> New owner here. WARNING! POTENTIALLY STUPID QUESTION!!
>
> Is it possible to point the scope at a star and have it track without
> going through the alignment procedure?

Yes. The simple way is to use "zero star alignment" in altaz mode:
point the scope due south and level before powering up; the scope will
be approximately aligned and will track reasonably well though GOTO
accuracy will not be great.

But 2-star altaz alignment takes only a minute or two. Why not do it?

Or are you using a wedge? In that case, simply setting the altitude
adjustment to your latitude and pointing the axis as close to Polaris as
you can visually will get you aligned well enough for causal visual
observing, though again, GOTO accuracy will be not so good.

For deep sky photography nothing short of careful drift alignment is
acceptable.

--
Bill Arnett
http://nineplanets.org/ 37 27 38 N 122 16 11 W

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