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  2. Polar alignment - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_alignment

    In the Northern Hemisphere, rough alignment can be done by visually aligning the axis of the telescope mount with Polaris.In the Southern hemisphere or places where Polaris is not visible, a rough alignment can be performed by ensuring the mount is level, adjusting the latitude adjustment pointer to match the observer's latitude, and aligning the axis of the mount with true south or north by ...

  3. Setting circles - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setting_circles

    In amateur astronomy, setting up a portable telescope equipped with setting circles requires: Polar alignment – The telescope must be aligned with either the north celestial pole or the south celestial pole. Polaris is roughly at the north pole, while Sigma Octantis is roughly at the south pole.

  4. Equatorial mount - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_mount

    A large German equatorial mount on the Forststernwarte Jena 50cm Cassegrain reflector telescope. An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, called polar axis, parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. [1] [2] This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras.

  5. Clock drive - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_drive

    Clock drive mechanism in the pier of the German equatorial mount for the 8-inch refracting telescope at Aldershot Observatory.. In astronomy, a clock drive (also known as a sidereal drive or field rotator) is a motor-controlled mechanism used to move an equatorial mounted telescope along one axis to keep the aim in exact sync with the apparent motion of the fixed stars on the celestial sphere.

  6. Pole star - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_star

    Currently, there is no South Pole Star like Polaris, the so-called North Star. Sigma Octantis is the closest near naked-eye star to the south celestial pole, but at apparent magnitude 5.47 it is barely visible on a clear night, making it less useful for casual navigational or astronomy alignment purposes.

  7. Bearing (navigation) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearing_(navigation)

    In stellar navigation, the reference direction is that of the North Star, Polaris. In satellite broadcasting, a bearing is the combination of antenna azimuth and elevation required to point (aim) a satellite dish antenna in a given direction. The bearing for geostationary satellites is constant. The bearing for polar-orbiting satellites varies ...

  8. Celestial navigation - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_navigation

    A diagram of a typical nautical sextant, a tool used in celestial navigation to measure the angle between two objects viewed by means of its optical sight. Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is the practice of position fixing using stars and other celestial bodies that enables a navigator to accurately determine their actual current physical position in space or on the ...

  9. Barn door tracker - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_door_tracker

    The barn door tracker was created by George Haig. His plans were first published in Sky & Telescope magazine in April 1975. Modified versions of the tracker were published in the magazine's February 1988 and June 2007 editions.