Drift aligning and orientation with Star Adventurer
Several bits of my HEQ5 Pro set-up have sold and I've invested the proceeds in a SkyWatcher Star Adventurer, much more manageable for an old fart like myself, and better suited to my requirements.
OK, I've downloaded the manual, batteries are on the charger, and I'm trying to get my head around using it.
Unlike the HEQ5 Pro, where you enter your location's co-ordinates and time zone, I figure this thing doesn't care where you are, or what your local correct time is. It only seems to care whether you are in the Northern or Southern hemisphere.
Correct me if I'm wrong, please, but the mounts only input about location is a N/S switch, which I figure is only to tell the mount which way to run the sidereal tracking.
So, I'm thinking that if I want to photograph, say M42, which is in the Northern Hemisphere, and I set my mount up pointing North, set the mounts rotation switch to 'N' to rotate for the Northern Hemisphere, and do a drift alignment, I should alleviate the need to rotate my camera 180° to start taking photos, which I would have to do if I did the alignment for the Southern Hemisphere.
I'm bloody sure I'm missing a salient fact here, so please feel free to put me straight.
|