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Two main types of telescope mounts – Alt-azimuth and Equatorial – are compared here including their benefits and an idea of how they work!
Now that you know what type of telescopes are out there, let us discuss an often overlooked but very important aspect - the mountings. A mount is important for stabilising your telescope and determining how easy it is to follow a star while viewing it.
There are a few basic telescope mountings:
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Alt-azimuth mount An alt-azimuth mount is both cheaper and lighter for the same degree of stability but it misses out on the ability to easily follow the rotation of the sky when the earth turns. Dobsonian telescopes function on the Alt-azimuth mount too.
Some telescopes that work on the an Alt-Azimuth mount are the: Celestron 114 LCM Computerised Reflector Telescope |
| Equatorial mount Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Telescope |
Are there benefits then to the Alt-azimuth? Well, it's sheer ease of use makes the alt-azimuth mount a fairly popular choice with general interest astronomers who may not track or follow particular objects over a long period of time. This mount is also more portable, easier to set up and are stable supports for your telescope, minus a hefty price tag.
Equatorial mounts may take some getting used to and you will need to polar align your EQ so that its lined according to the shape of the equator.
Chapter 4: Accessorise, Accesorise (with eyepieces and filters)!
