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a great way to find absolute True North without using a compass.
Drive a rod or stick into the ground so that it casts a good shadow.
Using your Sky Safari app (or similar) determine the azimuth of the Sun (a good sky simulation app will give a continuous readout of the Sun's azimuth). When the Sun's indicated azimuth is 000º the shadow cast by your rod or stick is exactly aligned to true north. Drive a tent-peg or similar into the ground at either end of the shadow to have a semi-permanent position of the north-south direction. Set your polar axis to align with this true north shadow. Next, adjust the altitude of the polar axis to agree with your latitude and your telescope won't be far off being correctly polar aligned.
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