STARSENSE AND ASTROHOPPER: ARE THEY ANY GOOD?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ม.ค. 2025
- I finally had a chance to get a Celestron Starsense attached to my Dobsonian and test it out to see how it performed and also to download and try out Astrohopper, a free open source website that you can download to your phone and use to help you locate objects in the night sky. In this video I'll show you how they work, how to attach them, how to use them, and tell you my thoughts about both of these apps.
Thanks for giving me a mention in your video! Love your work as always! I personally like the magnets better for dobsonian scopes because you can move it down the tube to make the scope less front heavy. I think the Starsense has an advantage over Astrohopper in that the Starsense will platesolve and confirm the location of where you're pointing at while Astrohopper is reliant on your phone sensors only, there is no automatic confirmation that you're at the correct object. In anycase, I think Astrohopper is awesome as its completely free, you don't need to buy a Celestron Starsense scope just to use it.
You're welcome and thank you for sending me that link. I like the magnet better as well because you can still leave your finder on and lined up in case the phone battery dies on you.
Great honest review. Thank you. You made some great points that I didn’t think of
Thanks, Mark!
Thanks for the video Tsula.
I started astronomy with a starsense explorer equipped telescope 2 years ago and it made it very easy to get going. I’ve now spent 18 months star hopping with a 16” dob but I couldn’t have done it on my own without those first few months being supported by Starsense.
Funnily enough, Starsense is back in the picture as I’ve printed that same dovetail adapter last week to use on my C5, as it’s my hardest telescope to aim.
All that to say, it doesn’t necessarily stop people from learning the night sky 😅
That's a nice story of a good use of Starsense.
Happy New Year! I just discovered your channel and it’s wonderful.
Thank you and happy new year to you also!
StarSense is awesome! Spend way less time searching and more time observing. Purchased a scope then DIY'd several more mirrored phone brackets that attach to the battery lid of a Telrad.
That's a great idea.
Hi, Tsula! I'm one of those "beginners" you mentioned who use a cell phone as an assistant, especially in finding Messier objects. I agree with you about becoming familiar with the night sky by using star charts and other sources, with less dependence on the phone, and after a year and a half in the hobby I am certainly better than I was. I am using AstroHopper, and your tip of downloading it as an app was a very welcome suggestion. I use a cheap cell phone holder that screwed onto the telescope rings of my refractor to hold and align the phone, which seems to work well. I think AstroHopper's tendency to need constant realignment is a bit of a problem, but it is still a welcome help overall. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and tips/tricks, and look forward to more!
Thank you. I remember when I was first starting out and could never find anything. I could have really used something like Astrohopper. But also if only I had even a clue of what to look for. Back then there were so few resources available. So, I am more than happy to help you and others any way I can. Thanks for watching.
Hey, I’m glad you finally tried it. I’ve been enjoying it for almost 2 1/2 years. I think like you I have a 12 inch LX 90 and I like to StarSense. It’s much more simpler and faster. Of course there’s no tracking with the StarSense but besides, that is pretty good.
As you say, both of them are good, but you still should learn your way around the sky. I definitely agree with that.
I look at it like with our computerized telescopes. You’re always using the hand control now you’re using your phone. It’s different but really it’s the same.
Finally, I agree with you. I like StarSense a bit better, but the Astro hopper is good. Both of them will help new people confirm finding stuff but I think it’s a great skill to learn how to star hop with a map in chart because it’s always good to know .
When I do start parties at the zone two location sometimes I can just point within a couple seconds to something and people are always amazed and they say how the hell did you find it and it’s basically just experience and memory
Anyway, great video. I’m glad you finally tried StarSense and Astro hopper. Cheers.
Hi Joe: Yes, it is like looking at the hand controller which I also don't like looking at but I agree sometimes it is so helpful to have something like Astrohopper or Starsense and sometimes it's just too cold to be searching around for a long time! Cheers.
Hi Tsula.
I want to thank you for sharing your plethora of knowledge here. I have learnt so much in the last few weeks from listening to your relaxed and clear way of explaining things.
This video is so timely for me as I am looking to mount a star sense cradle on my 10” dob today. The magnets look an ideal way to mount it. Pretty sure with the plate solving it doesn’t rely on the compass so magnets shouldn’t be an issue.
Thank you again and all the best for the new year.
Tim from Oz down under.
Tim: That's a really nice comment. Thank you. The magnets didn't interfere at all when I used them. Happy new year to you.
Thank you for the info!! 😊
You're welcome. Thanks for watching.
I have used astrohopper. It worked great for me. Not seeing stars has not been my issue. Where I’m at there are so many stars I have trouble differentiating as to what star I should be looking at.
Thanks for the honest review.
Thanks. Well, that is definitely an "issue" many people would love to have. I know what you mean though.
Hi, Tsula.
I love my 8" Starsense Dobsonian.
I also love the Starsense Alignment Accessory in conjunction with my 9.25" Nextstar Evolution.
Both of them are outstanding!
Excellent. I looked at the Alignment accessory and you can buy that one separately but for a whopping $400 but I'm glad to hear that it is working well for you on the 9.25 Evolution.
@@tsulasbigadventures Expensive indeed!!! 😀
Hi Tsula, these are great ideas for attaching items to a telescope. I love that you can easily move them from one telescope to another, and it's not neccessary to actually screw or attach anything to the telescope itself. You're becoming quite a "tinkerer"! I think
it would be a nice way to add my red dot finder to another telescope without having to remove the finderscope as I don't have a twin dovetail fitting at present. Clear and dark here tonight! My new year is stating well with Saturn right outside my door! Finally I can see the stars again Yay!!! Happy stargazing
🤗✨🌙✨
Hi Lynn: Thanks. I am so glad the bit broke on my drill before I drilled a hole in my Dobsonian! The magnets work great and I like your idea of also using it on a red dot finder to use on another telescope. I didn't think of that. Some of the finder shoes on SCT are a strange non-uniform size and also now that I think about it a magnet to attach a Telrad would be far superior to that tape you get with those things. Once you attach your telrad to a telescope that's it for the tape; it cannot be re-used and you have to come up with some other way to attach it. I have tried everything and like you said before that two sided tape doesn't stick in cold weather. Gaffer tape would work but I'm going to look at the bottom of a telrad and see if there is a way to attach with a magnet. Thanks for thinking of that! And hoorah for clear skies to start the year. Happy star gazing to you.
@@tsulasbigadventures Hi Tsula, I was thinking about the Telrad fixing problem you have last night and wondered if it might be worth trying cable ties to attach it. These are available in different lengths and could also be joined together to make a large enough cable fit the "Dob" if necessary. The cable tie should fit through the open slot on the base of the Telrad and two of these cables through the slot and then tightened around the telescope body should hold it fast. A company called Temu online, sell cables up to 48" length which can take a weight of200lbs so it would certainly hold it!
Possibly worth a try!
Good Luck, Lynn 🤗✨🌙✨
@@lindafinch8983 Lynn: Thanks for the suggestion. I am going to buy some long cable ties as you suggested. I think here they are called zip ties but I think it's the same thing. Right now I had to tape the telrad that was on Artemis onto a 9.25" telescope I bought. The tape is kind of tacky. I think the ties will look better and probably hold better.
Thanks for sharing Tsula. Happy New Year.
Hi Ron: Happy new year to you also.
I have been using Astrohopper for 2yrs and works fine. I do a re-alignment every 2-3 tgts...very simple.
I also use a stylus to touch screen instead of fingers.
As for attaching there is a 3D printed phone holder available that you attach to your telescope...I user elastic bands to hold in place and then same to hold phone to holder.
OK. Thanks for that. I could get that phone holder 3D printed also but I think I'm going to just use the Starsense since I can attach it so easily with the shoe I had 3D printed.
I love Starsense Explorer. I bought an 80mm Starsense refractor through Costco and 3D-printed the dovetail adapter at my local library's makerspace. That way I can swap it between any of my various Dobsonians. Pointing accuracy for me has been absolutely DEADLY, and way better than any goto or DSC system I've ever used with no hoopla involved. I have an older iPhone without a sim card set aside as a dedicated Starsense Explorer computer.
I then remounted the little 80mm refractor on a CG-4 and use it do position angle measurements for the A.L. double Star program. I consider it a solid purchase for sure.
Also I get a small power bank with two ports, tape a magnet to it, and use it as both a counterweight on the back of the tube and a power source for both the phone and the cooling fan on my dob.
That is a very interesting use of the 80mm refractor for the double star program. How did you mount it on the CG-4? The 80mm Starsense that I bought didn't have a dovetail plate or rings to allow attaching it to a sturdier mount. So, I sold it.
@ I just got a set of cheap tube rings and threw it on a dovetail plate I already had. Also plugged the holes in the tube and painted it white. With an illuminated reticle and EQ mount it's made those position angle measurements a heck of a lot easier than trying to gauge west purely by drift and then eyeballing the angle on an altaz scope.
For me the Starsense has been super helpful in some of the harder parts of the Herschel 400 and Herschel II lists where my thirty years of star-hopping experience sometimes fails me.
If the optics are good I'm determined to turn trash into treasure. Meeting John Dobson in my formative high school years must have rubbed off on me.
@@tjzambonischwartz That is very industrious of you. I thought that was what you meant about using it for the Double Star program. After your first comment I started to tell you that I began the RASC Double Star Program two years ago but never finished because I kept forgetting to include the cardinal points on my sketches and I was not about to go back and re-do dozens of double stars I had observed. So, I gave up. I read that part in the Astronomical League Sketching Program about turning off the mount and letting the stars drift out of the field of view to figure out which direction was west and I thought forget it. I'm just going to sketch everything in the program and leave off the cardinal points and not go for the certificate. But I could set up that 90mm refractor I own on the Moo2C mount and use it for the cardinal points and angular position.
Hi Tsula! Appreciate all the videos! One thing about magnets is it can interfere with the gyro in the phone. I use Velcro to attach my phone to telescope. Don’t ask how I know.
Thanks! I know magnets can interfere but it seemed to work OK for me. I tried to attach the phone with velcro and it fell off because it was so cold outside. I also tried double sided tape and it fell off as well. But I also have the 3D printed shoe and it works fine so far.
Ya. Arkansas never gets as cold as Montana I’m sure.
Magnets effected the gyroscope on my phone. I ended up using a finder shoe. Didn't like the accuracy of it so I swapped the dobsonian for a go to dobsonian.
And is the goto Dobsonian accurate? I've never owned one.
Tsula, I got 3 ideas for deep sky challenges if you haven’t done them already.
(Winter/Fall) NGC 404: A lenticular galaxy just outside the local group in the constellation Andromeda located 7 arc minutes next to the bright star Mirach.
The challenge could be to observe it.
(Spring) NGC 4753: A lenticular galaxy with swirling dust clouds left by an ancient collision in the constellation Virgo.
The challenge could be to observe those dust clouds.
(Summer) NGC 6822: An irregular galaxy located in the local group in the constellation Sagittarius.
The challenge could be to observe nebulae in the galaxy with a filter or to just observe the galaxy.
Thank you for the suggestions. If it ever clears up again I will get to work on those. I swear the entire month of December it was only clear two nights and even those nights the clouds swooped in after a few hours. I have to look up NGC 404. Is that the one that's called the Ghost of Mirach? No, I just looked it up; it's called Mirach's Ghost. Good choices. Thanks again and happy new year.
@ Yup, those should be some good targets. It has been very cloudy and snowy in Michigan, but it’s about to get even more cloudy since I just ordered a Celestron Edge 8! Happy new year Tsula!
I'm thinking of memstar for my dobs as my phone isn't smart enough.happy new year tsula 🔭
I like that memstar is not reliant on your phone although it requires 3 batteries. You'll have to let me know how you like it. I have never tried it. Happy new year to you as well.
Looks like that Stellarvue scope has found a new home 😊
And I'm never letting it go either!
@ I don’t blame you. I have an 80mm, 90mm, 102mm, and a 130mm. All Stellarvue triplets.
Thanks for sharing. I have an Android S24+, my experience with Astrohopper is that anytime the phone gets close to the metal tube of the telescope it throws the compass off! Also notice once at an object, the map will presses. I can be fairly accurate pointing for the first couple of objects but after a while the error increases. Not a reliable pointing device in my experience.
Thank you. Thanks for providing your experience with Astrohopper. I believe the metal tube is a problem for the compass if you don't have some wood in between the phone and tube. In my case the phone battery will die long before I have completed a session but it is good at the beginning of the session.
@joseborges8479 you need to do a re-alignment every few objects...that's what I do and it works fine. The user manual also suggest to carry out re-alighnments.
I'll keep my setting circles and star charts, but I do think it's a clever way for a mobile phone to earn its keep. A agreeable and cute little solution.
Yes, I agree. Sometimes it's just really rewarding to find something on your own.
I attached Astrohopper by using a simple phone holder that is screwed into a dovetail that I got on Amazon. Unfortunately, my phone's sensers are not that great so I have some learning to do. I am not very good at star hopping but it is my preference for the same reasons you give. Another disadvantage to both is they are not allowed if you are attempting an Astronomical League Observing Program. My plan is to use it to find objects I am not familiar with at public star gazing events.
I will have to look for that dovetail that accepts a phone holder. Sounds like a better idea than my gaffer tape. I was not aware that the Astronomical League doesn't allow the use of Starsense or Astrohopper. I have begun the Herschel 400 but I was using a goto mount because it was 6 degrees F and I'm sorry but that is too cold for me to mess around trying to find a faint fuzzy. So, I probably will not apply for the certificate-- just be happy if I complete it this year.
Once it becomes not-Astronomy season here in Florida (too humid to go out anytime besides winter), maybe I could mail you my PVS14 night vision and Tele Vue attachment setup and let you use it and make a video with it or something for a few weeks/months? I’d be willing to send it. I also have a couple other neet Astronomy things you could use to review and such?
First of all, I'm sorry about your not-Astronomy season only lasting as long as winter. I was just day dreaming about the end of winter or at least close to the end. Thank you for your very generous offer. I would love to try out your PVS14 or other neat astronomy things. That is such a nice offer. You can email me and I can email you back with my address. My email is tsula9012 at gmail dot com.
Thanks Tsula for a very informative review of both systems. I live in a Bortle 5 site and seeing stars and dimmer objects can be a real pain so I have considered both these products recently. Both of my Losmandy equatorial mounts are push to and not GOTO which I like because it is simple and quick, however finding dim objects is difficult.
Regarding the Astrohopper system I believe it is only suitable for Azimuth type mounts, not sure about Starsense. Do you think Starsense would work on equatorial mounts as well as azimuth, would be very useful to me if it did.
I can't see how it would matter which type of mount you used since both devices are simply pointing the direction for you to push the telescope to find the object. All my manual mounts are alt az. But I could just put my EQ-G goto equatorial mount into manual mode and test it out to be sure but I'm sure it would work. I am wondering if using the star sense with a goto mount that is not particularly accurate could help make it more accurate. I am going to test that out if I ever see the stars again. It has been cloudy every single day for days and days.
If you are able to try the Starsense on an EQ mount that would be great! I'm in the UK it was cloudy practically ever night in December, we had 2 nights clear and now we have clouds and snow!!
@garyroberts6554 It might be clear one day next week. If so, I will give it a try. I spent the entire day shoveling snow.
Tsula, your videos are great. What's the mount that you have behind you with the refractor on it?
Thank you! That is a Stellarvue MOO2C manual mount. It is very sturdy and I like it. I can easily take it out onto the deck for a quickie session if the weather looks unstable.
Thank you. That's my next purchase.
the magnets are a good idea except they might mess with the compass on the phone or other sensors, i cant even get close to my mount with my phones compass while setting it up, it always moving a few degrees off
That is true. Magnets will also interfere with the accuracy of Photpills and some other apps that use the compass. But I think because the starsense kind of sits up away from the base that at least for me the magnet didn't interfere with the accuracy of Starsense anyway.
Hi Tsula, great idea. Can I please ask, are the magnets the c32mm M4 female size ones? Thank you for great content
Yes and thank you!
learning the sky about 50 years ago i saw an ad, for a plexiglass dome with the stars etched on the inside,the idea was to match the sky you see to the dome and learn the stars, i never got my hands on one,oh well
That sounds like a cool idea.
Might work as a laser project for somebody
Astrohopper put me right on top of Uranus last week. Never seen it before. Works best when aligned to a star. Tried Jupiter at first but it aligned very poorly when hopping to other objects.
I just use a spare phone for it.
Excellent! I agree with you that aligning with a star is better than aligning with a planet and don't ever use the moon to align! And a spare phone is a great idea.
It appears Starsense to be a better solution, as it does not rely on the phone gyro/compass. We still need to be extra careful with magnets though I would prefer a solution with tire ups or even the 3d printed dove tail accessory.
I liked Starsense better and I think the 3D printed shoe works great.
@@tsulasbigadventures Yea, I was checking with a simpler solution with a 90º cheap amici prism an iphone with a case and some low profile holder. Skysafari pro already has plate solving embedded I just checked it and besides, they helped Celestron with their code directly or still helping them. That could be a splendid option for an old Questar :)
Actually compass isn't that important. You can just move to manual mode (see manual). After first alignment it would use only gyro.
I like to look at AstroHopper as automated star-hopping since you do need to have some knowledge of the night sky.
Thanks for your input. Astrohopper much more so than Starsense you need to have some knowledge of the night sky.