Polar alignment - should I see this?
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 11:26 pm
Hi,
So I've been getting to grips with polar alignment.
Tonight, I got the best yet, really close to perfect.
Then, out of curiosity, I set my scope to the home position, took a shot, plate solved it, and sent the result to Stellarium. This is what I saw:
Polaris is only just about in the frame (the red outline).
Does this say anything about my polar alignment being good/bad? Or is it more about how I've set the home position? Or doesn't it really matter as long as I align my stars properly?
Also, related to polar alignment: if I slew horizontally, and the star I'm looking at on my screen goes across at a slight, non-horizontal angle (same for vertical - slewing vertically and star deviates from the vertical line), does this imply anything about my alignment, or more about whether the mount is level?
Thanks.
So I've been getting to grips with polar alignment.
Tonight, I got the best yet, really close to perfect.
Then, out of curiosity, I set my scope to the home position, took a shot, plate solved it, and sent the result to Stellarium. This is what I saw:
Polaris is only just about in the frame (the red outline).
Does this say anything about my polar alignment being good/bad? Or is it more about how I've set the home position? Or doesn't it really matter as long as I align my stars properly?
Also, related to polar alignment: if I slew horizontally, and the star I'm looking at on my screen goes across at a slight, non-horizontal angle (same for vertical - slewing vertically and star deviates from the vertical line), does this imply anything about my alignment, or more about whether the mount is level?
Thanks.