Celestron EQ-130 MD RA/Dec

[Timmmsa]

Hi! I am new to this forum and new to astrophotography (with a telescope)

I have purchased a used Celestron EQ-130 (MD) Newtonian. My problem is I don’t know how to adjust the information in the upload. Has anyone some good links/Information about that topic?

Thanks and BR Tim

[Graeme1858]

Hi! I am new to this forum and new to astrophotography (with a telescope)

I have purchased a used Celestron EQ-130 (MD) Newtonian. My problem is I don’t know how to adjust the information in the upload. Has anyone some good links/Information about that topic?

Thanks and BR Tim

Hello Tim

When you say "don't know how to adjust the information in the upload" do you mean you don't know how to overwrite the text on the image or you don't know what the information on the image means?

Could you clarify your question and I'm sure we can help.

Welcome to the forum.

Regards

Graeme

[Peter802]

Hello Tim.
Welcome to the forum.

[Timmmsa]

Hi Graeme,

sorry for making it unclear, I mean I kinda know what the information means (RA and Dec) but the rest is a bit confusing. I Don’t know how I can adjust my mount to be looking at the coordinates.

Makes this more sense to you?

BR Tim

[helicon]

Hello Tim and Welcome to the Forums!

[Greenman]

Hi Tim,

First align your scope. https://www.celestron.com/blogs/knowled ... l-eq-mount.

That will help you understand the process. The sky (or rather the earth) is not stationary so the RA & Dec on the photo will have been right on the time and date the photo was taken. Once you are polar aligned you need to locate the object and the motor will help you track it. Download the sky portal app from the Celestron website and this will help you locate objects.

Hope this helps welcome to TSS.

[Greenman]

I wasn’t quite clear above; the RA and Dec remains the same, but wether the object is visible will depend on the time.

[Lady Fraktor]

This telescope does not have a hand controller, it is a EQ-3 with a single tracking motor.
Look up descriptions for Right Ascension and Declination as well as how to polar align your equatorial mount.

[janagn]

Hi,

let me try my knowledge as newbie to newbie and see if I have learnt anything and help you (or at least how do I do it).

Without the tube (less heavy)
1. in this mount the DEC axis has a disk that is fixed (the other has a finger screw to adjust it). Make sure you turn this axis to point to 90 degrees. A rule of thumb to remember which is which DEC sounds like degrees and the disc has degrees on it while the RA is in hours. So the eye piece (if it was mounted) is UP.
2. Using the big screw that mounts the... mount to the tripod, unscrew an tun the whole thing towards north and fasten. I have seen that is is better to have two leg of the tripod towads north and the third to point south. That will help you with polar allignment.
3. Now, get your lat form a mobile and turn the lat screw to your appoximate lat.
At this stage you should be able to see, or using an APP in daylight mode have a bullseye, the north star. Fine adjustments may be made by the sourhbound leg of the tripod and or the lat screw for up/down and left right with the big screw of step 2

Mount the tube(I think I forgot to tell you this). We need now to tune the RA disk. THere is a small finger screw over the RA disc. THis is the disc that shows HOURS and it has two sets of numbers. On for North hemisphare (the lower set) and one for South. Before you do anything locate the moon, and read what is the RA and DA from the app or atlas you used to get the picutre you attached.
1. Turn the DEC to those degrees. Last night for me it was 3 degrees
2. Rotate the RA and when you see the moon you know that you are at the correct hours. Now unscrew the finger screw of the RA disc and point it to the hours your app says (the disc not the tube).

That's it. Now you have RA to the correct number and DEC.. well that was always correct. From here on, just select any other star you want to observe, read the RA and DEC and rurn the tube using the controls to these number. You should be very close.

As I said, I wrote this to check if I am missing something with my methodology so please fell free to correct me.

Kind Regards
Yiannis