Astronomy and DSLR Astrophotography Blog

There are several different types of equatorial mounts but surely the German Equatorial mounts are the most popular among amateur astrophotographers and astronomers. Let’s see why?

At German’s type of the mount we have two axis: one is parallel to the Earth’s rotate axis and another is rectangular to it. This is because when the mount is tracking there is no need to move both axis as the same time but just one. This makes those mounts so popular and useful because in theory you need just one motor to track the moving of the night sky. You also don’t get any other errors like field rotation or similar.

The axis which moves from east towards west is R. A. (Right Ascension) axis and the another one that enables us to move telescope from South to North is named Declination axis.

At this version of mount we need counterweights to balance the whole system. This procedure is very important to do it as precisely as possible because the better balanced mount slews better!

When setting-up we have to do everything in the right order to assure that in the end our mount tracks as precisely as possible:

1. Put the tripod to the flat and solid ground.
2. If you are using tripod make sure that the leg labelled with “N” (North) is positioned right to the North. Help yourself with a compass.
3. Attach the equatorial head to the tripod or pier.
4. If your mount has a polar finder check the time and a date, rotate the two wheels on the R. A. axis to the right date and time and check the position of Polaris (Northern Hemisphere) or the Southern Cross (Southern Hemisphere) in the polar scope and align the stars with the marked positions.
5. If necessary do a drift-align (the guide how to do it follows in the next posts).
6. Put a telescope on a mount.
7. Balance the whole system with counterweights and moving of the telescope tube.
8. Enjoy the good tracking!

That’s short review of the German equatorial mount. More read:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_mount
• http://starizona.com/acb/basics/equip_mounts_gem.aspx
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/telescope5.htm

Image source: http://www.company7.com/vixen/mounts/counterweights.html

Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Fork Equtorial Mount
2. Alt-azimuth mount
3. The mount for tracking
4. Why a good tripod is so important?
5. Are Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes (SCTs) good for deep-sky?

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