This was very helpful, I just purchased the new iOptron Skyhunter mount without iPolar and was trying to find ways to polar align without having to spend another 200 dollars! I will definitely incorporate some of your workflow in mine, thank you
Lol thank you straight to the point love it this is how you make a video fellow TH-camrs no mucking around am in the same situation with house but southern hemisphere once weather clears will give it a go subscribed keep them coming!!!!!!
Thanks so much this genius method! I live in Singapore (1° N) and Polaris is literally on the horizon, impossible to see. Now I can finally try astrophotography!
John thanks for the great video but I had a question…I still don’t understand why you are leveling the DEC and RA at the beginning of the process. Why not just point the mount north with a compass and then use PSAlign Pro to do the rough PA?
It wasn't obvious to me why you bothered setting the rings on the mount at the start. I'm assuming that when both are pointing to 90 RA and 90 Dec that they are pointing at the crossover of the meridian line with the celestial equator? it is fantastic to finally understand how to use those rings, as I have wondered why they were included on the mount that I have as this is the first instruction I have seen for setting them up.
I may be showing my ignorance here, but you comented that your right ascension need to be at "1800". Can you explain this more in depth? Is it the same for everyone or what? Great video, thanks for your time.
At the 3 minute mark of the video I am making the point to set the ring at a position such that when rotated 90 degrees - the ring will show "0". In my case it is 1800.
Question. The PS Align developer talks about magnetic interference from the metal of the telescope mount throwing off the smartphone readings. You don’t seem to have that problem. Do you know why?
I'm gonna try this for two reasons: 1) I have to set up everything when it's still light outside and then wait to see Polaris, 2) My neck. One polar alignment means 2 day a bad neck.
I’m very frustrated w my efforts. I understand what you where saying about the meridian and equator part pointing your scope at it but how do I point my scope at it
@@davidmatic925 After the 9:22 I press "adjust" on the Drift Align tool, then go outside and adjust the RA or DEC (whichever I am working on) then come back inside and press "Drift" again. All equitorial mounts have RA & DEC adjustment (hand-screws).
Can you clarify something. When you first aligned in the day you were roughly pointed towards Polaris. Later you said you point the scope to 90 degrees away from that. Do you mean the mount is now aligned that way or you are moving the scope using RA/dec to that point?
Every mount should have LCD controller, camera ,GPS, and other sensors that can help with the alignment. There is no reason to struggle with polar alignment where we have so much tech available to help with it..
You need both and each serves a different purpose. The 3-star align will make your guiding better resulting in pinpoint round stars. The plate solve simply finds a target in the sky and has nothing to do with how accurate your guiding will be. You need both.
I have EQ3-2 mount. When I click "Drift" it results with an errror "Please connect a camera and a mount". I don't understand it - why does it require a mount to be connected? The documention says: " You can still drift align without an ASCOM connection" - I understand that I can drift align without connecting the mount. Is that right?
Drift Align tool in PHD2 connects to your mount via ASCOM and sends signals while measuring star drift to determine the RA/DEC error graph. Thus it requires a connection to the mount to do this.
thanks for the video, if say I use the 3 star alignment to improve the accuracy, and auto guiding will compensate some level of tracking error. Is it still necessary to do another drift alignment?
3-star align orients your mount so that it knows it's way around the sky. Polar align (or drift align) dials-in the alt/az adjustments so that your guiding is pristine which results in pin-point round stars rather than oblong football shaped stars. So you need to do both.
I cannot see Polaris because it's behind the wall. But of I buy an AZ EQ6 normally it would be possible to align automatically with 2 stars alignment with Deneb and Altair for example. Isn't it ?
2-star align orients your mount to the stars but you still need to polar align to "dial-in" the mount to result in good guiding & round stars while imaging.
Thank you for the video. Im living at the south hemisphere, i might give this a try. I have a question though, since i live in an apartment unit, i only have view of the east from the balcony, nothing else. I cannot even point to the zenith or 90 degrees. Is there still any hope of being able to do drift alignment in that situation? Balcony has a roof, so i dont have any view 90 degress upward. Thank you
You need to be able to see 90 degrees orthogonal from celestial north (in your case celestial south) which is the point where the meridian crosses and equator. If you can only see east I think you're screwed.
Before of all thank you for the good tutorial! One thing: before the drift align, you have to do the calibration, it’s right? In every position of the sky? Thanks bro. Andrea
Yeah but you need a camera for this. My camera is a Sony 7 III and it’s almost impossible to get a picture off it for this process. That basically means I can’t use this method.
PolarFinder for Android its basically the same as Polar Scope Align Pro; I also use Polar Clock to help find the hour angle. Hope this helps you out, clear skies!
If you're doing your astrophotography in your kitchen, why not shorten the tripod legs so you don't have to lift your equipment up to head height to mount it? Easier, safer, and you avoid the step stool if you need to adjust a dew heater or want to take dark frames, bias, and white frames.
@@real_astrotard Yes, indeed it's probably the best benefit. Thanks for the video on getting a polar alignment without having a view to the north and during the daytime. What many don't realize that even if you use autoguiding to correct for polar alignment error, the image will have rotation around the autoguided star, so stars at the edges of your image will trail a bit. The only way to eliminate that effect is to be sure the polar alignment is as accurate as possible. Clear Skies !!
The explanation was great up until you went inside. You stated you went out to do something after dark and lost me. Too much lost in simply jumping in the software. Aka...have your wife follow your procedure as described... Thank you for the 1st half though.
Perhaps the best 15 minutes I've spent on youtube. Thank you for a clear description of what had previously been a very intimidating topic.
Thank you, thank you and thank you, I was thinking in do a hole in my roof . This video saved my home. Thank you from California
Great to hear!
Unlike other channels this Intro is Great!
Best explanatory video I could find on this
Thanks. Be sure to check out the PHD2 video #38. th-cam.com/video/YVnOF2Q6e6U/w-d-xo.html
That bubble level idea is genius! Thanks for sharing!
Credit where credit is due : I learned from someone else. Thanks for tuning in.
This was very helpful, I just purchased the new iOptron Skyhunter mount without iPolar and was trying to find ways to polar align without having to spend another 200 dollars! I will definitely incorporate some of your workflow in mine, thank you
Lol thank you straight to the point love it this is how you make a video fellow TH-camrs no mucking around am in the same situation with house but southern hemisphere once weather clears will give it a go subscribed keep them coming!!!!!!
Man you deserve more subscribers. Great explanation and easy to follow
Thanks for the feedback.
You got my attention with the guitar riff in the intro
LOL - that's good. Music is from Michel Nesmith used with permission (from Monkee's fame in the 60's).
@@real_astrotard Thanks for sharing, now I learned also about Rock and Roll.
@@jairovaldes3544 LOL.
Thanks so much this genius method! I live in Singapore (1° N) and Polaris is literally on the horizon, impossible to see. Now I can finally try astrophotography!
Be sure to watch Video #38 for better details on drift align.
Wouldnt be easier and more accurate if you attach the phone to the polar axis instead of the telescope mount?
John thanks for the great video but I had a question…I still don’t understand why you are leveling the DEC and RA at the beginning of the process. Why not just point the mount north with a compass and then use PSAlign Pro to do the rough PA?
It wasn't obvious to me why you bothered setting the rings on the mount at the start. I'm assuming that when both are pointing to 90 RA and 90 Dec that they are pointing at the crossover of the meridian line with the celestial equator? it is fantastic to finally understand how to use those rings, as I have wondered why they were included on the mount that I have as this is the first instruction I have seen for setting them up.
Yep. Exactly right.
Great guitar work !!!!
outstanding presentation thx
I may be showing my ignorance here, but you comented that your right ascension need to be at "1800". Can you explain this more in depth? Is it the same for everyone or what? Great video, thanks for your time.
At the 3 minute mark of the video I am making the point to set the ring at a position such that when rotated 90 degrees - the ring will show "0". In my case it is 1800.
Question. The PS Align developer talks about magnetic interference from the metal of the telescope mount throwing off the smartphone readings. You don’t seem to have that problem. Do you know why?
I've seen this - definitely.
Jesus is a friend of mine. Thank you for honoring one of the weirdest youtube videos out there.
It’s a good one.
You are amazing!!! I was so frustrated that when we moved to our new house Polaris was just a pain to align.
Hope it helps. This additional video has more details on the drift align : th-cam.com/video/YVnOF2Q6e6U/w-d-xo.html
Do you have to calibrate the app, and how could I use it in the southern hemisphere ?
Can polar alignment be done with this with 1 camera and a tracker?
I'm gonna try this for two reasons: 1) I have to set up everything when it's still light outside and then wait to see Polaris, 2) My neck. One polar alignment means 2 day a bad neck.
Check Orión cameraP1 and watch videos in TH-cam, is perfect for polar alignment
One star alignment and work perfect for photos
I’m very frustrated w my efforts. I understand what you where saying about the meridian and equator part pointing your scope at it but how do I point my scope at it
Watch video # 38 - more details there.
4:53, AstroTard: "can you see that that's level, honey?"
Me: Umm yes... Dear?
Nice presentation.. I was thinking I could finalize alignment using ASIAIR pro instead of drift alignment.. do you agree? Thanks again
I subscribed just for the intro music!
LOL. Kudos to Michael Nesmith.
Doesn’t the metal of the Mount throw off the accuracy of the iPhone?
Yes - probably. But you're just trying to get roughly polar aligned. Using PHD2 will really dial it in later.
Thanks for the great video! Question: Aren’t you supposed to slew to the eastern or western horizon to drift align in Dec?
Yes - I discovered my flaw after I shot the video. I do this now.
Does this mean you do ps align for rough alignment the use controller or laptop to point the scope to the eastern horizon?
Great video .Can you explain drift scope left ,looks you are doing something with Mount ?
Give me a time reference in the video please.
@@real_astrotard Hi I believe he means what do you after 9:22 in the video as you say you go outside and adjust the mount. What or how do you do it?
@@davidmatic925 After the 9:22 I press "adjust" on the Drift Align tool, then go outside and adjust the RA or DEC (whichever I am working on) then come back inside and press "Drift" again. All equitorial mounts have RA & DEC adjustment (hand-screws).
@@real_astrotard Ah perfect, that's very helpful! Thank you!
@@davidmatic925 I think I need to make another video on Drift Align in PHD2 and show every step on video. Thanks for the feedback.
Can you clarify something. When you first aligned in the day you were roughly pointed towards Polaris. Later you said you point the scope to 90 degrees away from that. Do you mean the mount is now aligned that way or you are moving the scope using RA/dec to that point?
Every mount should have LCD controller, camera ,GPS, and other sensors that can help with the alignment. There is no reason to struggle with polar alignment where we have so much tech available to help with it..
Is there an app for Android?
Thank you
Good tutorial !! Wich telescope and camera do you use it? I am going to use a RC8" and asi1600 ( less F.O.V ) but it should work aswell...
My primary setup is a Skywatcher ED120 APO Triplet mated to an EQ6R-Pro with ZWO ASI 1600 mono camera & filter wheel, Astrodon filters.
Do I need to do a three star align or can I plate solve ?
You need both and each serves a different purpose. The 3-star align will make your guiding better resulting in pinpoint round stars. The plate solve simply finds a target in the sky and has nothing to do with how accurate your guiding will be. You need both.
I have EQ3-2 mount.
When I click "Drift" it results with an errror "Please connect a camera and a mount".
I don't understand it - why does it require a mount to be connected?
The documention says: " You can still drift align without an ASCOM connection" - I understand that I can drift align without connecting the mount. Is that right?
Drift Align tool in PHD2 connects to your mount via ASCOM and sends signals while measuring star drift to determine the RA/DEC error graph. Thus it requires a connection to the mount to do this.
thanks for the video, if say I use the 3 star alignment to improve the accuracy, and auto guiding will compensate some level of tracking error. Is it still necessary to do another drift alignment?
3-star align orients your mount so that it knows it's way around the sky. Polar align (or drift align) dials-in the alt/az adjustments so that your guiding is pristine which results in pin-point round stars rather than oblong football shaped stars. So you need to do both.
I cannot see Polaris because it's behind the wall. But of I buy an AZ EQ6 normally it would be possible to align automatically with 2 stars alignment with Deneb and Altair for example. Isn't it ?
2-star align orients your mount to the stars but you still need to polar align to "dial-in" the mount to result in good guiding & round stars while imaging.
Why not just use the skywatcher ASPL feature on handset
This is great thanks so much.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the video. Im living at the south hemisphere, i might give this a try.
I have a question though, since i live in an apartment unit, i only have view of the east from the balcony, nothing else. I cannot even point to the zenith or 90 degrees. Is there still any hope of being able to do drift alignment in that situation? Balcony has a roof, so i dont have any view 90 degress upward. Thank you
You need to be able to see 90 degrees orthogonal from celestial north (in your case celestial south) which is the point where the meridian crosses and equator. If you can only see east I think you're screwed.
Before of all thank you for the good tutorial! One thing: before the drift align, you have to do the calibration, it’s right? In every position of the sky? Thanks bro. Andrea
By calibration you mean star alignment I think. Yes.
Thank you for the reply. I'm talking of the PhD calibration. Regards!
@@andre3439 Yes : you should run : Guiding Assist tool as well. I usually do this after Drift Align.
A fellow Dallasite! There are a few of us Astrophotography TH-camrs in Dallas. Maybe we should consider a meet-up / star party one weekend?
If someone else will organize - count me in.
Professor John!
LOL
Bad ass intro! Love the tune
Michael Nesmith (Monkee's fame) produced this in the movie, "Timerider". I am using this with his permission.
I have to try because I can't see polaris from my home balcony. I use Synscan Polar alignment but I'm not sure it is good enough
PS Align Pro for “rough” alignment. Then Stellarium & PHD2 to really dial it in.
i hava an skywatcher eq5 without motor and my telescope do not have camera, nice to watch
Nice Intro.
Thanks!
Yeah but you need a camera for this. My camera is a Sony 7 III and it’s almost impossible to get a picture off it for this process. That basically means I can’t use this method.
For complete beginner's it would help to show what you're actually doing to the scope and mount itself. That seemed like a black box to me.
Does anybody know of an Android app that can do the same alignment function shown here in PS Align Pro?
PolarFinder for Android its basically the same as Polar Scope Align Pro; I also use Polar Clock to help find the hour angle.
Hope this helps you out, clear skies!
@@Handles-R-Lame Hi, thanks but I have polarfinder, however it does not contain the added functions shown here found in PS Align Pro.
You got a subscriber bud
Thank you Joe.
If you're doing your astrophotography in your kitchen, why not shorten the tripod legs so you don't have to lift your equipment up to head height to mount it? Easier, safer, and you avoid the step stool if you need to adjust a dew heater or want to take dark frames, bias, and white frames.
Good suggestion. I've thought about shortening the legs for a different reason : stability.
@@real_astrotard Yes, indeed it's probably the best benefit. Thanks for the video on getting a polar alignment without having a view to the north and during the daytime. What many don't realize that even if you use autoguiding to correct for polar alignment error, the image will have rotation around the autoguided star, so stars at the edges of your image will trail a bit. The only way to eliminate that effect is to be sure the polar alignment is as accurate as possible. Clear Skies !!
The explanation was great up until you went inside. You stated you went out to do something after dark and lost me. Too much lost in simply jumping in the software. Aka...have your wife follow your procedure as described... Thank you for the 1st half though.
I did a follow-up video to give more details. Watch vid #38.
It would be a lot easier if you just bashed a large hole through your house, giving you a clear view of Polaris. Just saying 🤔