It’s all about the base.

Mounts are probably the most important bit of kit, they have to be sturdy, heavy and able to take the weight of your precious telescope, so it’s vital that you get as much information as you can before you drop your hard-earned cash on a mount. Generally, when you buy a telescope it comes with a mount, unfortunately the mount is usually just about adequate for the scope. The 6-inch Newtonian I have is generally sold with an EQ3 mount, it’s not really suitable for a telescope of that size despite Skywatchers best efforts to persuade you otherwise.

The EQ3 I have came with a 5-inch Mak and it handles that really well, if I put the 6-inch Newt on it, it struggles and even the slightest breeze will cause an object in the eyepiece to dance around like a thing possessed. A sound piece of advice is buy the heaviest mount you can afford/carry. I need a sturdy trolley for my HEQ5 but it really makes the difference.

Alt-Az mount

Mounts come in two designs, Alt-Az, short for Altitude/Azimuth, (also known as UP/DOWN LEFT/RIGHT). An Alt-az mount is probably the easiest mount to use. This type of mount does have a few drawbacks, they’re not really any good for imaging, unless it’s motorised they need constant adjustment to keep an object in the eyepiece (FOV or Field of Vision) My first astronomical telescope was on an Alt-az mount and for ease of use it was excellent, I could just set it up and go. Alt-az mounts are generally really easy to set up.

A word of advice, don’t be fooled by the type of Telescope that you can buy in a toyshop, the optics (the lenses and eyepieces) are generally made of either low grade glass at best or plastic and the mount is usually weak and flimsy. Although this blog is offering advice, you should always check with a reputable telescope dealer.

EQ mount

The equatorial mount, EQ3, EQ5 HEQ5/6, is different and more complex to use. One of its axes is tilted to your latitude, your position on the Earth north or south of the equator, and the other is parallel to the celestial equator, like Earth’s equator but in the sky.

Lattitude setting guide, this one is set to 42°

I live in the South East corner of England, my latitude is 51° north. Most EQ mounts have a dial on one side that is marked between 0° and 90° I have mine set to 51°, this is the angle of Polaris, the Pole Star, above the horizon where I live

An EQ mount moves in units of right ascension and declination, which are similar to longitude and latitude but mapped onto an imaginary sphere on the sky.

Most Newtonians come on an equatorial mount, and they’re really good for astronomy because you only need to adjust one axis, the right ascension one, to keep track of an object in the sky as it moves through the night. With an alt-az mount, you’d need to adjust both axes to keep one object in view for any longer than a few seconds.

As with the Alt-az mounts, EQ mounts have their drawbacks, they can be very heavy which means they’re not exactly portable. They need some time to set up, I prefer to set up in the day time, because of the weight issue it’s a good idea to ensure that you have everything you will need for an evening of observing. Make a list, check it twice. Check it again.

EQ mounts from the EQ3 up are ideal for imaging because of the way they “follow” an object. If you are planning to start imaging then either a motorised drive kit or Go-To kit or EQ mount is vital.

A good sturdy mount is vital to an enjoyable evening observing, your telescope must be stable and steady. Astronomy is one of the few things where size really does matter.