A mobile astronomical observation apparatus includes transport wheels, a bottom plate, side walls, fixing support parts, an astronomical observation member arranged in a receiving space when the mobile astronomical observation apparatus is in an observation mode, a moving part, a relatively-fixed body movably being coupled to the moving part, a ground-fixing rod being coupled to the relatively-fixed body, and a vibration-resistant member.

A mobile self-unloading observatory is presented for transporting observation equipment such as a telescope to a remote location, with a subsequent automatic setting up the equipment for observation. The observation equipment is transported on a suspended platform that protects the equipment against shock and vibrations. At the remote location, a self-leveling telescopic pier is extended to the ground under the chassis of the observatory, and released from being held within a frame of the observatory. The telescopic pier is extended towards the platform to support the observation equipment over the ground. The transportation, the setting up, and the teardown of the equipment may be performed without having to manually handle heavy or bulky objects.

A telescope mount assembly includes a hub section, a motor assembly, one or more legs extending away from the hub section, and a counterweight coupled to a portion of the hub section. The hub section includes one or more extensions that are each configured to rotate or translate about a fixed axis. The motor assembly is designed to rotate or translate one or more of the extensions. The counterweight includes a battery compartment configured to hold one or more batteries.

A technique for polar aligning the mount of a telescope or other astronomical instrument includes acquiring star images from an electronic polar scope and determining a location of a celestial pole relative to the star images based on computerized matching of the star images to information in a database. The mount has a right-ascension (RA) axis, and the technique directs an adjustment to the mount so as to align a location of the RA axis with the determined location of the celestial pole.

An equatorial mount having a base, a right ascension base, a right ascension shaft, a declination base, a declination shaft, and a mount-rotation mechanism, the declination base rotatable about a right ascension axis relative to the right ascension base, and the declination shaft rotatable about a declination axis relative to the declination axis, wherein the mount-rotation mechanism is engageable and disenagageable from one or the other of the right ascension shaft and the declination shaft, to apply torque between the declination base and that shaft when engaged and to permit relative rotation of the shaft and the declination base when disengaged.

The present invention relates to a method for readjusting a parallactic or azimuthal mounting, comprising a device which is intended for positioning and moving a telescope with a camera and can be aligned and readjusted by means of at least one image sensor and an electromotorized controller, characterized in that the image sensor acts as a main recording sensor of the camera and at the same time as an alignment sensor and readjustment control sensor, wherein before and after a main image is taken at least one control image is taken with a shorter exposure time and these control images are compared with one another, or at least a main image itself acts as a control image and is compared with at least one previous main image, or a short-exposed control image is compared with the main image itself and the correction values for the readjustment of the mounting are determined by the image offset and the time difference of the images taken. The method is the prerequisite for easy, error-free operation of an astronomical mounting for the purpose of long-exposure astronomical photography.

An equatorial mount for providing a telescope with a balanced weight distribution is described. The equatorial mount comprises a base, a declination base, and a device support. The declination base is rotatable about a right ascension axis relative to the base. The device support is rotatable about a declination axis relative to the declination base. The declination axis intersects orthogonally with the right ascension axis and the declination axis intersects a midsection of the declination base. The declination base comprises a counterweight assembly extending along a counterweight axis, the counterweight axis being spaced away from the declination axis along the right ascension axis.

A mobile astronomical observation apparatus includes transport wheels, a bottom plate, side walls, fixing support parts, an astronomical observation member arranged in a receiving space when the mobile astronomical observation apparatus is in an observation mode, a moving part, a relatively-fixed body movably being coupled to the moving part, a ground-fixing rod being coupled to the relatively-fixed body, and a vibration-resistant member.

A mount for a telescope incorporates a worm gear assembly comprising: a worm wheel connected to a telescope holder, such that movement of the worm wheel about a wheel axis causes movement of the holder about the wheel axis; and a worm shaft having a worm body extending in a longitudinal direction and a thread extending in a spiral on the worm body around a worm axis orthogonal to the wheel axis. The worm shaft is supported by a base for rotational movement. The worm wheel comprises a plurality teeth for engaging the worm shaft thread, so that rotation of the worm shaft about the worm axis causes corresponding rotation of the worm wheel, and corresponding relative rotation between the holder and the base, about the wheel axis. The wheel body defines a plurality of elasticity-enhancing cutouts spaced apart from the wheel axis and extending through the wheel body.

An on-gimbal telescope pointing assembly can comprise a head mirror operable to rotate to adjust an elevation angle of the pointing assembly and an all-reflective telescope operable to rotate to adjust an azimuth angle of the pointing assembly. The all-reflective telescope can comprise a fold mirror defining an output coude path of the all-reflective telescope. The pointing assembly can be operable to rotate about the coude path such that receiving optics can remain fixed while the pointing assembly rotates.