SKILL BUILDERS

Mastering Your Equatorial Mount

by A L AN DYE R
Dont be intimidated by all those knobs and levers.
IN THIS HIGH-TECH AGE, people often assume that incredible computing power is needed for any telescope to track the stars, or that the telescope must somehow lock on to a star. While that level of technology has its place in the hobby, all thats needed to keep an object centered in the eld of view is a properly aligned equatorial mount and a low-cost motor turning your telescope at the right speed. Even if an equatorial mount lacks a motor, you can easily use it to track a celestial object just by twisting a knob from time to time.

The name equatorial comes from the fact that one axis of the mount pivots the telescope parallel to the equator, which allows you to counteract Earths rotation by turning this axis very slowly, at the same rate that Earth spins but in the opposite direction. The most common alternative, the alt-azimuth mount, has up-down (altitude) and side-to-side (azimuth) motions. Thats simpler in some ways, but alt-azimuth mounts have to be nudged in both directions to keep objects centered in the eld, which is inconvenient at high mag-

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nications and precludes most forms of astrophotography. Some altazimuth mounts can track the sky automatically, but they need computerized motors on both axes which come at a price. The convenient tracking of equatorial mounts comes at a price too, measured not in dollars but in the confusion that most people experience when they rst come to grips with them. Equatorial mounts have not two but four different axes, with various kinds of locking and ne-adjustment mechanisms for some or all of them. That adds up to a lot of knobs, levers, and screws no wonder people get confused! So lets untangle all the revolving bits and demystify the equatorial mount. There are many different kinds of equatorial mounts, but well talk here only about the most common kind, the German equatorial mount, which can be recognized by the heavy counterweight opposite the tube. The other designs look quite different but work very much the same; almost everything youll learn here applies to all equatorial mounts.

Although the details may differ, most German-style equatorial mounts have the same components. Its best to assemble and practice using such a mount indoors rst. Get to know how the scope moves and where the controls are before fumbling in the dark.
Counterweight

Declination knob

ar Pol x .) a (R.A is
R.A. clamp

Telescope tube

Declination clamp

n atio clin is e D ax
Rightascension knob
de itu Alt s axi

Altitude clamp Azimuth clamp

SKYWATCH: GREGG DINDERMAN

Setting Up The rst thing to understand is that two of an equatorial mounts four axes are used only once during an observing session, when you rst set up the scope. In fact, one of them the altitude axis needs to be adjusted just once, to an angle equal to the latitude of your observing site. After that it can be left alone, unless you travel to a signicantly different location. This initial setup is best done during the daytime. If youre not sure what your lati-

tude is, check a map or call the reference desk at your local library. The answer doesnt have to be exact; the value for the nearest big city will do ne. Now look for a pivot near the top of the tripod that can swing the entire telescope up and down. It probably has a protractor-like scale with markings from 0 to 90. If not, just eyeball your latitude probably a bit under halfway up. Different models of mounts employ slightly different mechanisms for setting and locking the altitude axis; two common ones are shown below. Whatever you do, make sure

Unless otherwise noted, SkyWatch photographs by CRAIG MICHAEL UTTER

To set the lightweight equatorial mount at left for the proper latitude, loosen the locking knob with one hand and swing the mount up or down with the other. With the beeer mount on the right, two opposing screws serve both for coarse and ne adjustments.
Lightweight mount Heavyweight mount

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SKILL BUILDERS

Once youve loosened the azimuth clamp on the lightweight mount in the left-hand photo, you can swivel the whole thing all the way around. With the heavyweight mount at far right, you need to set the leg marked N somewhere close to true north, and then make ne adjustments with the knobs on either side.
Lightweight mount Heavyweight Heavyweight mount mount

you tighten all these bolts securely when youre done, as this pivot must support the entire weight of the telescope. You dont want everything opping down with a startling thunk in the middle of the night.

Pointing at the Pole If you watch the sky for a few hours, youll see that the stars appear to move in circles around Polaris, the North Star (March/April issue, page 56). In order for an equatorial mount to track the stars, its polar axis must point to the center of those circles. You already took the rst step when you adjusted

For a good initial alignment, point the tube parallel to the polar axis, look through the nderscope, and ne-tune the altitude and azimuth to center Polaris. If youre not sure which star is Polaris, refer to the maps in SkyWatch.

the altitude axis according to your latitude which is equal to the angle between Polaris and the horizon. (If you set up on a hill, you may also need to adjust the tripod legs to make the mounts base reasonably close to level.) Next, you must make sure that the polar axis is pointing north. Just as with the altitude axis, the mechanisms for adjusting the side-to-side (azimuth) direction of the polar axis vary from one mount to another. Some low-cost mounts have no azimuth axis at all; youve got to pick the entire tripod up and set it down so that the polar axis points north. On others, you can swivel the mount around atop the tripod once youve loosened the proper locking knob (see the picture at upper left). Again, make sure you tighten all the relevant knobs once youre done. For casual visual observing, the polar axis only needs to point somewhere in the general vicinity of Polaris. You can get within a few degrees of Polaris by turning the scope on its declination axis until the tube is parallel to the polar axis, as pictured at lower left the position you always see in advertisements but rarely use in real life. Then adjust the altitude and azimuth until Polaris is centered in the nderscope. If your view of the North Star is blocked by a tree or a house, or if you cant see it because the sky is still too bright, you can use a compass to nd which way is north. Thats not very accurate, because magnetic north differs signicantly from true north in many parts of the world, but its close enough for most purposes. But if you want the tracking motor to

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keep objects centered in your eyepiece for hours, or if you want to do long-exposure astrophotography, youll need to do better than that. Therefore, most high-end equatorial mounts have ne adjustments where the base of the mount joins the tripod. One adjustment allows you to turn the entire mount head side-to-side (in azimuth) to aim the head precisely north. The other adjustment tilts the polar axis a little bit up and down (in altitude). To aid in precise alignment, some mounts even have a special nderscope built inside the polar axis. Look through one and youll see a guide pattern showing where Polaris should be positioned to make sure the true celestial pole, about 1 away, is dead center. The ne-alignment adjustments for altitude and azimuth are just for tweaking the polar axis toward Polaris. Once youve done that, thats where it stays. Dont use the alignment adjustments during the night to move the telescope, and dont lift up and turn the tripod to point the whole telescope at something new. That will spoil your polar alignment and the mounts ability to track the sky, the very thing you bought it for. In other words, dont kick the tripod! What if you want to take the mount on a trip? If you travel east or west, theres nothing you need do. But if you travel north or south a great distance, then youve changed latitude. The angle of the polar axis will need readjusting to your new latitude, either by using the ne adjustments or by loosen-

To balance a scope in right ascension, move the counterweight in or out along its shaft until the scope stays put at any R.A. position. To balance the declination axis, you have two options: move the dovetail bar back and forth, or slide the tube Tube within its rings or cradle, until ring the tube stays put at any declination position.

Dovetail bar

Counterweight

ing any big central bolt you might have adjusted when you rst assembled the telescope. However, your drive motor will work ne Earth spins at the same angular rate in Miami as it does in Maine!

Swinging and Flipping Now that youve aligned the polar axis, its time to become acquainted with the controls

Lightweight mount

Dec. knob

Dec. clamp R.A. clamp

Dec. clamp R.A. clamp

R.A. knob

R.A. knob

Heavyweight mount

The lightweight mount at left clamps the right-ascension and declination axes with simple screws, and the slow-motion controls are on long, exible cables. The heavyweight mount at right has lever clamps, the knobs extend directly from the mount, and the black housing in the center contains a motor inside that rotates the right-ascension axis so that it tracks the sky.
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SKILL BUILDERS
Most equatorial mounts have graduated dials called setting circles that, in theory, let you nd objects by dialing in their celestial coordinates. But theyre rarely accurate enough to be useful in practice.

that you use to move the telescope around the sky to nd and track things. One motion goes east or west around the polar axis (the sky direction known as right ascension, or R.A.). The other goes north or south in declination (or dec.). Both axes are equipped with locking clamps (also called clutches), slow-motion knobs, and possibly motors,

as pictured below. Once youve sorted out which is which, you might want to put labels on the controls. To move the telescope to a completely different part of the sky, loosen the rightascension and declination clamps. Be careful the rst time you do this; if the telescope starts to swing wildly out of control, it needs to be balanced, as described in the above caption. The clamps disengage both the slow-motion controls and the motors, so that you can move the telescope by grabbing the tube and pushing it wherever you want. At rst, it may feel as though youre engaged in a wrestling match with the mount, but it wont be long before moving the scope around becomes second nature. Just remember to think in terms of the sky, not the ground. The declination axis moves the scope toward or away from Polaris, while the right ascension (polar) axis moves the scope in circles around Polaris. Now youre all set, swinging the scope across the sky from object to object, until bang! the scope hits the tripod. Youve just discovered the limitation of the German equatorial mount. As you follow an object from the eastern sky into the west, at some point the tube is likely to arc down and hit the tripod, unable to continue tracking. To work around this, rst imagine a xed line running from due north, up through Polaris, overhead, and then back down to

If the tube bumps into the tripod, rotate it 180 in right ascension . . .

then rotate the tube in declination until its pointing at the original spot in the sky . . .

and youre ready to start observing again!

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Zeroing In and Tracking Once your target is visible in the nderscope, lock up the clamps and use the slow-motion controls to center the object right under the crosshairs. If the nderscope is aligned properly, the object should now be visible in the main telescopes eyepiece. When in doubt, start with your lowestpower eyepiece (the one with the biggest number engraved on the barrel) its wide eld of view makes it easy to locate and center the objects that you're looking for.

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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA LIBRARIES

S&T ARCHIVES

the southern horizon. Thats the meridian. When observing something east of the meridian with a German equatorial mount, the telescope tube should be on the west side of the mount, and vice versa. Following an object across the meridian often requires you to ip the telescope from one side of the mount to the other. To do this, youll have to rotate the telescope on both axes, as shown in the series of pictures below. It may seem like a wild dance at rst; you might want to practice indoors. But when youre done, the scope will be on the opposite side of the polar axis and pointing at the same spot as before. (On some designs, there are dead spots in the sky that cant be reached regardless of which way the tube is ipped.) Other mount parts besides the tube and the tripod can bump together. For example, if your slow-motion controls are on long, exible cables, you may occasionally need to remove one of them and reattach it on the opposite side of its axis. And if your mount has motors in protruding housings, make sure they dont collide with each other or with other controls. You may nd that your telescopes eyepiece sometimes ends up in awkward positions. If the eyepiece ts into a star diagonal attached to the rear of the scope, you can probably x this just by rotating the diagonal. If you have a Newtonian reector, you will have to rotate the entire tube within its rings or cradle. Make sure that the tube is horizontal before you do this; otherwise, it may slide downward while you rotate it.

A motorized mount should track your target as it moves across the sky. (If the motor is whirring but the scope isnt tracking, check again to make sure the clamps are tightened.) If your alignment on Polaris wasnt perfect, you may need to tweak the slow-motion knobs occasionally to keep the object centered or use the buttons on the hand control for the motors. If the mount doesnt have motors, youll need to turn the rightascension knob every few minutes to keep the object centered. But even if you take a break and let the object drift far out of the eld of view, you can always pick it up again just by turning that one knob. This may all seem hopelessly complicated, but dont worry its really a lot easier than it sounds. After a few nights of hands-on use under the stars in your backyard, youll be operating your equatorial mount like a master.
Alan Dyer is a show producer at the Calgary Science Centre. He coauthored The Backyard Astronomers Guide (Firey Books, 2008) with Terence Dickinson.

Exquisite Equatorial
The Dorpat refractor, shown at right, was built in 1824 by the great German optician and physicist Joseph Fraunhofer (below). Its 9 12inch-wide main lens was both bigger and better than any that had been built before. To be worthy of such magnicent optics, the telescope had to track the sky smoothly and awlessly, so Fraunhofer devised an entirely new mounting system the one now called the Fraun hofer-type, or more simply, the German equatorial mount. Tony Flanders