nubycakes 10 Report post Posted April 13, 2011 has anyone ever used this program? does it actually pole allign your scope so you dont have to? if it does im assuming you should still double check it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tony 73 Report post Posted April 14, 2011 Haven't ysed that one specifically, but embeded within the Celestron CGEM software is an "align mount" function that works very well. Might use the same procedure that you center a bright star not too close to the horizon and sync your scope's goto on it. Then when you click Align Mount, the scope slews to where it thinks the star should be if it were perfectly aligned to the celestial pole. You then re-center the star using the mount's adjustments for RA and DEC, not the hand controller, and when centered in a cross hair eyepiece you press "align" and it is now synced to the star. It will give you a readout in degrees, minutes and seconds as to how close you have achieved alignment. This process takes about 5 minutes and I beleive it puts you very close... close enough that PHD guiding has no trouble guiding for up to three hours with no drift. Pretty awesome fo those of us who have to set up each time from scratch. It also helps to have spots on my patio for the tripod legs, and that I move the whole unit, tripod and head as one thing to set it down in the right place. Before I got this mount, I spent hours getting my scope aligned to image, so any computer assisted aid is welcome for portable set ups. cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nubycakes 10 Report post Posted April 14, 2011 thanks for the information. sound pretty easy now i just need my mount lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tony 73 Report post Posted April 14, 2011 good luck... once you get this caper working, imaging becomes more fun... round stars instead of footballs! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nubycakes 10 Report post Posted April 14, 2011 yea this and collimate are the only 2 things that seem to have me worried with astronomy prolly cuse i dont fully understand the terms and have nothing to relate to since i dont phyically have a scope or mount yet.. any good books or guides on here you woukd recomend? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tony 73 Report post Posted April 14, 2011 The equipment is changing so rapidly, most books are obsolete. Alan Dyer's Back Yard Astronomy is a great overall album on astronomy and imaging, but for equipment, I'd ask guys on this forum first as they are actually using the stuff. I could have saved a lot of money and dead ends, had I known about these guys when I started. Imaging covers a wide spectrum of targets, and like any tools, each is specific to its intended application... one size doesn't fit all, but a 6" reflector as I think you started with considering is a good all purpose platform on a modest priced mount. I got an AstroTech 8" reflector for $449.00 that is perfect for my imaging of faint fuzzies, but its heavy and needs my CGEM to drive it with a guide scope and cameras attached. Alan's book is very informative as an introduction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nubycakes 10 Report post Posted April 15, 2011 ok thanks tony im gonna get an orion 8" f/4 449$... celestron cg-5gt 615$...and orion awsome autoguider 399$ and an atik 16 IC ccd mono... i think thats a very good astrophotography setup for the price... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tony 73 Report post Posted April 15, 2011 Ounds like you are on the right track... good hunting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nubycakes 10 Report post Posted April 17, 2011 thanks one question which would be better for deepsky imaging (nebula,galaxys etc) a 6" or 8" reflector i think the bigger the the more photons of light it can collect? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ozpapafox 10 Report post Posted April 23, 2011 Perhaps you could get more information about polar-aligning and collimation here: http://www.andysshotglass.com/articles.html HTH Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nubycakes 10 Report post Posted April 23, 2011 Perhaps you could get more information about polar-aligning and collimation here: http://www.andysshotglass.com/articles.html HTH Cheers none of the links on the site work Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ozpapafox 10 Report post Posted April 27, 2011 Which browser are you using? I've just been there and it works; perhaps you do not have "Flashplayer" or whatever else that is required! Try going to the homepage itself ie http://www.andysshotglass.com/ as I remember that there is a warning about Flashplayer being required and that it is not suitable for dial-ups!! HTH Cheers Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nubycakes 10 Report post Posted April 27, 2011 yup nevermind i accessed it on my ipad lol thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
