Find Polaris
Polaris is less than one degree from the celestial pole. Finding Polaris helps you locate the celestial pole. Although this is not a perfect alignment, it does get you quite close to the pole.
1.Set the telescope up so that the polar axis is pointing north.
2.Loosen the DEC Lock Lever and move the telescope so that the tube is parallel to the polar axis. When this is done the declination setting circle should read +90°. If the
3.Adjust the mount in altitude and azimuth until Polaris is in the field of view of the Finder Scope.
4.Center Polaris in the field of the Eyepiece using the fine adjustment controls on the mount.
Please remember: during polar alignment, do not move the telescope in R.A. or DEC. You should not move the telescope itself, but only the polar axis. The telescope is used to see where the polar axis is pointing.
This gets you close to the pole but not directly on it. The following two methods help improve your accuracy for more serious observations and photography.
Find the N.C.P.
N.C.P. stands for North Celestial Pole. In each hemisphere, there is a point in the sky around which all the other stars appear to rotate; those points are called the celestial
poles. When the telescope’s polar axis is aligned with celestial pole, it is parallel to the earth’s rotational axis.
Polar alignment usually requires that you know the stars in the polar area. In the northern hemisphere, Polaris is only one degree away from the celestial pole. Polaris is visible by the naked eye during clear nights.
DEC Drift Method
Declination (DEC) drift method is a standard method for polar alignment. You can find a lot of references on the Internet by googling the term. This method might seem simple
