Amateur astronomy enthusiasts and astrophotographers rely on an equatorial telescope mount to track the apparent movement of the night sky. Whether you call it a computerized telescope, or a tracking telescope, it’s actually the mount that does the tracking, not the telescope itself..
What is a Dobsonian mount?
A Dobsonian telescope is an altazimuth-mounted Newtonian telescope design popularized by John Dobson in 1965 and credited with vastly increasing the size of telescopes available to amateur astronomers.
How do you hook up a telescope with an equatorial mount?
Setting up your equatorial mount
- The scope and mount head sit on a TRIPOD.
- Place the MOUNT HEAD onto the top of the tripod.
- Screw the COUNTERWEIGHT bar into the mount head.
- The RA axis needs to point up to the north celestial pole.
- Fit a SLOW MOTION CABLE onto the small D-shaped shafts on the RA and the Dec.
Are Dobsonian telescopes good for beginners?
Dobsonian telescopes
They move up and down and twist on a rotating base, meaning they can point at any part of the sky. They are good value for money, ideal for beginners (including children from about 10), and great for observing the Moon, planets, and the brighter deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae.
Can I do astrophotography with a Dobsonian?
Generally, we do NOT recommend doing astrophotography with your Dobsonian telescope, as the lack of a tracking mount or an equatorial mount will make long exposures impossible. That being said, photographs of the Moon, planets, and very short exposures of bright nebulae are doable with the right expectations.
Which telescope is best to see galaxies?
You are REALLY going to enjoy this telescope. The Advanced VX 8 is the biggest reflector made by Celestron, one of the most trustable brands when it comes to telescopes. The specifications are perfect for galaxy viewing.
High-end pick: Celestron Advanced VX8.
| Model | Celestron Advanced VX8 |
|---|---|
| Price | Check Price |
• 5 days ago
What can you see with an 8 inch Dobsonian telescope?
The Moon, the bright planets, bright binary stars, bright open and globular clusters, bright nebulae, and bright galaxies are all possible targets. Light pollution and nebula filters may be useful to some degree on certain nebulae.
What is the difference between a Newtonian and Dobsonian telescope?
A Dobsonian is a mount whilst the name Newtonian is used to describe the optics within a telescope. The dob allows you to point your telescope at a specific direction whilst a newtonian reflects through the the 2 mirrors allowing you to stargaze or observe a planet.
What can you see with a 20 inch Dobsonian telescope? The 20-inch can reveal both the rings of Saturn and the Cassini Division (dark band) in the rings. Also, at least four moons can be seen with the telescope, including Titan, the largest moon in the solar system.
Which mount is best for astrophotography?
Best Telescope Mounts for Astrophotography: A Complete Review
- Celestron CGX.
- Orion AstroView EQ Mount.
- Orion 9055 Equatorial Telescope Mount.
- Celestron Advanced Computerized Mount.
- Orion 9995 Sirius EQ-G Telescope Mount.
- Orion 9829 SkyView Telescope Mount.
- Orion Sirius Pro AZ/EQ-G.
- Celestron CG-4 Equatorial Mount.
Can you see nebula with a Dobsonian telescope?
A 10 Inch Dobsonian is a very capable telescope. You can find thousands of objects; galaxies, planets, globular clusters, double stars, and planetary nebulae even in light polluted conditions.
Does equatorial mount track stars?
What is the best telescope for deep space viewing?
Best deep-space telescopes in 2022
- 1: Celestron NexStar 8SE. Specifications.
- 2: Sky-Watcher StarQuest-130P Parabolic Reflector Telescope. Specifications.
- 3: Explore Scientific AR127 127mm f/6.5 Achromatic Refractor Telescope (OTA only)
- 4: Tele Vue NP127 IS 127mm Refractor Telescope.
- 5: Orion SkyQuest XT8g Dobsonian Telescope.
Which telescope is best for viewing planets and galaxies?
11 best telescopes for seeing the planets
- Sky-Watcher SkyMax 180 Pro Maksutov.
- Celestron Astro Fi 5 Schmidt-Cassegrain Wi-Fi system.
- Orion StarSeeker IV 150mm GoTo Mak-Cass Telescope.
- Explore Scientific Carbon Fibre 127mm triplet apo refractor.
- Sky-Watcher Evostar-90 AZ Pronto telescope mount.
Is a Dobsonian good for viewing planets? This means that large aperture and low-cost Dobsonians can often yield great planetary images. Their big aperture makes the images bright and contrasted, and provides extra resolving power to see surface detail.
What size telescope do you need to see galaxies? If you want to observe galaxies — and I mean really get something out of the time you put in at the eyepiece — you have to use a telescope with an aperture of 8 inches or more. Bode’s Galaxy (M81) glows brightly enough to show up through binoculars, but the larger the telescope you can point at it, the better.
How big of a telescope do I need to see Andromeda? The Andromeda Galaxy looks great through smaller telescope of, say, 4 inches in diameter.
How do you balance a telescope with an equatorial mount?
How do I find objects with equatorial mounts?
What does EQ mean in telescopes?
Telescopes are mounted in two ways: alt-azimuth (Alt-Az) and equatorial (EQ). Both major types allow the telescope to move freely and be pointed around two perpendicular directions called axes. An axis will always be at right angles to the motions it allows. A good example is the axle of a car.
How do you level a telescope?
For Any “Go To” Telescope
Level the tripod by eye, then level the tube. Aim the telescope as close to true north as you can. Don’t aim it at magnetic north, where a compass points. Ensure that any add-on finderscope or device used to sight stars is aligned with the main optics.
How do you balance the DEC axis?
For the declination axis, place the scope so that the counterweight is low, tube is high and lock the RA axis. Push the tube so that it is parallel to the ground. If it swings either way, carefully loosen the tube clamps and push the tube in the rings away from the heavy end to re-balance.
What angle should a telescope be?
The telescope tube should be above the mount with the declination setting circle indicating 90 degrees and the counterweight bar pointing down at the ground.
Do I need to polar align my telescope?
Polar alignment is an essential first step towards a night of visual observation or astrophotography. Why is it so important? By aligning the axis of your telescope mount with the motion of the sky, you can accurately track objects in space. It’s a rather simple process for German equatorial mount (GEM) owners.
How do you polar align a telescope during the day? One good way is to use the Sun. Carefully level your mount with a bubble level and set the polar axis to the latitude of your site. Hang a weighted string from the mount (between the tripod legs) and lay a protractor on the ground,centered under the string.
Which telescope is best for deep space viewing?
Reflector telescopes are better for deep-sky viewing thanks to their remarkable light gathering ability and refractor telescopes are better for views within our own solar system.
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