Sky-Watcher EQ5 MOUNT - Manual (Page 24)

II
SIMPLIFIED POLAR ALIGNMENT PROCEDURES
The NEQ3 and EQ5 mounts have specially designed reticule patterns and simplified procedures to make polar
aligning your mount very simple. In fact, if you purchased a SynScan equipped mount you can perform an
extremely accurate polar alignment in less than two minutes! See the SynScan User manual for details.
If you do not have a SynScan mount you can still get a very good alignment without much bother. The two
simple procedures detailed below work equally well. Use whichever one you like best.
Pattern-based method
Northern Hemisphere - Identify the Big Dipper pattern in the constellation Ursa Major, or find the constellation
Cassiopeia in the night sky. In spring and summer, the Big Dipper will be higher in the sky and easier to find. In
fall and winter, Cassiopeia may be easier to use.
The patterns for both are etched on your polar scope reticule
(Fig.S-3). Simply rotate your mount in RA until one of the
patterns matches its actual orientation in the sky. Lock the RA
axis. Now the small circle on the perimeter of the larger circle
is in the correct position for locating Polaris.
Next, use your azimuth and altitude adjustment controls to
place Polaris inside the small circle. Tighten your azimuth and
altitude knobs, then tighten your locking shaft bolt to secure
the mount to the tripod and you are done.
Pattern-based method
Kochab is the brightest star in the bucket portion of the Little
Dipper (Fig.S-4). It also happens to form a line with Polaris and
the North Celestial Pole (NCP) - the point in space at which you
want to aim your polar axis to achieve an accurate polar
alignment. Kochab rotates around the NCP the way the hour
hand rotates around a clock face, but it takes Kochab nearly 24
hours to make one revolution. We can use this behavior to help
us achieve an accurate polar alignment quickly and simply.
First, identify the bright star Kochab in the bucket of the Little
Dipper. Now look at Polaris and imagine it is the center of a
clock face. Take note of what “time” Kochab appears. For
example, if Kochab were directly to the right of Polaris, it
would be at 3 o’clock. In the figure above, it is at about 8:00.
Now look into your polar scope. Rotate your mount in RA to
place the Polaris indicator circle at the time indicated by
Kochab clock method. Then, use your altitude and azimuth
adjustment controls to put Polaris inside the circle. Tighten
your controls and your locking shaft bolt and you are done.
Southern Hemisphere
There is a 4-star pattern in the polar scope, which resembles
the bucket of the Big Dipper. In the Southern Hemisphere,
there is an Asterism in Octans, which has this shape. By
rotating the R.A. axis and by adjusting the altitude and
azimuth of the mount, the four stars in the Asterism can be
placed in the circles in the Pole Finder. This procedure can be
somewhat difficult in the city because all four of these stars
are fainter than Magnitude 5.
Polaris
NCP
Octans
C
as
sio
pe
ia
Big
D
ipp
er
12
Polaris
Kochab
1
11
10
2
3
4
5
9
6
7
8
Kochab is the brightest star in the bucket of
the Little Dipper. Other stars in the region
are quite dim and are not drawn here.
Fig.s-3
Fig.s-4