Ad Astra Observatory

The NJP doesn’t like high northern latitudes. Because of the way the altitude axis is adjusted, if you live north of about 40º latitude, you start being unable to adjust the mount high enough to reach Polaris.

So, I needed to make a “foot” for the north leg of the mount, something that I can put the north foot on to lean the mount back enough to let me get polar alignment here in Washington.

Art was very kind and left me with a gorgeous piece of acrylic for the job. I cut some scrap wood to add to the height, and put a little drill pucker on the top for the point of the leg to fit in. It’s a really gorgeous piece of work, and I’m starting to look forward to actually using my astronomy gear here in the PNW.