3 replies to this topic

[lanndonkane]

Have a question related to polar alignment for VISUAL use only. 

With my Meade LX90, in alt az, it requires to level the scope and point it north. 

However, i do not need to be very accurate with this process. Even an eyeball level and eyeball north will achieve great goto accuracy with a two star alignment (i.e. the object will be somewhere in the field of view, and will stay somewhere in it for at least 5-10 minutes, which is fine for me). 

From my balcony where I do planet observing sometimes, I cannot even see polaris, so often just "guesstimate" where north is or use a compass. Again, this works fine for finding objects accurately once the 2 start alignment is completed.

Can I be this "vague" with the AVX too? I.e. if i point the polar scope somewhere in the rough vicinity of polaris, will the alignment process still figure out the sky and be able to find objects well enough for visual? 




 

Edited by lanndonkane, 12 July 2024 - 05:09 PM.

[mclewis1]

Yes

 

Plus if you want/need a better polar alignment you can do it from the hand controller (after you have done a good initial alignment) using any suitable star visible from the balcony. This is what is often referred to as the ASPA (all star polar alignment).

Edited by mclewis1, 12 July 2024 - 05:25 PM.

[lanndonkane]

Ok good to know!

At some point I may decide to take off my lx90 and remount it on the avc.

It still works great, but the gears are starting to vibrate a bit while tracking, and finding a local repair guy (even for basic stuff like greasing, which I don’t want to deal with) is hard

[RTLR 12]

Polar alignment has very little effect on goto accuracy. Polar alignment is critical for keeping your target centered in the eyepiece. Pointing north and being level is a key to beginning a good polar alignment, azimuth and declination are the critical factors.

Stan