Pin-sharp accurate polar alignment

Anthony - that makes perfect sense of course.

Seanie - I think you answered a different question...

You'll have to fill me in Dave! :blush:

I think your answer was about autoguiding - and while that helps guide out small polar alignment erros (amongst other errors) you still need to be reasonably well polar aligned in the first place - or you'll get star trails even if your autoguiding is very good...

Are you filled in?

Are you filled in?

Comfortably, thanks to you...



(...and your beads!)

Thanks one and all for your varied replies - I'm even more confused now!

Sounds like the "easiest" option might be to use WCS to get a quick drift alignment and then fine tune it manually with cross hairs perhaps?

It looks everyone has their own methods that work well for them, I should fine one that I'm comfortable with and happy with the results. Thanks again.

Hi Keith,
The lads have given you some great advice.But the one thing they did not ask is do you have your scope permanently set up in an observatory, Take it from me I know how you feel lugging out all that equipment setting it all up and then trying to take an image I've been there and done that. Now with the nights being so short just do your normal polar alignment and you can get a way with 30 to 40 seconds unguided without star trails. One thing about drift alignment it can be very time consuming to do. Now after doing all that then to take the scope all apart again the same night is madness.When the lads do a drift alignment they don't have to do it again for 3 to 6 months.can see what I mean. wait until you have your observatory up and running than drift align the hell out of the scope.

Hope this helps you in your quest for the perfect polar alignment .

Carl.