My index marks are missing or aren’t properly positioned on my Advanced GT (CG-5) mount. How do I align the mount?

The manual recommends starting alignment with the telescope in the index position. There are pairs of arrowed stickers on the CG-5 mount that are the index marks for declination and right ascension (RA). Unfortunately, these arrows can be stuck in the wrong place or even fall off.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to position the mount to the index position. The index position is the same as what’s called equatorial north position for a German equatorial mount.

With the telescope roughly polar-aligned (polar axis tilted using the latitude adjustment screws, polar axis points north), swing the tube parallel to the polar axis and directly above it. The front of the scope should be pointing towards the north celestial pole, while the DEC port on the mount itself should be facing you, standing behind the telescope.

With the scope in this position, you can proceed with your alignment procedure.

Updated 12/27/13