Motorized GoTo Telescopes - National Geographic

GoTo telescopes are very popular and a common choice among beginners in astronomy. The alignment can be done quickly; it does not require vast knowledge about stars and their position in the sky.

Even a complete amateur in astronomy can quickly align the telescope, choose a celestial object from the computer database, and then observe the object as it moves across the sky.

GoTo mounts are perfect for smooth observing:

• the user doesn't have to worry about keeping the star in the eyepiece
• the computer build in the mount automatically tracks the star. 

Equatorial GoTo mount

Tracking the celestial objects:

• Planets and stars appear to move in the sky. The motion occurs either because they are moving, or they reflect our motion through space and Earth's rotation.
• When the telescope points to the desired star or planet, it can automatically track it.

The system is used on regular mounts and is run by a computer using one or more motors – depending on the type of mount.

There are two different GoTo mounts available on the market:

• Altazimuth GoTo mount and
• Equatorial GoTo mount.