Telescope Mounts & Accessories
Looking for a telescope mount, but aren't sure which one to buy? Check out our helpful Telescope Mount Guide below to learn about your options!
Telescope Mount Guide
A telescope mount is what carries your telescope and allows you to aim it at objects in the night sky. Telescope mounts come in many shapes and sizes: they can be as simple as a stationary tripod or as complex as a motorized equatorial mount that keeps your telescope tracking celestial objects.
The two most common types of telescope mounts are alt-azimuth and equatorial. Alt-azimuth mounts are great for visual observing, while equatorial mounts are designed for most types of astrophotography, especially deep sky.
For imaging, the telescope mount is actually the most important component of any astrophotography rig. The telescope and camera are important, but without a solid mount to carry it, you cannot accurately track the night sky. Accurate tracking allows you to get longer exposures without streaking stars, which is critical for deep sky imaging.
Here at Agena Astro, we carry a wide variety of telescope mounts for amateur astronomers and astrophotographers! You can read a quick overview of each mount type below, or click on any of those pages to learn more in depth about a particular type.
Equatorial Telescope Mounts
An equatorial mount, or EQ mount for short, is designed to track celestial objects as they appear to move across the sky. EQ mounts can fully compensate for Earth’s rotation by tracking a specific object for hours at a time. This enables the long exposures required for deep sky astrophotography. Equatorial mounts are not ideal for visual observing — an alt-az mount or a hybrid mount is a better choice — but visual observing can still be done. To learn more, visit our Equatorial Mount Guide!
Altazimuth Telescope Mounts
An alt-azimuth mount, or alt-az for short, moves the telescope up and down (altitude) and left and right (azimuth). Alt-az mounts are simple to use because they allow you to just point and observe while keeping the telescope upright. For that reason, we always recommend an alt-az mount for visual observing. Alt-az mounts are not ideal for deep sky astrophotography — an equatorial mount or a hybrid mount is a better choice — but astrophotography can still be done. To learn more, visit our Altazimuth Mount Guide!
Hybrid Telescope Mounts
Hybrid telescope mounts combine alt-az and equatorial modes into one mount for the best of both worlds. Hybrid mounts are ideal for those who plan to do both visual observing and astrophotography, and can be a great public outreach tool. Many newer harmonic drive mounts feature hybrid capability. To learn more, visit our Hybrid Mount Guide!
Star Tracker Mounts
Star trackers are essentially miniaturized Equatorial Mounts. These small mounts are designed to carry a smaller payload like a small telescope or lens and camera, which makes them perfect for travel and beginners getting into astrophotography. Star trackers are excellent for photographing the Milky Way or wide field objects. Because of their smaller size, they’re also a lot more affordable, though most of them cannot adequately carry telescopes heavier than a few pounds.