Equatorial mounts
There are two common types of equatorial mounts, forked and German.
German equatorial mounts is shaped like a “T” the long axis of the “T” is aligned with polar north. The Fork mount is a two pronged fork with the telescope wedged inbetween and is also aligned with the polar north.
When aligned properly with polar north, equatorial mounts allow the telescope to follow the motion of a star. It is optional to equip a motorized drive to your mount. This allows you or a computer to continuously track a star.
A German equatorial mount has a Right Ascension (R.A) axis and a Declination (dec) axis. R.A is aimed towards Polaris, the north star, to polar
align the mount. Rotation of the R.A is what is used when tracking a object from east to west. The declination axis is to allow movement north and south.
Most visible stars in the sky have an address in a book called a star atlas. Its similar to latitude and longitude.
Example: 02hr 15min 10sec, 75.4deg N0
Right Ascension would be the 02hr 15min 10sec
Declination would be the 75.4deg N0
The forked mount is to allow the scopes to be very portable. This always
allows for the use of a fairly large aperture instrument. Other than that there isn’t much different between forked and German.
Bottom line equatorial mount is one of the heaviest mounts. It does have a higher learning curve than a Dobsonian or a GOTO telescope. My first telescope was on a equatorial mount and I think it’s the way to go for a first choice.
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