A telescope mount is a mechanical structure which supports a telescope. Telescope mounts are designed to support the mass of the telescope and allow for accurate pointing of the instrument. Many sorts of mounts have been developed over the years, with the majority of effort being put into systems that can track the motion of the fixed stars as the Earth rotates.
1 meter Zeiss telescope at Merate Astronomical Observatory, Merate (LC), Italy. (South support)
William Herschel's 49-inch (1,200 mm) 40-foot telescope on an altazimuth mount.
A Baker-Nunn satellite-tracking camera on an altitude-altitude-azimuth mount.
Equatorial mount (Stützmontierung) devised by Alfred Jensch
Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers make contributions in doing citizen science, such as by monitoring variable stars, double stars, sunspots, or occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, or by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies.
Amateur astronomers watch the night sky during the Perseid meteor shower.
Amateur astronomer recording observations of the sun.
Places like Paranal Observatory offer crystal clear skies for observing astronomical objects with or without instruments.
An image of the Cat's Paw Nebula created combining the work of professional and amateur astronomers. The image is the combination of the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope of the La Silla Observatory in Chile and a 0.4-meter amateur telescope.
