Your telescope’s mount is the bedrock on top of which everything else depends upon. If your mount is overloaded, or isn’t as rigid as it needs to be, you’ll have trouble capturing sharp photos.
Additionally, even if your mount is rigid, if it’s on a surface that is subject to vibration, it can vibrate easily. I witnessed this kind of vibration on a large segment of my concrete driveway, which vibrated even with a light footstep!
Tips for a rock-solid mount:
- Total weight of optical tube assembly (OTA) and attached equipment should be less than 80% of your mount’s max capacity
- Wind: Your telescope and equipment acts like a kite!
- If on hard surfaces (concrete, asphalt), use vibration suppression pads
- iOptron sells an excellent set of pads for only $38!
https://www.ioptron.com/product-p/8433.htm
- iOptron sells an excellent set of pads for only $38!
- Account for extra weight where the cameras, guiders and focusers are mounted–often they’ll shift balance to that end of your OTA and affect balance!
- You may even need an extra counter-weight for your mount, and in some cases, the OTA! Losmandy sells a 2.5kg counter-weight that has a Vixen dovetail for your OTA.