October 25, 2025
Description
First step when aligning an equatorial mount is a rough alignment of the rotational axis, polaris in the northern hemisphere. The more precise the better for next steps. With a laser beam exactly along the axis of rotation rough polar alignment can be done easier, more comfortable and faster.
Designed for Skywatcher HEQ5.
Maybe it suits on other Skywatcher mounts too, measure the hole and compare it with the drawings.
If it you can use it on other model than a HEQ5 mount please comment or send me a message.
Looking thorugh the finder scope kneeling before the scope and bending the body to get a look thorugh it and find polaris is sometimes (nearly always?) not very comfortable. With this designed laser cap you'll get a laser beam in direction of the rotational axis of the mount. Switching on the laser and following the beam (with the head just next to the laser) and you can see the laser point “in the sky” (of course not, due to fine particles or [hopefully not too much] vapour/water droplets). Rotating the tripod that the laser beam points near polaris and do a finer adjustment in azimuth and altitude and you are ready for either align more exactly with the polar scope or for two/three (recommended for more precise tracking) star alignment.
It is possible to skip the alignment through polarscope. When doing a three star polar alignment I have to readjust anyway, no matter whether I aligned with the polarscope, with laser and polar scope or with laser only.
Now I skip aligning with the polarscope.
Take care that the laser light does not shine in your eyes! Even tough only 1 mW is allowed in the EU which (usually!!) does not harm eyes, don't look in a laser. The risk of eye damage is not worth it.
I like green lasers best for using in the night sky. According to EU-law 1 mW is allowed, that is enough. I can't imagine that there is a benefit with more laser power. Imagine that a laser with 5 mW is eye safe after about 16 m (52 ft) for unintentional exposure! With the head near the laser and following the beam a 1 mW Laser is good to see and does what it should.
I bought a laser module with diameter 12 mm and connected it to the battery pack with a connector. For example this one by amazon: Green laser 12mm
Of course you can find a lot of lasers at chinese shopping sites (aliexpress). Be careful, you do not always get a safe product or exactly what it was specified. You can easily order a 35 mW laser for less than 10 €. In EU it is forbidden to import laser with more than 1 mW, the buyer is responsible not the seller! If delivered to EU it also happens sometimes (often) that products are labelled with the CE and therefore appear to be compliant with the law but in reality they are not!
Probably even amazon orders from China.
There are two models available, one for Lasers with diameter 12 mm and a second one with diameter 13.8 mm wich was designed for a laserpointer with a diameter of around 14 mm (13.8 mm but I think 14 mm will fit too).
The disatvantage of a standard laser pointer is the pressing of the button instead switching on the power button. But it works too.
Nothing special. I printed the parts with a Bambulab X1 Carbon, material PETG, 3 walls, 3 bottom and top surfaces, no support, 8% infill.
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License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial
mechanical0815
