<![CDATA[Mesa Vista Observatory - Astro Blog]]>Fri, 03 May 2024 17:06:14 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[Celestron StarSense - Is it worth they money?]]>Sat, 17 Oct 2015 23:30:41 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/celestron-starsense-is-it-worth-they-moneyYes, absolutely, at least for me!  Here's why...

Last year Celestron came out with a new gadget called StarSense to help speed up the 2 star alignment process and automate it.  StarSense is essentially Celestron's answer to Meade's StarLock.  I've never liked doing the initial 2 star alignment process and then adding 4 calibration stars.  It's a necessary chore, but it's time consuming and can be imprecise.  I found myself routinely consuming 30+ minutes of each session with the task.  Now there are those who will say that as long as you have a good polar alignment (assuming you have an equatorial mount), tracking shouldn't matter because you can "guide out" minor tracking errors and the alignment is only necessary for "goto" purposes anyway.  While that is somewhat true, I find it misleading for a few reasons.  First off, a good alignment helps you find and center your imaging targets without having to swap between an eyepiece and the camera, which can save a lot of time and focusing headaches.  Secondly, you have to do the alignment regardless in order for the mount to track at all.  Lastly, the better the mount is aligned and tracks, the less work that the guider has to do.

With all the in mind, I purchased the StarSense in the Spring, but hadn't really got to test it out well until recently. StarSense uses plate-solving to compare the stars it's pointing to with star maps that it stores in memory.  While it's doing this, it models the tracking errors in your mount so it can compute a solution that will take into account both the star alignment and the mount's tracking errors and correct for both .  The software was initially riddled with bugs, but they finally got things right early this year.  Over repeated use night after night, I've found that StarSense always provides an accurate and  consistent alignment, in about 3 minutes of time.  That's far faster that I can do it, not to mention much more convenient.  Since part of my sky is blocked by trees, I saved a user-align routine that StarSense utilizes for each alignment.  It works remarkably well.  For instance, I know that I need to tweak my polar alignment after making some adjustments recently.  It's off a little - not enough to worry with at the moment or affect imaging - but it's not perfect and I'm somewhat OCD about it.  After a StarSense auto-align, my calculated polar error is consistently the same time after time.  With the 2 star alignment process, my calculated polar error was always all over the place and rarely consistent, which made me question if it was truly off and by how much without investing the time to do a drift alignment or an all-star polar alignment.

So to wrap this up, here are the pros and cons as I see them:

Pros:
  • Fast multi-star alignment routine - typically 3 minutes or less
  • You can add up to 10 additional calibration points.
  • Consistently accurate alignments
  • No need to fight with the finder scope or swap between eyepiece and camera 
  • The All-Star Polar align routine is FAR easier with StarSense, which is helpful if you don't have a permanently mounted scope
  • You get an extra, updated Hand Controller as part of the deal
  • Celestron continues to update the firmware and is tweaking and adding features
  • Works with almost all of Celestron's scopes, including older ones (nicely played Celestron!)
  • The cost is relatively low, considering the cost of most accessories with this hobby.

Cons:
  • Initial setup and usage can be somewhat confusing for someone used to the existing NexStar controller.  There are a some key differences that add confusion.
  • The included manual is not very good.  Use the most current PDF version from the website if you get one.
  • The 2-Star Alignment process no longer exists with the new hand controller, but there is no reason they could not have included it for the rare times you might want to use it.  You can switch hand controllers, but why should you have to?
  • It's still not as good as Meade's StarLock. StarLock not only does everything that StarSense does but it can be used as a built-in guider as well.  StarLock's computer-assisted polar alignment is also supposedly better.  Celestron might be able to eventually add guiding capability by providing some lens/scope retrofits, but I don't know if the camera is sensitive enough for it.

Overall, it's a worthwhile purchase in my opinion.  It saves a lot of time, it does what it claims, and it reduces frustration. 
  
]]><![CDATA[Finally, Good Weather and No Moon!]]>Sat, 17 Oct 2015 22:43:47 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/finally-good-weather-and-no-moonFall is finally here and for the most part, the skies have cleared.  I've had a few good imaging runs recently, capturing a few new deep sky objects over the course of several imaging sessions.  Every session isn't always successful, but I learn a lot and research my problems which improves future results.  I feel like I'm doing better and better capturing images, but determining exposure lengths and managing guiding with an off-axis guider is still somewhat challenging.  I finally feel like I have focusing mastered at least.

 I also really need to invest more time learning better post-processing.  I know enough to get some decent results, but there is a lot more I could be doing that would probably result in better overall images in the end.  I would like to learn how to use PixInsight, but it's so daunting every time I look at it.  

I'll keep at it. Until next time, clear skies!
-Brian
]]><![CDATA[Time to get going again]]>Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:11:11 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/time-to-get-going-againAfter one of the wettest summers on record for this part of the county, the night skies are finally starting to clear. The temperatures are moderating and the humidity is dropping.  That means it's time to get back at it and start imaging again.  I didn't get much observatory time over the summer.  It's always a busy time of year, the sun sets late, the nights are short, and the weather is more of a miss than a hit.  As we head into the fall/winter of 2015, my plan is to target primarily deep-sky objects including nebulae, cluster, and galaxies.  Although I enjoy planetary imaging, I really need to hone my skills with DSI and processing techniques, so that's the focus.  Now I just need the weather to cooperate.  

Till next time...
Clear skies,
Brian]]><![CDATA[Rain, Rain...]]>Thu, 12 Mar 2015 14:54:40 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/rain-rainLesson Learned:  The Southeast U.S. is not the best place weather-wise for astronomy.  

I knew going into this venture that the weather in this part of the county is not optimal for amateur (or professional) astronomy.  Until I built my observatory, however, I never really paid that much attention to the actual number of clear nights over the course of several years.  Prior to having the observatory, I simply hauled out the telescope on the nights that were clear and took advantage of it.  With the observatory, I find myself now constantly checking to find a night that IS clear and planning accordingly.  It's maddening.  

As we sit here on March 12, 2015, I can count the number of clear nights on one hand thus far this year.  As we enter springtime, the prospects don't improve that much, but hopefully there will be a few opportunities here and there.  Since I'm not traveling as much over the summer this year, I plan to take advantage of as much time as I can.

Until then, if Mother Nature would be so kind to provide me with just a few clear nights here and there, maybe once a week, I'd be happy.  ]]><![CDATA[People Who Inspire Me - Carl Sagan]]>Sat, 17 Jan 2015 02:56:30 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/people-who-inspire-me-carl-saganCarl Sagan has always been an inspirational figure in astronomy for me and many others.  When I was young, I recall watching the original Cosmos TV series which was written and hosted by Carl.  I was fascinated by the ideas and concepts presented in the series, and how eloquently he described those concepts.  He had a way with words and language that was almost mesmerizing.  Carl had a remarkable gift for bringing science to the people and popularizing science in modern culture.  His real talent, however, was teaching complex scientific concepts using simple terminology and analogies that anyone could understand.  Carl was definitely one of the most influential figures in spurring my interest in space, science, and technology and for that I will be forever grateful.  
]]><![CDATA[Back In The Saddle]]>Fri, 19 Sep 2014 17:55:34 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/back-in-the-saddleAfter suffering a lightning strike that damaged my telescope mount in early June, waiting 6 weeks on the repair, and dealing with endless rain and a couple of vacations, I finally have everything back in place and ready for some clear fall nights.  First order of business is to reestablish and fine tune polar alignment, then I hope to be back imaging soon.  I'll post updates more regularly as the season progresses.]]><![CDATA[Astrophotography - Focusing Is Tough!]]>Sat, 07 Jun 2014 16:55:53 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/astrophotography-focusing-is-toughFocusing for visual observing seems so easy compared to astrophotography.  Achieving good focus is always important no matter what type of observing you're doing, but the eye has a way of adapting to slight imbalances in focus and dealing with unsteady "seeing."  Unfortunately, the camera is not as forgiving.  

I recently started planetary imaging using an Orion StarShoot 5MP and deep-sky imaging with an SBIG STF-8300M.  I feel like I'm getting pretty good with stacking, processing, and post-processing, but focusing is still a challenge for me.  To compound the problem, sometimes you don't realize that the focus was ever-so-slightly off until AFTER you start processing the images, at which point there isn't as much that can be done to correct for it.

Since I own a long focal length (3910mm) Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (SCT), precise focus is even more critical.  Mirror shift is always a variable with an SCT, but mind handles that pretty well with the built-in mirror locks.  Still, even being off focus by a hundredth of a millimeter can make a huge difference in image quality.  To try and tackle this problem, I added a JMI EV-1 Crayford-style focuser.  This has certainly helped make fine focusing easier, but it's still tough to know when you're spot-on.  My imaging package offers a reasonably good fine-focus routine that analyzes the quality of a single star as you make slight changes to focus.  Again, this helps tremendously, but I find fluctuations in the "seeing" quality during the focus routine still make this quite a challenge and the quality meter "bounces around" quite a bit.

After much reading and research, I decided to purchase a Bahtinov Mask to improve my fine focusing routine.  The mask creates three artificial spikes in the image of a single star.  The idea is that when you adjust the focus to converge the three spikes together in the center of the star, you're in perfect focus.  Most folks say this speeds up the process and eliminates a lot of the frustrations of focusing.  I have yet to try it as the weather has been less than cooperative so far this spring, but I'm hoping that this will simplify one of the key variables in getting good images.

What about you?  What focusing methods do you use to tweak your fine focus for imaging?
]]><![CDATA[Astrophotography - When It All Goes Right!]]>Sat, 31 May 2014 04:44:49 GMThttp://eclipticplane.com/astro-blog/astrophotography-when-it-all-goes-rightPicture
When you stop and think about it, there are a lot of things that have to go right to capture a decent image of a celestial object, no matter what type of astrophotography you do.  As amateur astronomers, it's amazing that we ever manage to get even one decent image considering all the variables we have to juggle.  Let's consider some of those variables for a moment.

  • We need a location with a decently clear, dark, transparent sky and optimally good "seeing"
  • We need clothing that will keep us dry and comfortable all night long
  • We need sufficient time to capture the object of interest.  Sometimes this could take all night and/or multiple nights
  • Our mount has to be correctly polar aligned and able to track with the fewest possible errors
  • Our telescope has to reach ambient temperature with the outside air
  • Our optics have to be well collimated
  • We need to be able to power cameras, dew systems, telescopes, laptops and a plethora of other hardware for an entire night
  • Our hardware and software has to function properly for the duration of our imaging session
  • Our focusing must be spot-on and remain that way for the entire imaging session
  • We can't let dew form on our optics during the session
  • We have to capture our image multiple times at the correct exposure each time
  • We need to capture many BIAS, Dark Frames, Subs, and Flats for later processing
  • We must have the technical knowledge to process the images we capture
  • We must have the artistic ability to make the images we capture look good
I'm sure I've missed a few things, but when you consider all these variables, how do we do it?  And more importantly, WHY do we do it?  Even with all these variables, for me, sitting under the stars and capturing images is relaxing.  It's an escape from the daily stresses of the mundane world.  It provides clarity of mind and allows me to focus on doing something that I love.  It gives me perspective about the wonders of the universe that surrounds me and provides time for contemplation of the "bigger" picture.  If I happen to get a decent image in the process, well that's the icing on the cake. 

What about you?  What do you get out of this hobby and why do you do it?
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