It is now the end of January and finally the skies clear! However a full moon makes the sky much too bright for deep sky photography. So it is a good opportunity to calibrate the scope and check the links to the pc software. The primary objective of this session is to see how well I can get the Meade LPI (Lunar and Planetary Imager) to act as a guide camera. This is no easy feat. Polar alignement is the first task. To do this the tripod needs to be as level as possible, this being done with a spirit level. Secondly the OTA (Optical Tube Assembly) is rotated 90 Degrees and the Pole star viewed through the Polar scope embeded in the body of the mount. Technically the Pole star is not dead centre and it's position is slightly off centre depending on time of day and day of year. Close to centre is best I get so far. Then switch on the motor and perform the easy align on two stars.
