[rcheshire (Rowland)]

Folks. I think this is the correct forum for this question.

Essentially - The lighting in my area makes polar alignment very difficult.

I'm on top of the Takahashi finder scope procedure for the Southern Hemisphere, except that the final touch, adjusting the mount in altitude and azimuth, is where I'm having difficulties.

I think it is a combination of wearing trifocals, the luminosity of the reticule balanced with being able to see Sig Oct which I understand is a magnitude 5 star.

The thought that comes to mind, is that I'm not sure how big the trapezoid appears on the reticule, consequently, it is very difficult to identify just what I'm looking at - I can see stars but identifying Sig Oct is impossible through the soft foggy glow of the reticule. I followed the notes and balanced the illumination with the stars that I can see.

Is this making sense - any tips on how to improve the situation.

Many thanks,

Rowland.