Equatorial mounts usually come as German equatorial on fork mounts. They both use a wedge set at an angle equal to the observer's latitude, in order to point to the celestial pole. German equatorial mounts counter the weight of the telescope with adjustable weights on a rod on the opposite side of the polar axis. Movement around this axis is called right ascension or R.A. while around the other axis is called declination or DEC. A right-ascension motor can be added to track celestrial objects by counteracting the rotation of the earth.
A second drive can be added to give declination control which is very useful for doing astrophotography. Hand controls with directional buttons are used to direct the motors. Setting circles are included as part of many equatorial mounts. When the mount is correctly polar aligned and the circles aligned using known stars, they can be an aid in locating astronomical objects. They allow the user to go to predertmined R.A. and DEC positions. This is useful at night and can be of great value when trying to locate bright objects in the daytime sky.
The heavy-duty EQ3-2 mount features 360 degree worm-gear tracking controls on both axes, large knob-style R.A. and Dec. lock bolts, dual metal setting circle dials, a latitude adjustment screw, and a built-in polar scope holder. It can be fitted with both single and double axis motor drive for auto-tracking.
Mount type: equatorial
Slow motion controls: vertical and horizontal
Tripod: Aluminum
Tripod height: 71-123cm
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