ioptron polar alignment appwhy is graham wardle leaving heartland
iOptron Polar Scope This is an app to show the position of the Pole Star (Polaris in Northern Hemisphere, or Sigma Octantis in Southern Hemisphere) in the polar scope of all the iOptron. The application tracks and draws the position of the Polaris (or Octant) in real-time and. An electronic polar scope uses a camera to plate solve an image of the area of sky around the celestial poles and provide useful feedback to guide your adjustments to the Altitude and Azimuth controls. you can do the same thing with software such as SharpCap or with a system like the ASIAIR using you main imaging camera to do your polar alignment so no separate alignment camera needed at all This is the first Android app predicting whether SynScan Photo can control a Skywatcher AZ-Mount(i.e. Was doing 2min subs at 85mm with zero trailing and clearly it is capable of much more. Then upgrade to the Pro version. And the stunning images! Once you know this it's fairly easy to align your scope without an app at all. Get the Polar Scope Align App. PolarScope is a polar-scope alignment app that runs on your Windows Desktop, Tablet and Phone. Polar alignment is critical to the tracking accuracy. The app is helpful to match orientation of the DSO Planner Free is an astronomy observation planning tool with excellent star charting capabilities made by active and experienced amateur observers with a passion for visual observations. All of these incredible moments took place using only the built-in, illuminated reticle polarscope that comes with the SkyGuider Pro. I'll be looking up some of those apps mentioned myself now. for the Great Red Spot and Olympus Mons: Restore the portability of the SGP. - Does my mount level? You may also consider that you may not even need a polar alignment camera at all. Not sure I want to invest in the camera yet , but out of fear of star trailing I only do 30 sec exposures (a lot). A mobile app such as PolarFinder will tell you the exact spot to position the North Star for a near-perfect polar alignment. Im about to purchase my first tracker, and Ive chosen the SkyGuider Pro. Im now connected to a laptop for polar alignment, as Ive removed the visual polar scope completely. These compact little mounts can rotate along with the night sky for long-exposure astrophotography, but they must be polar aligned accurately to work properly. Its free and you can use it wherever you can take your android device, travel, outdoors, hiking and more.. You just need to make sure that the mount does NOT move (eg. Thoughts? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. It takes into account atmospheric refraction. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. If you are setting up during the day, a compass will do the trick. The arm holding the polar scope can swing out to a position that is comfortable to the user, and this simple and ingenious design is one of my favorite features of the mount. If you havent yet gone down this road, its worth looking into the new iPolar. Its RA (right-ascension) motor slowly rotates at sidereal rate to match the skies movement very simple, yet vital for deep sky imaging. Many german equatorial mounts have a bubble level built-in. Calculation of parameters and characteristics of telescopes using different eyepieces and visualization. The iPolar installation process was interesting. does the Red Dot represent Polaris or will it align to any stars? I dont want to have to buy 2 of them! Yup, you guessed it, you move your altiude and azimuth bolts until you align the red dot and cross over each other but wait, when you get close, the red dot is enlarged to help you, fab! The app's name is Polar Clock, the link to the store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.astrotools.polarclock, You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. For polar alignment, iOptron sells their app for $1.99 but I have downloaded a free app (there are some ads at the bottom) called the Polar Scope Align. In the meantime since more people asked I did check the current status of the iOptron app and it doesn't look good And a quick tip: To ensure your 12:00 position is spot-on, center Polaris on the center-line and then adjust your latitude up and down. Check out those round stars! This application allows you to carry out a precise stationing of the mount also excellent for astrophotographers and works in both celestial poles. Alternatively in theory you could do this: It provides in one screen all the information needed to do this task.It also provides a polar angle with two different reticles. Plate solve failure this can be because you are too far from rough polar alignment move your tripod a bit, look down your scope to get it approximately correct and you will see it recalibrate or change the gain if you cannot see 4 stars minimum. The system only needs 4 stars to locate the pole, and can do so even if the pole location is obstructed by tree branches or clouds. 1. From here, its a matter of adjusting the camera settings so that the iPolar can pick up enough stars to plate solve the image. You should be able to take some sharp images of at least 2-3 minutes with the 350mm FL Z61 with a sound polar alignment. Since then Im looking into sturdier trackers (skyguider pro ipolar in particular). However, I recently tried to capture rho ophiuchi with my 200mm f4 lens I brought it to its knees (I ended up shooting at 100mm). Use this app to program the Star Adventurer mini for astrophotography and time-lapse photography. 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. With the M1 chip and Mac OS Big Sur v11.6 when double clicking on the app I get the message "Cannot use iOptron iPolar". Set up is a breeze and can be done in 5-10mins tops and it can be carried out during those dusk hours thereby not wasting viewing/imaging time. Remember, all features & updates are free forever, the only in-app purchases are donations (tip jar). Map iOS Now, Stellarium and Polar Scope Align both calculate the effect of atmospheric refraction, so they will give you a different position from the most simplistic apps (the lower your Latitude, the lower Polaris will be shown lower - for an inverted reticle), so you are not to compare it with those, although if they are correct, at the 6/12 hour mark The equipment used in this example a Sky-Watcher HEQ5 German equatorial mount. Old Review for Historical Purposes: Useless on a Pixel 3 with Android 9. The polar alignment was really dialed-in, but a 40-minute exposure is a but much. That seems counterintuitive unless they were suggesting that maybe just the North Star was obscured but the other stars around it were visible. For more video tutorials and astrophotography tips, please subscribe to AstroBackyard on YouTube. This setup usually consists of a DSLR camera and lens, but Ive seen some incredible little setups using dedicated astronomy cameras, and telescopes as big as the William Optics Z73 mounted (with a 50mm guide scope)! It's the other way around. To turn one bolt, the other has to be loosened. thanks a lot! Polar Alignment - Polaris hour angle A simple and easy to use application for determining the location of Polaris relative to the north celestial pole. Would give it 5 stars, but the fact that I couldn't configure it for the first few days until the app suddenly decided it would start drawing the menu icon makes me bring it down to 4. The SkyGuider Pro has proved to be an incredibly reliable star tracker that only takes a few minutes to set up. With MacOS now supported that might give us hope that a wired IOS or iPadOS is on the way soon, which would Edit: I saw the comment that you have to go to Settings > Apps > Permissions and give it Location permissions and now the GPS Longitude works. Ever wondered what objects are up in the sky? The device was recognized in my device manager, and I connected the camera by clicking the connect button at the top left-hand of the screen. Thats some incredibly impressive data acquisition from a star tracker that fits in your hand. Please make sure you have an ASI 3.0 camera and your android devices supports OTG. This process should be well understood before diving into astrophotography. Stellarium is an astronomical map and is great for locating objects in the night sky. Hi Nick. Lastly if one was just shooting with a DSLR and camera lens oh, would you also recommend a ball head attachment to the Skyguider pro? This is the official companion app for SkymemoT camera mount from Kenko. Ill attach my newly acquired Canon EOS 60Da to the RedCat, with a dual-bandpass narrowband filter inside (2 Optolong L-eNhance). Windy night I had a really bad night when the wind was gusting so much it was all over the place and I could not tell when I was aligned, the cross kept on moving off the dot why I thought I could even image and guide that night was beyond me, doh. That being said do you have any advice for choosing between the two? The SynScan hand controller is now available as an app on your smart device. However, would it not be possible to somehow side mount a polar scope for manual polar alignment? polar alignment is an essential step of the deep sky imaging process, and it should not be rushed, or skipped. Use this app to program the SkymemoT for astrophotography and time-lapse photography. Updated Review: Menu button started appearing magically. Make sure to view the current position of Polaris in your mobile app, and make any adjustments necessary to your mount. I cannot see polaris clearly from my location any night be their trees or other obstructions. For a more normal looking view through the camera, simply click on the RAW image button. The iOptron iPolar Polar Alignment Software. The iOptron SkyGuider Pro is sure to be a popular mount to add the iPolar upgrade too, but this is not the only telescope mount compatible with this electronic polarscope. Because the Polaris is not exactly coincide with the Earth's rotation axis but rotates around it, one should know the exact hour angle of the Polaris to adjust (rotate) the finder. This will be magnetic north though so only an approximation. Polaris should have moved to either the left or the right. In this video we go through the simple steps involved in setting up and using iOptron's iPolar digital polar scope. I use a Astrotech 72 ED II and Sony A6500 . The overall accuracy of the algorithm has reached sub 0.1 arc-seconds now. Think of a polar scope, the Ekos/Sharpcap routines, or the iPolar program as a quick and simple approximation. Alignment. Enjoy your videos. Meanwhile, alignment is via a precision polarscope with an impressive eight brightness levels, as well as a smartphone app (iOptron Polar Scope for iOS (opens in new tab) and Polar Finder for Android (opens in new tab)). Polar Scope 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. I can't get it to use GPS, though. You can see any stars, constellations and deep sky objects you are watching in Stellarium Mobile Sky Map is a fully-featured planetarium for your phone. Your polar alignment app should have a button to adjust the view to inverted. Im using the ioptron skytracker since a couple of years and with great pleasure. Polar alignment is the process of accurately aligning the polar axis of your mount with the north (or south) celestial pole. Continue this balancing act until the North star appears in the approximate horizontal plane that was displayed in PolarFinder. Hope this makes sense. Running, cycling, gym, walking, dancing Choose your favorite activity from 100+ sport profiles and start reaching your Light Pollution Map allows you to easily locate dark sites where the sky will not be affected by light pollution, allowing the best observance, star gazing, and photography of the night sky! Polar scope chart on an iPhone Figure 13. MacOS v1.1 and Windows V2.1 share a common new plate solving engine so are worth having. SharpCap can help you align the RA axis of your telescope mount with the NCP by comparing images. It implements a most direct and simple method of the polar axis, and it can be realized on the mobile phone. I am so grateful for your videos. So goodbye laptop when that day comes (hopefully soon). 8401 Hand Controller Star Catalogs Reloading. Call or email us today to let us know what you think. This app is targeted for amateur astronomers and astrophotographers that use a telescope with a German Equatorial. No matter what the weather conditions or surrounding scenery were, the SkyGuider and RedCat 51 combo have given me some of the most memorable astrophotography imaging sessions of my life. You also need to set the rotation center of the mount, which can be calibrated after clicking the clear rotation center button on-screen. I am just starting out with the SkyGuider Pro with iPolar and a Williams Optics z61 and heres my noobie question do I point my camera towards Polaris whe I first start using this? Nightshift helps you find perfect nights for stargazing, assists you in observing your favourite planets, meteor showers and deep-sky a simple portable mount for travel purposes like iOptron SkyTracker, AstroTrac or StarAdventurer. The app uses your mobile devices GPS to automatically calculate theposition of Polaris for your latitude and longitude. I used all 62 x 240-second exposures in my final image. Use this app to control the AZ GTi mount or other Sky-Watcher or Orion telescope mounts fitted with a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. Before you can use the IPolar camera, you need to take a dark frame click settings and the then, leaving the IPolar cap on, take a dark frame. It works indoors or outdoors. And most of all, we hope you'll enjoy the products as much as we do. Let StarTracker guide you to explore the universe. 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. After using iPolar and a Windows PC/laptop to do the polar alignment successfully, do we simply unplug the usb cable and not need the laptop anymore? GPS update was made shorted for quicker refresh. In an e-mail form Ioptron support I was told yesterday that an app is forthcoming for iPolar. There are a number of tools you can use to help polar align your equatorial mount, such as: PolarFinder Mobile App SharpCap Software Polar Alignment Feature iOptron PoleMaster Electronic Polar Finder The Importance of Balance Speaking of balance, the actual balancing of the weight on top of the mount (the payload) is extremely important. They just need to hire one developer. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. As you can imagine, I had mixed feelings about disrupting this proven configuration to upgrade it with the iPolar device. The lack of dithering was evident in the data, and would have helped to reduce noise in the final integration. Scope Friend nutzt die GPS-Funktion und Bluetooth um sowohl die genaue Zeit, als auch die Position zum Teleskop Handcontroller zu PolarDrift calculator is a simple polar alignment assistant tool helping astrophotographers to solve the question of optimum polar alignment sufficient to minimize the effects of field rotation. April 23, 2020 in Getting Started General Help and Advice. Best regards It may also be used with other brand telescope/camera mounts with similar polar scope reticle. Hi - Where is the polar viewfinder of my EQ6? Im trying to decide on Skyguider pro with ipolar or without. I was looking at the William Optics base. Privacy Policy | Any idea if it exist for Mac OS? If I get 4 minute exposures, how will I deal with the light? I am hoping to set up mine for the Eta Aquarids this weekend if the weather permits. Turn the knobs a few times while looking through the polar scope. Polar Scope Align Pro is an excellent app to get the position of Polaris. Connect the IOptron IPolar to your laptop first so it power up (USB2) and then run the IOptron software exe file. 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. It will display the correct position of Polaris in relation to the North celestial pole. This is the coordinate we will use to adjust the position of the telescope mount to align with the North celestial pole. This platform Natevia Trevor, are you able to CHECK the polar alignment after you disconnect the cable? A polar scope makes aligning the polar axis of this mount with the North celestial pole much easier. Terms of Service | If you have ideas for features, I am more than happy to discuss them. My second question is whether to not to go with the ipolar? The process involves removing the control board and unplugging a few small cables. You will then simply mimic this location by adjusting in your telescope mount. Thanks. 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. Owners of the SkyGuider Pro looking to push the mounts capabilities further now have a dedicated device for this critical aspect of astrophotography. For those with ASIair lets hope ZWO hurries up with their polar alignment. With a focal length of 250mm (400mm equivalent with a 1.6X crop-sensor DSLR), the RedCat will fit this entire area in a single field of view. I have sometimes shone a green laser through the polar alignment scope to see if it hits Polaris. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights, This is not recommended for shared computers, Morpheus Eyepieces on sale at EyepiecesEtc.com, Dual-band 7 nm instead of uv/ir cut for quark, OTA to suit CGX with view to Astrophotography, The NEAF Report from nPAE Precision Astro Engineering. The app didn't appear to update and the only thing I gave it was time, but when the menu icons actually appear and you can configure the settings the app is great and works wonderfully.