Editing Altazimuth mount (section)

===Current applications===
Typical current applications of altazimuth mounts include the following.

====Research telescopes====
In the [[list of largest optical reflecting telescopes|largest telescopes]], the mass and cost of an equatorial mount is prohibitive and they have been superseded by computer-controlled altazimuth mounts.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wXCMYy0yF5cC&q=altazimuth+mounts+have+been&pg=PA147 |first1=Pierre |last1=Léna |first2=François |last2=Lebrun |first3=François |last3=Mignard |title=Observational astrophysics |page=147 |isbn=9783540634829 |date=1998-01-01}}</ref> The simple structure of an altazimuth mount allows significant cost reductions, in spite of the additional cost associated with the more complex tracking and image-orienting mechanisms.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dawe |first1=J. A. |last2=Watson |first2=F. G. |author-link2=Fred Watson |title=Design for a large altazimuth Schmidt telescope |journal=Occasional Reports of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh |volume=16 |pages=15–18 |date=1985 |bibcode=1985ORROE..16...15D}}</ref> An altazimuth mount also reduces the cost in the dome structure covering the telescope since the simplified motion of the telescope means the structure can be more compact.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4x5Fw0AWfZsC&q=altazimuth+mounts+have+been&pg=PA18 |first1=Siegfried | last1=Marx |first2=Werner |last2=Pfau |title=Astrophotography with the Schmidt telescope |page=18 |isbn=9780521395496 |date=1992-06-11}}</ref>

====Amateur telescopes====
* Beginner telescopes: Altazimuth mounts are cheap and simple to use.
* [[Dobsonian telescope]]s: [[John Dobson (astronomer)|John Dobson]] popularized a simplified altazimuth mount design for [[Newtonian reflectors]] because of its ease of construction; Dobson's innovation was to use non-machined parts for the mount that could be found in any hardware store such as [[plywood]], [[formica (plastic)|formica]], and plastic plumbing parts combined with modern materials like [[nylon]] or [[teflon]].
* "[[GoTo (telescopes)|GoTo]]" telescopes: It has often proved more convenient to build a mechanically simpler altazimuth mount and use a [[motion controller]] to manipulate both axes simultaneously to track an object, when compared with a more mechanically complex [[equatorial mount]] that requires minimally complex control of a single motor.