I have a Celestron C11 with carbon fiber tube and a Losmandy G11 Gemini that I aquired a few years ago that I have yet to use. And frankly, I don't have much experience using equatorial mounts. Well, I finally plan to start using it.
I'm wondering how much flexure to the tube is induced when the scope is pointing in such a way that the OTA is hanging off the dovetail plate, versus the tube sitting more or less on top of the plate? Does installing the scope in a set of rings alleviate or eliminate the problem? Do the materials that the OTA is made of, for instance, carbon fiber vs aluminum, have any bearing on the rigidity of the OTA?
I kind of have my own ideas on this, but I can't speak from experience, since I'm traditionally more of a Dob person. A problem like this might not be a big deal for visual observation, but it seems like it might have an effect on imaging, which I think I would like to try. Any thoughts?
I'm wondering how much flexure to the tube is induced when the scope is pointing in such a way that the OTA is hanging off the dovetail plate, versus the tube sitting more or less on top of the plate? Does installing the scope in a set of rings alleviate or eliminate the problem? Do the materials that the OTA is made of, for instance, carbon fiber vs aluminum, have any bearing on the rigidity of the OTA?
I kind of have my own ideas on this, but I can't speak from experience, since I'm traditionally more of a Dob person. A problem like this might not be a big deal for visual observation, but it seems like it might have an effect on imaging, which I think I would like to try. Any thoughts?
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