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If you are observing from Los Angeles, which has a latitude of 34°, then the celestial pole is 34° above the northern
horizon. All a latitude scale does then is to point the polar axis of the telescope at the right elevation above the northern (or
southern) horizon. To align your telescope:
1. Make sure the polar axis of the mount is pointing due north. Use a landmark that you know faces north.
2. Level the tripod. There is a bubble level built into the mount for this purpose.
3. Adjust the mount in altitude until the latitude indicator points to your latitude. Moving the mount affects the angle the polar
axis is pointing. For specific information on adjusting the equatorial mount, please see the section “Adjusting the Mount.”
This method can be done in daylight, thus eliminating the need to fumble around in the dark. Although this method does
NOT put you directly on the pole, it will limit the number of corrections you will make when tracking an object. It will
also be accurate enough for short exposure prime focus planetary photography (a couple of seconds) and short exposure
piggyback astrophotography (a couple of minutes).
All-Star Polar Alignment
The CGE Pro hand control has a polar alignment function called "All-Star" polar alignment that will help you polar align
your telescope for increased tracking precision and astrophotography. This feature allows you to choose any bright
alignment star to assist in accurately aligning your telescope's mount with the North Celestial Pole. Before using the Polar
Align feature, the scope must first be roughly pointed towards North and should be aligned with two stars in the sky. See
the
"Latitude Scale" section for help with finding north and adjusting the mounts latitude.
Once your telescope is aligned on two stars and at least one additional calibration star, slew the telescope to any bright star
in its Named Star database list. For best results choose a polar alignment star that is high in the sky and near the Meridian.
Try to avoid stars that are close to the west/east horizon, directly overhead or too near the celestial pole. Once there, press
the Align button and use the Up/Down buttons on the hand controller to select
Polar Align from the list.
The Polar Align feature has two options:
Align Mount and Display Mount
Align Mount- After performing a two star alignment and slewing your telescope to any bright star in the telescope's
database, select the "Align Mount" option. The telescope will then re-slew to the same star.
1. Center the star in the finderscope and press ENTER.
2. Then accurately center the star in your eyepiece and press ALIGN. The telescope will then "sync" on this
star and slew to the position that the star should be if it were accurately polar aligned.
For the most accurate alignment it is best to use a reticle eyepiece (see
Optional Accessories) or a high power
eyepiece to precisely center the star in the field of view.
3. Use the mounts latitude and azimuth adjustments (see figure 2-15) to place the star in the center of the
eyepiece
. Do not use the direction buttons on the hand control to position the star. Once the star is
centered in the eyepiece, press ENTER; the polar axis should now be pointed towards the North Celestial
Pole.
Updating your Star Alignment
After polar alignment it's a good idea to check the pointing accuracy of the telescope to see how much it may have been
affected by moving the mount. Since the polar alignment process requires you to "sync" the telescope on a bright star
before you begin, it will be necessary to undo the sync before re-aligning. To undo the sync:
1. Press the
Align button and use the Up/Down buttons on the hand controller to select Undo Sync from the list, and
press
Enter. The message Complete will display on the LCD.
