Celestron 31058, 31056 instruction manual Finding the Pole

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Finding the Pole

Figure 4-4

The position of the Big Dipper changes through- out the year and through- out the night.

Definition:

For each hemisphere, there is a point in the sky around which all the other stars appear to rotate. These points are called the celestial poles and are named for the hemisphere in which they reside. For example, in the northern hemisphere all stars move around the north celestial pole. When the telescope’s polar axis is pointed at the celestial pole, it is parallel to the Earth’s rotational axis.

Many of the methods of polar alignment require that you know how to find the celestial pole by identifying stars in the area. For those in the northern hemisphere, finding the celestial pole is relatively easy. Fortunately, we have a naked eye star less than a degree away. This star, Polaris, is the end star in the handle of the Little Dipper (see figure 4-5). Since the Little Dipper (technically called Ursa Minor) is not one of the brightest constellations in the sky, it may be difficult to locate, especially from urban areas. If this is the case, use the two end stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper. Draw an imaginary line through them (about five times the distance between these two stars) toward the Little Dipper. They will point to Polaris. The position of the Big Dipper will change during the year and throughout the course of the night (see figure 4-4). When the Big Dipper is difficult to locate, try using Cassiopia.

Observers in the southern hemisphere are not as fortunate as those in the northern hemisphere. The stars around the south celestial pole are not nearly as bright as those around the north. The closest star that is relatively bright is Sigma Octantis. This star is just within naked eye limit (magnitude 5.5) and lies 59 arc minutes from the pole. For more information about stars around the south celestial pole, please consult a star atlas.

While it may seem that pointing at the pole star produces a parallax effect, especially for observers near the equator, this effect is negligible since Polaris is so far away.

The north celestial pole is the point in the northern sky around which all stars appear to rotate. The counterpart in the southern hemisphere is referred to as the south celestial pole.

Figure 4-5

The two stars in the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris which is less than one degree from the true (north) celestial pole. Cassiopia, the “W” shaped constellation is on the opposite side of the pole from the Big Dipper. The North Celestial Pole (N.C.P.) is marked by the “+” sign.

Astronomy Basics • 35

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Contents C150-HD and G-8N Newtonian Page B L E N T E N T S Celestial Photography T R O D U C T I O N How to Use this Manual Word of Caution Newtonian Optical System Unpacking Your G-8N S E M B L I N G Y O U R N E W T O N I a N T E L E S C O P EG-8N C150-HD Adjusting the Tripod Height Setting Up the TripodAttaching the Accessory Tray They are needed later for polar alignment Attaching the Equatorial MountAttaching the R.A. Slow Motion Knob Attaching the Declination Slow Motion Knob Attaching the Counterweight Bar and Counterweight Attaching the Telescope to the Mount For G-8N Attaching the Telescope to the Mount For C150- HD Balancing the Telescope in R.A Removing the Lens CapCompletely Balancing the Telescope in DECG-8N C150-HD Installing the Finderscope Installing the Eye- piece Technical Specifications ActualVeiw NewtonianView Image OrientationFocusing Aligning the Finder Daytime Observing Your First LookNighttime Observing Calculating Magnification Determining Field of View Celestial Coordi- nate System T R O N O M Y B a S I C SMotion of the Stars Definition Polar AlignmentFinding the Pole Latitude Scales Pointing at Polaris Declination Drift Polar Alignment Finders Aligning the R.A Setting CircleObserving the Moon Planets L E S T I a L O B S E R V I N GObserving Deep-Sky Objects Observing the S u nUsing the Setting Circles Star Hopping Celestial Observing Seeing Viewing ConditionsTransparency Sky IlluminationCelestial Observing L E S T I a L P H O T O G R a P H Y Short Exposure Prime F o c u s Lunar Phase ISO Crescent Quarter 125 Full 250Piggyback Celestial Photography L E S C O P E M a I N T E N a N C E Care and Cleaning of the Optics CollimationOr back out the holder screws more than one 1 to two 2 turns T I O N a L a C C E S S O R I E S Optional Accessories Single Axis Motor Drive System #93518 Themessiercatalog Great Orion Nebula Elliptical Galaxy List of Bright Stars For Further Reading Celestron ONE Year Warranty