Polar alignment
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Polar alignment is the act of aligning the rotational axis of a telescope's equatorial mount or a sundial's gnomon with a celestial pole to parallel Earth's axis.
Star trail image of the north polar region
Interactive area of the Excel spreadsheet
Celestial pole
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The north and south celestial poles are the two points in the sky where Earth's axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the celestial sphere. The north and south celestial poles appear per
Polar alignment
…Polar alignment is the act of aligning the rotational axis of a telescope's equatorial mount or a sundial's gnomon with a celestial pole to parallel Earth's axis. The method to use differs depending on whether the alignment is taking place in daylight or at night. Furthermore, the method…
Over the course of an evening in the Northern Hemisphere, circumpolar stars appear to circle around the north celestial pole. Polaris (within 1° of the pole) is the nearly stationary bright star just to the right of center in this star trail photo.
The south celestial pole over the Very Large Telescope