This is the simplest type of telescope mount. It has only up/down (altitude) and left/right (azimuth) motions. It is used primarily for low to medium power Dobsonian telescopes and terrestrial spotting scopes, as it cannot easily follow at high powers the seemingly curved paths taken by celestial objects as they cross the sky.
With a alt-az mount, we need to adjust both axis to keep the object in the eyepiece which can be a difficult task. |