ASIAir ALL-SKY POLAR ALIGN -- First Look and Initial Impressions
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- I take the new ASIAir All-Sky Polar Align feature for a spin! It is still an experimental feature but it looks promising! I was curious to see how accurate it was in determining my polar alignment after having done a standard polar alignment. The results were impressive, and I'm looking forward to giving this a go some night where I don't have a view of Polaris.
My Equipment:
Telescope: Celestron RASA 8
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM Pro
Mount: iOptron CEM40
Filters: 2" Baader RGB and f/2 3.5/4nm Narrowband SHO
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini
Guide Scope: Orion 60mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
ZWO ASIAir Plus
ZWO EAF (Electronic Automatic Focuser)
Twitter: / nickjlake
Insta: / nickjlake
Astrobin: www.astrobin.com/users/bortle9/
Video shot on Pixel 4 XL
Rode Wireless Go microphone system
Photographs of the universe, with galaxies, stars, nebulae, supernovas, comets, planets, Moon, Sun. Inspiring wonder about the night sky, even from the light pollution of Chicago. - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Thanks for watching! Have you tried the All-Sky Polar align yet?
Just curious did you do any testing on the accuracy of the all sky polar alignment. I.e compare to drift alignment in PHD2?
Thank you for the great wrapup of the new all sky PA routine in AsiAir.
Does tracking need to be active during the all sky PA?
The ASIAir seems to be getting better all the time. I am a NINA diehard, but I think it's awesome to have so many other valid choices out there. Glad to see they added the feature.
Agreed! Yes I am glad some NINA features I have been jealous of are being added 😎
I’m really enjoying your videos and presentation Nick. The asi air is a brilliant thing😊 Cheers from New Zealand. 🇳🇿
Thanks, Pete! Glad to hear it! I was in NZ a few years back and loved every minute. Hope to be back some day, this time with some astrophotography equipment 😁
I have Bortle 2 skies in my backyard just north of Christchurch. You would be more than welcome, just be prepared to have your brain sucked dry of all things astro😊
@@petecarpenter1068 LOL sounds like a plan 🤣
Hello Nick, 43 days wait for a clear night! Jeez, I thought Bristol UK was bad! It's great when you can get out though. Interesting feature, I'm using polemaster reliably now. When I bought into polemaster there were no other alternatives in software apart from PHD2 drift align! Amazing how things have changed over such a short time with ASIAir, NINA, Sharpcap! Love the content many thanks, keep it coming.
Thanks, Paul! Yes, 43 nights is definitely an outlier, so hopefully we make up for it a bit this spring with a long stretch of clear moonless nights 😎
It is always cloudy in Derby UK. You can get sunny days then it clouds over at night time. The sky looked hazy when I last looked out. I recently bought a Quark, maybe I will get better luck with daytime astronomy.
I am very interested in the all-sky polar alignment and upgraded the ASIair software today. There are two big trees in the garden with preservations orders on them so I cannot have them chopped down. They get in the way so I have to move the mount around to different parts of the garden or sometimes to the driveway, I don't like leaving it there in case somebody steals it. This means that sometimes I cannot get a good view of the NCP from some locations, so the all-sky system could be just what I need.
In current backyard have Polaris in the north just above tree line. Experimental feature is turned on, but yet have not had a reason to use it. Polar Alignment of EQ6R Pro and Red Cat 51mm F4.9, through ASIAir Pro (external antenna modification for better WiFi connectivity), quick and easy… with a little practice.
I haven't played with this feature yet to test its accuracy but 10 arc minutes off is pretty huge....curious what I'll get post regular PA.
I first tried the original PA with the 60° slew after the first image capture and plate solve. But on my Celestron AVX I seem to be having problems like many others where the mount almost hits the tripod and the angle does not update in the AAP app. So I tried the experimental beta version you mentioned here and the polar alignment worked but the mount almost did hit the tripod before finally solving. Have you heard of any fixes for the original PA version for the Celestron AVX mounts? I would prefer the original PA since it’s more accurate and it’s not off by more than eight or 10 arcmin as the beta version seems to be.
I tried this feature with hope to speed up my PA However, I engaged the PA and the mount cycled through toe first and second steps. Now this is where it go hairy. I software took an image and could not plate solve. It took another image without hitting the button to take another image. It continued randomly finding the NCP, but it failed a number of times. It finally took over 17 minutes to get a smiley face. I am going back to the standard PA since this experimental app has too many bugs in it. RFB
Thanks for posting this video. Unfortunately as a newbie I've managed to get very confused. Hopefully you, or someone else familiar with AISAir and the All-Sky Polar Align command can and will help me. Full disclosure - I've posted this plea in a comment on one other TH-cam channel.
If the north tripod leg and the front face of the mount are point approximately north then does this mean that the "mount" is pointed north? Assuming that's correct (oh I hope so) then if I were to slew in RA until the counter-weight shaft was level and slew in DEC until the OTA was pointing southward and somewhere between level and the zenith would I be satisfying the conditions to start an All-Sky Polar Align?
If I'm correct about that, is it not possible that an All-Sky Polar Align (which I believe slews only in RA) from this initial position might crash my OTA if it slews RA in the same direction I used in my description above?
I'd like to use All-Sky Polar Align since I don't have a view to the North. Can you or someone else suggest how I should get set up so as not to worry about
Thanks in advance.
Paul
While I don't use an ASIAir, this feature is very similar in functionality to NINA's three point polar alignment plugin. I have been using that for months and it is absolutely brilliant. It has allowed me to setup in different areas that don't have a view of the northern skies. I never bothered with drift alignment because... well, I'm lazy and it took too long.
Yes, I had been jealous of NINA users with this option 😀 so I was very excited when ZWO announced this function. It's such a useful feature and you're right: drift alignment is a whole thing 😆
If you can't see Polaris or can't really go through the physical contortions to use a polar scope this is a game changer! I have a Star Adventurer and cannot see polaris. I am expecting to get much more accurate PA alignment then I have been able to do with mobile apps and a magnetic compass. Add to that guiding in the RA axis is hopefully going to be a big step forward.
Fantastic! Yes this seems to be a game changer for sure!
All Sky Polar Alignment worked for me well! Thanks to ZWO
Great to hear!
I love the all sky PA! Has made my PA faster and I usually do the 2nd PA it suggests and aim for less than 44 arc seconds. My guiding has been on avg less than .18 after all sky PA and was .30-.40 before. Cheers Nick!
I am looking forward to really digging into it! Wow that is quite the improvement for guiding! 😎
@@WindyCityAstrophotography curious if you have done PA on Polaris and then done the Full Sky to compare (like he did in the video) and then tried Polaris again afterwards.
Hi, if I understood with All Sky Polar Align isn’t necessary to see tje Polaris right?thanks a lot!
Correct! I had already done a standard polar alignment in this video, but yes the idea is that you could set up with no view north and still get aligned.
Hi, do you polar align with the mount tracking or with the RA switched off?
That's a great question. I don't turn off tracking or anything when doing PA. For regular PA it wouldn't matter since the movement is so minimal by the pole. But for All-Sky I guess I assumed the Air suspended guiding/tracking during the process. Or compensated for it. I will have to look into that
@@WindyCityAstrophotography thanks for the reply. I read that you should have tracking off using the normal ASI PA routine, as you note because the star trailing is so low. However for all sky the trailing will be a function of your position. I guess getting as near to the NCP will help
@@richards3192 True! Looking forward to diving deeper on this question with full release
How do I download updates for my ASIair?
The app will update on your device and then the next time you boot up the Air and connect it will update the device. Highly recommend to do it in daylight when you aren't in a rush to get started 😎
Surprised you did not mention that you need to go out and tweak the bolts on the scope (just like you do for the normal PA). You have only completed half the story? I think some subscribers will assume “that’s the best? Meh…”. In fact it works very well.
Indeed, I am planning on an updated video once it is no longer an experimental feature. It seems they have tweaked it since and it works like a charm every time I use it! Super useful 😀
I’m always amazed that people still use a laptop period. It’s like using a tracking scope, a very old fashioned carryover concept from the early days that people feel they need. Oh well
Well you do need it for processing if you want to do that
How are you controlling your Asi air app with your pc? Are you using bluestacks?
Correct!
@@WindyCityAstrophotography how did you get it to connect from so far away from your set up?
@@Gordonlanguam I generally have it on station mode connected to my home wi-fi. Nice connection, though it can vary depending on which way the scope is facing
@@WindyCityAstrophotography will check it out thank you !
Hard to consider this a great feature if it reports alignment so far off... has it been improved since? I feel like they keep adding halfassed just to have them there (the new atlas is quite useless as well)
Can't say I agree on either count. Some missing features on the Atlas for sure, but useful already. I need to get back out there with the Allsky PA and test it again, but with good enough guiding it should be able to overcome the error. Unguided not so good. But it really is a great feature for those without a clear view of Polaris or if someone wanted to set up in a place without a clear northern view.
@@WindyCityAstrophotography I'm sorry but polar alignment with almost 10 arcmins off is not a polar alignment.
Yeah I heard ya but also the weird thing was I was definitely polar aligned already, so as as I said I need to go back out there with it and see if maybe I did something wrong. Have seen others get better results! It's also still an experimental feature, so I hope they're working to improve that accuracy before rolling it out fully.
Would this work with Star Adventurer Pro?
Yes, it is my understanding that it will! If you're able to do the regular PA with that mount this should work too.
@@WindyCityAstrophotography It does support the Star Adventurer. I can't see Polaris from my home and was the reason I got the asiair. I haven't been able to do a polar alignment yet, but have done testing and it should work. You will have to manually rotate the SA and what ever fine adjustment are needed, but if you can't see Polaris, that will be just fine. You have too tell the asiair that your mount is an ST4.
@@jimcollins1922 Fantastic, glad to hear it!
@@WindyCityAstrophotography Yes, I have used it with the Skyguider Pro and it worked well. You just move it manually 15 degrees to the west. I have a blocked Polaris and never could get close Polar alignment until this feature. Good addition to ASIair.
@@cevoner Wonderful, glad to hear it!
Why did you not go out and make the adjustments? You just sat there and showed part of the process. Video would have been better with full instruction
Agreed! Funny enough I did just that but by the time I got it zeroed in the clouds arrived and I couldn't get a good comparison between guiding with standard PA and with All-Sky. Definitely for another video, especially once it is a full release. A full walkthrough tutorial for PA (standard) has been on my list for a while; I just need it to be warmer (and get more than one clear night every 7 weeks 😆) so I can spend the time needed to cover it.
@@WindyCityAstrophotography fair enough then :)