My telescope mount failed during the Perseids last month

I had everything set up for the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on August 12th. My mount just stopped tracking after about 20 minutes, no warning or error. Turns out the internal cable to the RA motor broke clean off inside the housing. I spent the rest of the night just watching with my eyes instead, which was actually pretty nice but I missed getting any photos. Has anyone else had a mount fail on a big night like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby6598d ago

Oh man, that's rough. Reminds me of when my car battery died on a camping trip once, but that's a whole different thing. At least you got to see the shower with your own eyes though, sometimes the best views are the ones you don't try to capture. Did you at least get a nice dark sky where you were? Nothing beats just lying back and watching those streaks go by, especially when technology decides to take a break.

robinp898d ago

Honestly, planning your shot matters more than gear anyway, so the mount quitting probably saved you from obsessing over the wrong thing.

brooke_jones8d ago

My iOptron mount did the exact same thing during last year's Geminids. Cable snapped clean off inside the housing, just like yours. I was out in the middle of nowhere near Bishop, California, pitch black skies. @ruby659's right about getting to see the shower with your own eyes though. But still hurts when you had that perfect framing locked in for the radiant point and your gear just quits. Did you end up opening the mount yourself to check the cable or send it back to the manufacturer?