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EQUATORIAL MOUNTING [1 record]

Record 1 2010-03-12

English

Subject field(s)
  • Facilities and Instruments (Astronomy)
DEF

A telescope mounting in which one axis (the polar axis) is parallel to the earth's axis, while the second axis (the declination axis) is at right angles to it.

CONT

... the mounting of the telescope ... must be massive, in order to minimize mechanical vibration that would blur the image, especially at high magnification or during long-exposure photography. At the same time, motion of the telescope must be precise and smooth. To allow the telescope to be pointed in any direction in the sky, the mounting must provide rotation about two perpendicular axes. ... since the 1970s, most new astronomical telescopes use altazimuth mountings that are computer-driven in both axes. Before the 1970s, most astronomical telescopes used the equatorial mounting, in which one axis points at the celestial pole and hence is parallel to the earth's axis.

CONT

Equatorial -- superior to non-computerized altazimuth mounts for astronomical observing over long periods of time and absolutely necessary for astrophotography. ... A telescope on an equatorial mount can be aimed at a celestial object and easily guided either by manual slow-motion controls or by an electric clock drive to follow the object easily across the sky and keep it in the view of the telescope. ... There are two basic types of equatorial mounts: a) German Mount ... b) Fork Mount ...

French

Domaine(s)
  • Installations et instruments (Astronomie)
DEF

Dispositif à deux degrés de liberté permettant de faire tourner un instrument autour d'un axe principal parallèle à l'axe du Monde, et d'un axe secondaire qui lui est perpendiculaire.

CONT

[Le] pyrhéliomètre [...] parfois couplé à une monture équatoriale permettant un pointage permanent vers le soleil, [...] sert à l'étalonnage des pyranomètres.

Spanish

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