I thought I would take Chuck's suggestion and play with my polar alignment scope on my GM-8 mount this weekend. If I use a polar alignment scope is this good enough for CCD imaging or do I need to learn the drift method? Or is software work better to get a good polar alignment? Debbie
Debbie, everyone and their telescope is a little bit different. In my case, I used dead-reckoning initially, then tweaked by star-drift, sometimes four or five repetitions. But there's more to it, really, than just polar alignment, you have to know the "personality" of your own set-up. In my case, I remembered that the drive liked to be 'loaded' in a particular way (sligtly out of balance) in order to get the best response. I could tell about how much I was off the pole by the patterns of my button-pushing while correcting. And of course image scale and length of exposure determine how close you really need to be. But only you can ultimately tell yourself what the best procedure is for you. --- UTAHDEB@aol.com wrote:
I thought I would take Chuck's suggestion and play with my polar alignment scope on my GM-8 mount this weekend. If I use a polar alignment scope is this good enough for CCD imaging or do I need to learn the drift method? Or is software work better to get a good polar alignment?
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UTAHDEB@aol.com wrote:
I thought I would take Chuck's suggestion and play with my polar alignment scope on my GM-8 mount this weekend. If I use a polar alignment scope is this good enough for CCD imaging or do I need to learn the drift method? Or is software work better to get a good polar alignment?
A lot depends on the focal length of the system and the length of the exposure. The longer the focal length the better your polar alignment must be. Likewise for the exposure time. The longer the exposure the better your alignment must be. Provided neither your focal length nor your exposures are that long (less than a minute), the alignment obtainable with a polar alignment scope will possibly be good enough. If we're talking about a permanent site, I'd suggest spending a few hours getting it "just right" using the drift method. Patrick
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