1/24/2024 0 Comments Drifting towards the starsThe right ascension axis has bearings below the T-joint, that is, it is not supported above the declination axis.ĭrift alignment requires the use of a high power eyepiece, preferably with an illuminated crosshair, or you can defocus a bright star so that the out of focus star nearly touches the edges of the eyepiece field of view. ![]() The telescope is placed on one end of the declination axis (top left in image), and a suitable counterweight on other end of it (bottom right). The task of tracking objects across the sky was solved by telescope designers in the early 1800's, most notably by British astronomical instrument maker Edward Troughton with the 3-inch " Troughton Equatorial Telescope" that was finished in 1795, and the German optician and telescope maker Joseph von Fraunhofer with his " Great 9-inch Dorpat Refractor" that was finished in 1824. But this did not solve the problem of steadily tracking celestial objects as they rose in the east, making an arc across the sky, and set in the west. Astrophotographers, and those who want the best GOTO pointing performance from their mount should consider the Drift Method.īy the late 1700's, most mountings that could hold telescopes in steady position were largely of the type that could rise up and down (the altitude movement), and/or could be moved from side-to-side (the azimuth movement). ![]() ![]() While there are several options for getting precision polar alignment, few beat the Drift Method because by watching a star drift, you are compensating not only pointing the polar axis of your equatorial mount, you also are getting the benefit of compensating for flexure of the mount/telescope combination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |