Equatorial mount telescopes have a clock drive that keeps the Earth’s equatorial axis in sync with the sky’s perpendicular axis. Different types of mounts include open fork, German equatorial, yoke, and equatorial platform. Each has its own advantages and limitations.
An equatorial mount telescope is equipped with a clock drive that keeps the Earth’s equatorial axis, known as right ascension, in synchronized motion with the perpendicular axis of the sky, known as declination. The watch unit will keep the mount in sync with any stationary object in the sky. For taking photographs using a mounted camera, this movement resolves rotational blurring on a photograph, so that the images are clear and sharp. The display of objects can be organized quickly using a setting circle that allows the viewer to enter celestial coordinates to find and lock on objects. A computer can also be used to locate and track objects; adjustments can be made manually, or the computer can be set to automatically adjust to keep the object in view.
One of the most common mounts for reflector telescopes with large diameter mirrors is the open fork. This equatorial mount telescope has a fork at the base of the R.A. axis, with two pivot points at the opposite end of the fork for changing declination. Open fork scopes are generally less expensive than other types of equatorial mount telescopes and are relatively easy to set up.
The German equatorial mount is T-shaped, with the telescope at one end of the top bar, which is the declination axis, and a counterweight at the other end; the axis of ascension is the bottom bar. These mounts, which parallel the Earth’s rotation, are more complicated to set up initially and require the know-how to properly mount a camera to produce good space photography. Once set up, however, the setting circles can quickly display the objects you want, and once you find an object, you can easily make focus adjustments. After the image has been focused, the motor on the clock unit will keep the image stable for as long as desired. These engines can usually be shut off by any vehicle’s cigarette lighter using a power converter or by using installed batteries.
Yoke or English-mount telescopes are mounted in a tuning fork-shaped frame. The bearings for the R.A. axis are at the top and bottom, and the telescope is mounted between them. This equatorial mount telescope allows swing on a declination axis, but does not have the counterweight of a German equatorial mount. There is one drawback to this yoke design; the telescope cannot be pointed near the south or north celestial poles. The open “horseshoe” shape of the similar horseshoe mount telescope avoids this limitation.
A telescope can also be mounted on an equatorial platform mount, specially designed platforms that allow the device to follow the equatorial axis. The platform rotates around a virtual polar axis and can rotate a small camera on a tripod, a telescope or an entire observatory building. Most of these rigs can only track for an hour before their movement range is exceeded. Rotating it back to the east, however, resets the clock drive mechanism to show another time again.
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