if the polaris is right above the celestial pole when you directly look at it with your own eyes, you must set it right below the celestial pole in the polar scope ! If there's the Big Dipper and/or Cassiopea in the polar scope, their orientation (and position regarding the celestial pole) should look the same as the real ones.
What can an older person do to polar align? Getting that low and twisting to look up the axis is very difficult. Can a person put a diagonal on the polar alignment scope?
How does this compare to Drift alignment method (besides the fact that the latter is painful too :) ).
@4:37 Polaris rotates around NCP throughout the day, not throughout the year, right?
Does the height of the tripod affect the latitude adjustment for your (my) location when aligning for Polaris. Example, if I leave my tripod collapsed (at the lowest height) at my latitude but then decide to raise it to the maximum height later on would I have to adjust the latitude or should Polaris be there regardless of the height? I just got back into astronomy and have never used a newtonian telescope with an equatorial mount, I'm used to using an Aszimuth mount, point and shoot so to speak.
Height of the tripod should have no effect. Levelness is important though.