In my pursuit of the perfect polar alignment, I have discovered that the
polar axis alignment varies significantly with temperature so that I never
really get consistent polar alignment from one night (or month) to the next
on my permanent pier installed 8" LX200 (on Meade wedge). (We're talking arc
minutes - I,m a
stickler for precision). I have empirically quantified the effect and have
been able to mathematically model it in Altitude(Above or Below the
Celestial Pole) with a 99% fit and thereby eliminate it, however, the effect
in Azm (East or West of pole) does not appear to show any consistency,... at
most a dubious trend.

My question is whether there are material effects of temperature on polar
alignment in Azimuth (East or West of the pole) rotation. (A 30 C temp
change showed only a 5.5+/- .7 arc minute shift East-West of the Pole
compared to
a 23.5 +/- 1.4 minute shift in Altitude!). If so, I can attempt to model out
the effect.

Thanks for any suggestions and comments.

Marc Castel
Wild Flower Ridge Observatory

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