My simple trick for faster telescope alignment at night

I started using a laser pointer to line up my scope before it gets dark. It cuts setup time in half and lets me shoot more stars.

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3 Comments

patricia_grant407mo ago

Isn't telescope setup supposed to be the chill part of stargazing? Getting too perfect seems like it misses the point of just looking up at the sky.

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adam_adams7mo ago

Watched my buddy spend an hour dialing in his rig with a laser level. Kinda forgot to actually look at the stars, you know?

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kim8197mo ago

How do you make sure the laser pointer is lined up right with the telescope's axis? I've heard lasers can be off if they aren't perfectly straight. Have you had any issues with dew or cold weather affecting the laser's beam? Does this trick work for equatorial mounts or just alt-azimuth setups? I'm always looking for ways to cut down on setup time, so this seems worth a try.

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