My new mount was a choice between a solid tripod or a fancy tracker

I had $400 saved and needed to upgrade from my shaky old setup. The choice was a heavy duty tripod that would stay rock solid, or a basic star tracker that could follow the sky. I went with the tracker, thinking longer exposures would be better. Spent a whole night in my backyard trying to get it aligned right and ended up with blurry messes. Anyone have tips for a first timer with a tracker that just won't cooperate?

3 comments

3 Comments

faithwalker1mo ago

Check if your tracker has a setting for your exact latitude, because that can throw off the whole alignment if it's even a few degrees wrong. What specific tracker model did you end up getting, and are you using an app to help with the polar alignment steps?

kim19126d ago

Wait, you're telling me you actually have a tracker with a latitude setting that precise? I had no idea that was even a thing on consumer models. I've got the iOptron SkyGuider Pro and it only has those rough degree marks, no fine tuning at all. Are you using something like the Star Adventurer or maybe one of the newer ones that connects to an app for that?

alicew681mo ago

Oh man, the polar alignment struggle is real (I've been there). Make sure your tripod is perfectly level before you even start, that was my big mistake. A cheap bubble level from a hardware store helps way more than you'd think. Then take your time with the polar scope, it's a pain but rushing it just makes everything blurry.