SKY-WATCHER EQ6 User Manual

14
A German Equatorial mount has an adjustment, sometimes called a wedge, which tilts the mount's polar axis
so that it points at the appropriate Celestial Pole (NCP or SCP). Once the mount has been polar aligned, it
needs to be rotated around only the polar axis to keep an object centred. Do not reposition the mount base or
change the latitude setting. The mount has already been correctly aligned for your geographical location (ie.
Latitude), and all remaining telescope pointing is done by rotating the optical tube around the polar (R.A.) and
declination axes.
A problem for many beginners is recognizing that a polar-aligned equatorial mount acts like an alt-azimuth
mount which has been aligned to a celestial pole. The wedge tilts the mount to an angle equal to the
observer's Latitude, and therefore it swivels around a plane which parallels the celestial (and Earth's) equator
(Fig.i). This is now its "horizon"; but remember that part of the new horizon is usually blocked by the Earth.
This new "azimuth" motion is called Right Ascension (R.A). In addition, the mount swivels North(+) and South(-
) from the Celestial Equator towards the celestial poles. This plus or minus "altitude" from the celestial equator
is called Declination (Dec).
Fig.i
Plane of local horizon
Nadir
Equatorial Mount
(Northern Hemisphere)
Mount aligned on
North Celestial Pole
Zenith
Right
Ascension
Apparent
movement
of stars
Plane of Celestial
Equator
Meridian
Line
Declination
Object you
are viewing
Polaris
Latitude
W
S
E
N
P
ointing your telescope

SKY-WATCHER EQ6 Specifications

General

Brand	SKY-WATCHER
Model	EQ6
Category	Accessories
Language	English