Glossary | Telescopes | Mount | Mounting type | Azimuthal

With an altazimuth mount, a telescope can be slewed upwards and across the horizon. This horizontal angle is also called azimuth.

Altazimuth mounts can be quite simply constructed, similar to a photographic tripod. Another popular version is the single arm mount. The illustration shows a typical example. A bracket attaches the telescope to the side of the mount arm.

Fork mounts are intended for larger OTAs. In contrast to the single-arm mount, here the telescope is held from two sides. However, with most fork mounts, the OTA cannot be removed from the mount.

Altazimuth mounts are relatively compact and light. Their operation is intuitive and does not require lengthy setting up. A disadvantage, however, is that astrophotography with longer exposure times is not possible. This disadvantage can be overcome with the help of a polar wedge.