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Drift Alignment 101
I was always terrified of the complexities of dift alignment, until one of my fellow club members showed me the following simple rules:
Alignment in Azimuth
Pick a star on the meridan, near celestical equator:
- If star drifts North, scope too far East
- If star drifts South, scope too far West
Alignment in Altitude
Pick a star near Eastern horizon:
- If star drifts North, scope too low
- If star drifts South, scope too high
(or) Pick a star near Western horizon:
- If star drifts South, scope too low
- If star drifts North, scope too high
I did this at Astrofest, and had the scope aligned beautifully after a few minutes. I won't ever try getting on my knees for the polar scope again, regardless of how accurate it is!
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