User Manual

17
EXOS II MOUNT SET UP / POLAR ALIGNMENT PROCESS
Setting the Polar Home Position
1. Level the mount by adjusting the length of the three tripod legs. Use the included bubble level to
assist in this leveling.
2. Unlock the R.A. Lock (4, Fig. 1a) Rotate the Optical Tube Assembly until the counterweight shaft
is pointing straight down over the mount.
3. If you have not already done so, lift the telescope assembly and turn it so that the tripod leg
beneath the counterweight rod faces approximately North (South in the Southern Hemisphere).
Release the Dec. lock (1, Fig. 1a) of the tripod, so that the optical tube may be rotated. Rotate
the optical tube until it points North (or South in the Southern Hemisphere). Then re-tighten the
lock. Locate Polaris, the North Star, if necessary, to use as an accurate reference for due North
(or Octantis in the Southern Hemisphere).
4. If you have not already done so, determine the latitude of your observing location.
Visit the LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE TOOL at explorescientific.com/latitude_longitude to find
latitudes of any place on Earth. Once you have found your observing location, use the Latitude
Adjustment Handle (2, Fig. 1a) to tilt the telescope mount so that the pointer indicates the correct
latitude of your viewing location on the latitude dial (3, Fig. 1a).
5. If steps 1 through 4 above were performed with reasonable accuracy, your telescope is now
sufficiently well-aligned to Polaris, the North Star, for you to begin making observations. Once the
mount has been placed in the polar home position as described above, the latitude angle
need not be adjusted again, unless you move to a different geographical location
(i.e., a different latitude) or if you are making a more precise polar alignment.
1. Dec. Lock
6. Polar VF Cap
2. Latitude Adjustment Handle
5. Azimuth Control Knobs
3. Latitude Dial
4. R.A. Lock
Fig. 1a