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How to Align a Meade LX200

Meade telescopes have long dominated the telescope industry. With Meade, almost anyone can now afford to buy a nice telescope. Although their prices have dropped, astronomy is still a science that demands some basic understanding on your part. Once you know where the stars are, you will be able to fully unlock your telescope, with the ability to electrically track the stars with your motor drive. Once you align your telescope with the stars, there is not much more to be done, since everything from then on is automatic. It's just the process of getting to that point that causes so much trouble.

Things You'll Need

  • Meade LX200 telescope
  • Electric motor drive
  • Finder scope
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Instructions

    • 1

      Bring your telescope to a clear field away from city lights. Wait for around 10 minutes before starting to star gaze, to let your eyes adjust to the night.

    • 2

      Find the Big Dipper constellation. It is one of the biggest star patterns in the sky, and it is usually located around the horizon, and not the middle of the sky.

    • 3

      The Big Dipper constellation will point directly toward your guidance star, named Polaris. Once you find the Big Dipper, just follow the pattern down to the "bowl" shape, and follow the arrow to where the last star is pointing.

    • 4

      Guide your telescope to the Polaris star, using only the manual turning knobs, and not just by grabbing the optical tube.

    • 5

      Find Polaris in the cross hairs of your finder scope. Once there, just turn on your motor drive, and track all of the other terrestrial objects you are interested in. Refrain from moving your telescope up or down, as this will misalign your telescope.


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