There are two types of mounts that are used for amateur telescopes. One being the Altazimuth and the other being Equatorial. There is a subtype of the Altazimuth mount that is referred to as a Dobsonian Mount. The Dobsonian Mount is made from wood and is short in stature. Additionally, it is very sturdy and can hold large telescopes, like the Newtonian reflector. There are teflon, or similar low-friction material, used on the bearing to make the adjustments of the telescope's position smooth.
The most typical mount used by amateur astronomers is the Altazimuth. This mount is the same design as camera tripods. It has two perpendicular axes of motion, one vertical and the other horizontal (also know as altitude and azimuth respectively). The Altazimuth Mount is easy to use, and less expensive than the Equatorial Mount. It is also easy to use so is idea for smaller, beginner telescopes or terrestrial observing with spotting scopes.
While the Altazimuth Mount is more standardly used by beginning and amateur astronomers, the Equatorial Mount is ideal. This mount also has two perpendicular axes, but they are called right ascension and declination (RA, or polar and Dec). The reason the Equatorial Mount is ideal for astronomy is because the RA axis can be set parallel with the Earth's rotational axis then the slow-motion control can be adjusted to track objects as they move through the sky. On the Altazimuth Mount this requires the adjustment of two controls. The more advance Equatorial Mounts provide RA and Dec setting circles which allows a user to find celestial objects by their coordinates stated in observing guides and star atlases.
Another benefit of the Equatorial Mount is that it can be altered to be motorized. Motorized mounts are used for automatic sky tracking, which can be a wonderful convenience for hobbyists.
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