2.Find a bright star in the viewfinder of your telescope and use the R.A. and Dec. adjustment cables to center it in the crosshairs. Work up to your most powerful eyepiece, centering the star in the viewfinder each time you replace the eyepiece.
3.Engage the clock drive by tightening the thumbscrew which connects it to the R.A. axis of the mount. Turn on the clock drive, ensuring that it is set to the correct hemisphere setting. Let the clock drive run for about 5 minutes.
4.Look into the eyepiece after the clock drive has run for about 5 minutes to see which direction the star has drifted. If the star has drifted to the right (left in the Northern Hemisphere) in the eyepiece, the mount is pointed too far to the west. If the star has drifted to the left (right in the Northern Hemi- sphere), the mount is pointing too far to the east. To correct this, loosen the mount base screw and center the star in the eyepiece. Any drifting up or down in the eyepiece is a result of your clock drive speed setting and can be corrected by adjusting the clock drive speed.
5.Unengage the clock drive. Loosen the right ascension clamp and rotate the telescope back 6 hours (opposite the direction you rotated it in step 1). Find a bright star in the viewfinder and center the star in the viewfinder. Center this star in the highest power eyepiece as you did with the previous star. Reengage the clock drive and turn it on, letting it run for another five minutes.
6.Check to see which way this new star has drifted. If the star has drifted to the left (right in the Northern Hemisphere) in the eyepiece, the mount latitude setting is too low. If the star drifts to the right (left in the Northern Hemisphere) in the eyepiece, the mount latitude setting is too high. Adjust the latitude setting until the star is centered in the field of view. Again, any drifting up or down in the eyepiece is a result of your clock drive speed set- ting and can be corrected by adjusting the clock drive speed.
7.Repeat this process as needed until you are satisfied with the alignment of the telescope. The more closely polar aligned your telescope is, the more accurate it will track stars.
