Quote:
Originally Posted by Oddity
I have found one very useful scenario for a setting circles with goto mounts. I use it in conjunction with SkySafari to find true astronomic (rather than magnetic) level north, when 2-star aligning my mount in alt-az mode. It's very simple, too:
- In SkySafari, point your phone at any bright star and select it
- Go to Object Info, scroll down to find the azimuth and altitude values
- Manually point the scope at the object, centering it an eyepiece
- Set and lock each setting circle to the respective value reported by SkySafari
- Move the scope to point at 0,0 on both circles.
- Switch on your mount
Done! Your scope is now astronomically level north.
I've found this to result in a significant accuracy improvement with my gotos over using a compass and spirit level. In conjunction with an illuminated reticle and proper star selection criteria, it's nearly perfect.
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Hi Oddity
Thanks for mentioning this, I'll have to try it!
Philip