I dont mind the extra time for set up. $2.99 in the App Store What is it about? 3. I dont know if I just need to spend more time fiddling with that or upgrade to what you just shared, so I can enjoy more DSO AP with that simple setup. I can't get it to use GPS, though. There is no menu button. Hi Merrick! (I eyeballed alignment with the SkyGuider's polar scope and mobile app.) Depends what setup you have because aligning is a different process with different mounts. You have previously reviewed ZWOs ASIAir but you may not know that this device will soon have Polar Alignment built in using the main imaging scope/lens and camera. The beauty of a permanent setup in an observatory is, that the polar alignment process only needs to be done once. Step 2 - Dark Frame Im about to enter the world of astrophotography. Im in Indonesia and a lot or equipment in the US, we dont have it here. In early May 2020, I decided to purchase a Canon EOS Ra camera from B&H photo. Accurate Polaris / Oct position calculation, including atmospheric refraction, stellar aberration, nutation. Along with the device, youll need to order the correct adapter for your specific EQ mount model. About | Almost any starcharting software will give the position of Polaris, and most will correct for atmospheric refraction. for the Great Red Spot and Olympus Mons: Your polar alignment app should have a button to adjust the view to inverted. The imaging camera in PoleMaster has a resolution of 30 arc second, so the best polar alignment that can be achieved by PoleMaster is also in the order of 30 arc seconds. Mobile Observatory Free is the perfect tool for anybody interested in the sky's wonders, from the occasional sky gazer to the passionate amateur astronomer. It displays this information on a screen so you can quickly make the adjustment to the mount. It does the opposite pretty well - if you strap your phone on the telescope, you select an object from the database and it takes you there (Push To button) - which can be accurate if you first calibrate it with a bright star that you can recognise and then "hop" to the object of interest. Call or email us today to let us know what you think. live view and trial and error? Your email address will not be published. Narrow bandpass imaging requires that you collect longer exposures than you would in broadband, especially when using a color camera like a DSLR. You may be able to crouch down and see Polaris through the polar scope reticule at this point. However, I consider this a pricey investment at $268 when I already own a QHY PoleMaster electronic polar scope for aligning my larger telescope mounts. By aligning the axis of your telescope mount with the motion of the sky, you can accurately track objects in space. If you have a skywatcher polar scope then 'polar finder'is the best and simplest one. Also what is the great advantage to using the Williams Optics wedge? Quality tutorial/review. When Polaris rides consistently along that line, you know the polar-scope is set for subsequent alignment. It takes into account atmospheric refraction. I was impressed, Continue Reading Celestron NexStar 8SE Telescope ReviewContinue, Ive just returned from a vacation to Costa Rica with the goal of capturing some astrophotography images from the resort. is iPolar software available only on Windows? - What are the GPS coordinates? In my latest video, I captured a wide-field deep sky object using an impressive little star tracker, the iOptron SkyGuider Pro. The SGP comes with a built-in polar scope, which will allow to you precisely align to the north star, provided you have the smartphone app. Does it really make it easy enough to make a difference for a beginner like me? Overall good software, works as intended. Your email address will not be published. Thanks again! Maybe via smartphone and an App and built in WiFi is a must today. No matter how good you are at manually aligning the mount through the polar scope with your eyes, I think its safe to say a camera has got you beat. - language (Russian, English, Hungarian, Spanish, German, French, Romanian, Croatian, Italian, Sinhala, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, PoleMaster Polaroid is a pole-mounted, handset-mounted tool that enables one of the most direct and simple ways to align the pole axis with your phone and is available in a fraction of the time Very accurate alignment of the PolarFinder is an useful tool for helping you in polar alignment of your mount. Ive fitted a 2 Optolong L-eNhance filter into the adapter of my RedCat 51. In an e-mail form Ioptron support I was told yesterday that an app is forthcoming for iPolar. If your view of the Big Dipper or Polaris is completely obstructed, you may need to polar align using the Drift Align method I mentioned earlier. iOptron offers their own electronic polar scope for the SkyGuider Pro - the iOptron iPolar - which can be hooked up to your computer/laptop. To maximize the benefits of the iOptron polar scope for polar alignment, you need to know where the Polaris is in . Today we're proud to provide quality products direct to your doorstep through an experience you'll enjoy. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The iPolar I'm demonstrating is pre installed into a Skyguider Pro, therefore this tutorial does not include instructions on how to install an iPolar camera into the polar axis of mounts.Please consider Patreon or Channel Membership: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=85055123Or you can show your support with a coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DIYAstro?newA huge thank you if you choose to help out! Hi, This method is handy if you own a Celestron mount, and Polaris is not in view. Use the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper to help you locate Polaris. Loosen one, tighten the other. There have never been so many choices available, with each one offering their own advantages and disadvantages. This means that youll be able to capture longer exposures without the worry of tracking errors. I guess I will stick with the stock mount. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Aligning using its electronic polar finderscope and iOptron Polar Scope app is simple, and like most of its rivals, it also tracks the sun, moon and allows 1/2-speed motion time lapses at night. This will be magnetic north though so only an approximation. The bracket has a slot that will allow you to polar align with extra photography equipment attached. My biggest problem with my SkyGuider Pro is the alt-azi mount it came with. Use this app to control the AZ GTi mount or other Sky-Watcher or Orion telescope mounts fitted with a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. You currently have javascript disabled. As a beginner, am I better off starting without the iPolar, or should I jump to the improved technology? I often use them as their graphics are better than the HC display. Thanks for the additional information. - Where is north? It all started with a great idea and a little hard work. I would definitely get the PA dialed-in as best you can using the built-in polarscope first. The polar alignment was really dialed-in, but a 40-minute exposure is a but much. Turn the knobs a few times while looking through the polar scope. As for the ipolar, I saw a mention in one advertisement that bipolar could be used when one cannot see the pole star. It looks like this: PS Align Pro is the app I use. My second question is whether to not to go with the ipolar? By this point, the telescope mount should be roughly aligned with the height of the North Star. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I wont go into detail here but after physically installing your IPolar in your mount, you will need to align the camera with the mount this is simple and is detailed in their installation instructions the software does this for you! You will need to adjust the mount to your current latitude using its altitude adjustment bolts. Hey Mark! iPano AllView Pro Camera Mount. It is now a matter of moving the mount left or right until Polaris comes into view. iEQ75 with 8406 Hand Controller. It provides in one screen all the information needed to do this task.It also provides a polar angle with two different reticles. This PoleMaster is such a lovely tool to almost perfectly align your scope in no-time. The process of removing the stock illuminated polar finder scope inside the iOptron SkyGuider Pro. So, if the SkyGuider Pro is your main deep-sky imaging rig, the iPolar is a no-brainer, especially if youve had trouble with polar alignment in the past. It can handle up to 14 lbs of gear, which means that small refractor telescopes like the William Optics RedCat 51 are no problem for the SkyGuider Pro. Please make sure you have an ASI 3.0 camera and your android devices supports OTG. I presume you are looking through a polar scope? This article assumes you would do the it the same way although you can connect to it via Ascom as well if you needed to so I suggest you check out the IOptron installation guide if you want to do it this way but I have not found this necessary. Remember, all features & updates are free forever, the only in-app purchases are donations (tip jar). I have a question that I found no answer from the manual and the web. An uneven tripod will result in an inaccurate position of your mount in relation to the altitude scale. Use the mount's (optional) dovetail L-bracket and counterweight shaft with the counterweight attached. Polaris should have moved to either the left or the right. PolarFinder shows you the actual of the Polaris or the Sigma Octantis using the system time and GPS Polaris is a cool mobile compass which can be used with or without Wifi/GPS. Looking at the android play store there seems to be a myriad to choose from, which do members recommend & why? For those that set up and tear down their equipment each night like me, youll quickly become a master in polar alignment through experience. This is a very popular telescope mount for beginner to intermediate astrophotography enthusiasts. The issue is that it sits to low to the ground to see through the polar scope. I am not sure when should I stop rotating. 2) Tonight at a OnStep is a DIY computerized GoTo controller for Telescope mounts. Polar Align Without Polaris - Good Enough for Astrophotography? Easy Polar Alignment for Astrophotography - [Step by Step] - AstroBackyard It includes basic tools for leveling your equatorial mount (spirit. The Polar Scope Align app for iOS was designed to make polar alignment easier and provide an alternative method of aligning with polar scopes to improve their precision. It provides a simple way for you to track the motion of the stars, so you can take long exposure images of the night sky. The iPolar software is available to download on the iOptron website. Yes exactly. It can also help a Sky-watcher equatorial mount An app for Astronomy and Astrophotography enthusiasts that use a German Equatorial Mount for your telescope. 4. Is polar scope align availableon Android ? As you get closer to being perfectly polar aligned, the red dot and cross-hair will enlarge. Youll want to use an illuminated reticle eyepiece with a crosshair to center the star in your field of view. Many german equatorial mounts have a bubble level built-in. It doesn't have exactly that function. I like the Polar Scope Align app as it has other reticles if I ever get something else (unlikely). iOptron Polar Scope App - Latest Version Troubles - Cloudy Nights I rather not have to pay for an app but if the iOptron app is more precise, $2 isn't going to kill me. From what Ive researched it looks like you can do all that on the SkyTracker Pro even though 5lbs is outside the specs on the payload without the counterweight. Compared to the ease of polar alignment with the SkyTracker, Ive been a bit intimidated about the alignment due to the way the polar scope rotates in the shaft, thus potentially off-setting the alignment. OPT offers the SkyGuider Pro and iPolar camera as a Package. sink into the grass, gets knocked by your foot) after completing the polar alignment! I'll be looking up some of those apps mentioned myself now. It's the feature described on this video if you haven't seen it. In this video we go through the simple steps involved in setting up and using iOptron's iPolar digital polar scope. Images captured using the SkyGuider Pro with the RedCat 51 and DSLR attached. The shape of the North America Nebula starts to show after about 15-seconds at ISO 6400:) Thank you for the kind words! I knew that feature was coming to the ASIair and thats an excellent option for those that want to keep their rig travel-friendly! If yes how? A step-by-step walkthrough of my deep-sky astrophotography process. iPad Apart from the most reliable app for polar alignment (with or without a polar scope), PS Align pro has become the astronomer's swiss-army knife with all the tools added over the years. iOptron Technique for Telescope Polar Alignment - Cloudy Nights See the rest of the astronomy apps I recommend. Android users should buy the Polar Finder App, while iPhone users can get this PolarScope Align app.The app is critical for an accurate alignment, as you will need . Thanks Trevor for you hard work and clear and informative videos ! Today we're proud to provide quality products direct to your doorstep through an experience you'll enjoy.