AstroPilot — Stargazing forecast, telescope targets and sky chart for your exact location

Tracking

Also called: equatorial platform, sidereal tracking.

Moving a telescope to follow the sky's rotation, so objects stay in view.

The sky turns 15° an hour, so at 200× a planet crosses the field in a minute or two. Motorised mounts track automatically; Dobsonians can sit on an equatorial platform that tracks for about an hour. Without tracking, you nudge the telescope every so often.

Related terms