Northern Hemisphere Polar Alignment

1.To align your telescope in the Northern Hemisphere, first find the location of Polaris in the night sky. You can easily find polaris by using the Big Dipper to “point” at Polaris. The two stars which make up the edge of the dipper in the Big Dip- per will roughly “point” at Polaris. You can also use the star at the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the star on the edge of the shal- lower end of Cassiopeia to draw a line through Polaris. The illustration shows this.

2.Loosen the declination axis by turning the declination thumbscrew. Turn the optical tube assembly so that the arrow on the declination scale points at 0°. Once the arrow points at 0°, the optical tube assembly is aligned with the mount’s polar axis.

3.Loosen the mount base screw enough to enable turning the mount as- sembly. Turn the mount and optical tube assemblies together so that the front of the telescope faces north. You can use a compass to find magnetic north and then line up with Polaris (celestial north) or line up the front of the telescope in line with Polaris by imagining a straight line running from Polaris down to the horizon.

4.Loosen the latitude adjustment screws. As you loosen the screws, you will notice the number on the latitude scale change. Adjust the latitude scale until Polaris is in the center of the viewfinder. Check that Polaris is in the center of the telescope’s field of view by looking through the focused eye- piece of the telescope. The number on the latitude scale should match the latitude of your viewing location. If there is a difference between the lati- tude of your viewing location and the number shown on the latitude scale, check to make sure that your tripod is level and realign.