This is the only piece of software I use my laptop for and once polar alignment is done, it gets turned off and put away. Now, go back to the Altitude adjustment bolts to raise or lower the mount further. Home | Next, youll want to find the latitude and longitude coordinates for your location. Being as minimal as possible on gear/weight for trekking is important. Polar alignment is an essential first step towards a night of visual observation or astrophotography. Quality tutorial/review. I found this review helpful instructive and inspirational. The goal is to collect as much signal on a specific wavelength of light as possible. you can do the same thing with software such as SharpCap or with a system like the ASIAIR using you main imaging camera to do your polar alignment so no separate alignment camera needed at all It sounds like the ipolar requires a computer for setup which does not appeal to me taking another piece of equipment into the field? Today we're proud to provide quality products direct to your doorstep through an experience you'll enjoy. Use a free planetarium software such as Stellarium to help you learn the night sky and its constellations from your location on Earth. I guess I will stick with the stock mount. $2.99 in the App Store What is it about? Now, Stellarium and Polar Scope Align both calculate the effect of atmospheric refraction, so they will give you a different position from the most simplistic apps (the lower your Latitude, the lower Polaris will be shown lower - for an inverted reticle), so you are not to compare it with those, although if they are correct, at the 6/12 hour mark But.. My pictures really seem to get blown out at that time with pollution. Get the Polar Scope Align App. And the stunning images! It sure looks nice until I looked a little deeper. Stellarium is an astronomical map and is great for locating objects in the night sky. Your email address will not be published. Happy you like the app. ExploreStars connects you and your Explore Scientific PMC-Eight equipped telescope to the universe with any Android Tablet. With camera & ball-head my equipment tops out at 5lbs. For proper use of this site, you need to enable javascript in your browser! The SGP comes with a built-in polar scope, which will allow to you precisely align to the north star, provided you have the smartphone app. Not all camera lenses are created equal, and imaging a night sky full of pinpoint stars has a way of bringing out the worst (or best) of your lens, Continue Reading The Best Lens for Astrophotography (That You Probably Already Own)Continue, The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer is an extremely popular portable star tracker designed for astrophotography. The iOptron iPolar was developed because of a demand for polar alignment accuracy. EQ5 Pro - Polar alignment & Scope aligment out. The graphic above portrays an example of the PolarFinder app screen, next to the view through the Sky-Watcher HEQ-5 polar scope. It was nice to talk to you at NEAF. When loaded up, use the polar clock utility to show where Polaris needs to be in your polar scope (you need to put your location into the app). You write: remember that you have given up your ability to polar align the mount without software assistance.. Think of a polar scope, the Ekos/Sharpcap routines, or the iPolar program as a quick and simple approximation. Polar Finder - Apps on Google Play I recently used it to polar align my iOptron Sky Tracker Pro. Remember to tighten the adjustment bolts and knobs when you are satisfied with theaccuracy of your placement. All of these incredible moments took place using only the built-in, illuminated reticle polarscope that comes with the SkyGuider Pro. As you can imagine, I had mixed feelings about disrupting this proven configuration to upgrade it with the iPolar device. I find adjusting the polar alignment with it to border on insanity-inducing. - When the moon will rise and set ? thanks a lot! These knobs work in the same way that the altitude adjustment bolts did. A health warning here, this software is Windows only it seems (sorry Mac users) I would love a linux version for my raspberry Pi as well please! Upgrade your iOptron SkyGuider Pro with iPolar (Review) - AstroBackyard As I want to tackle astrophotography I bought a new mount and a QHYCCD PoleMaster; I haven't even removed the cap of the polarscope of my new mount. Thoughts? Couple that with the fact that these astrophotography filters can be expensive, and youve got some, Continue Reading Light Pollution Filters for AstrophotographyContinue, In my opinion, the best astrophotography lens is one that can capture a variety of images of the night sky in a reliable and consistent way. This is an app to show the position of the Pole Star (Polaris in Northern Hemisphere, or Sigma Octantis in Southern Hemisphere) in the polar scope of all the iOptron(R) telescope/camera mounts. Make sure your polar alignment is correct. On 03/05/2020 at 20:32, AstroRookie said: What's the best polar alignment app for Android? Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. It will display the correct position of Polaris in relation to the North celestial pole. A German equatorial mount will have azimuth adjustment knobs for moving the mount left to right. Ill have to try it out soon . The polar axis does not move when you move the telescope. Im about to enter the world of astrophotography. Hit the connect button and the IPolar camera should connect to your laptop - the usb driver should auto download and install the first time you use it but might be a good idea to do this before being away from the internet, just in case! What did you do with it? This application allows you to carry out a precise stationing of the mount also excellent for astrophotographers and works in both celestial poles. All rights reserved. The SkyGuider Pro has proved to be an incredibly reliable star tracker that only takes a few minutes to set up. Polaris should have moved to either the left or the right. Peter Zelinka | iOptron SkyGuider Pro Review It comes in Low Latitude (7-34 degrees) and High Latitude (32-59 degrees) versions. Map Android | Make sure that the tripod of your telescope mount is as level as possible. This will be magnetic north though so only an approximation. Call or email us today to let us know what you think. Compared to the ease of polar alignment with the SkyTracker, Ive been a bit intimidated about the alignment due to the way the polar scope rotates in the shaft, thus potentially off-setting the alignment. As you may already know, the SkyGuiders job is to accurately track the apparent motion of the night sky for long-exposure astrophotography. for the Great Red Spot and Olympus Mons: In a very short time, Telescope Zoom Camera improves your Zoom Level and expand your View. 2. With my Astrotech 72 ED and Sony A6500 I can currently get two minutes with my skyguider no star trails. Since we are not connecting via Ascom, these have to be entered manually. Does the laptop need to be connected throughout shooting or can it be switched off after alignment is finished and how long will it stay aligned if I use a heavier rig with lets say a 400mm lens. The process of removing the stock illuminated polar finder scope inside the iOptron SkyGuider Pro. I just got the Sky guider Pro bundled with i-Polar. The SynScan hand controller is now available as an app on your smart device. This can be accomplished by physically moving your tripod and mount at dusk, and aiming the polar axis in a general North direction. That being said do you have any advice for choosing between the two? This is the official companion app for Star Adventurer mini camera mount manufactured by Sky-Watcher. Rather than using a polar scope, it uses a system of alignment stars. It works indoors or outdoors. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It doesn't have exactly that function. The Drift align method can be used in either hemisphere by using free software called PHD2 guiding. Use it to identify stars, planets, nebulae and more. iPolar TM Electronics Polar Scope - www.iOptron.com Polar scope align is the one i used (got a pole master), as it has different polar scope reticules have look at the app in play store and the featureare ther for you to see if you have the same reticule (not all reticules are the same). In 2020 it would be great if you dont need a laptop at all. Being so close to the equator, the night sky featured many new southern hemisphere deep-sky targets I had never seen before. Astro Blog Delta Polar Scope Align for iOS - Ecuador's.NET The app needs to be purchased separately at an extra cost, but alignment is a breeze once installed. Here is a look at the image I was able to capture using the iPolar for polar alignment on the iOptron SkyGuider Pro: Results using the iPolar for polar alignment of the iOptron SkyGuider Pro. Rather than going through the rotation center calibration process (that involves confirming 3 positions of the mount), I opted to enter the rotation center using the manual input rotation center button. You simply download the iPolar software and calibrate the camera on the RA axis of the mount. Use this app to control the AZ GTi mount or other Sky-Watcher or Orion telescope mounts fitted with a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. would you please edit my name in the comments to Mel Polar alignment of telescope iOptron Gem28 mount using - YouTube Thanks for the review. If you Show Package Contents and double click on the app in the MacOS folder it will connect, but there is constant screen flashing making polar alignment difficult, at best. iPad Polar Scope Align will calculate the position of Polaris or Octantis in your Polar Scope reticle for your location (using your phone's GPS or manually), allowing a quick and accurate polar alignment. Old Review for Historical Purposes: Useless on a Pixel 3 with Android 9. If your view of the Big Dipper or Polaris is completely obstructed, you may need to polar align using the Drift Align method I mentioned earlier. 8408 Hand Controller CEM25 Catalog Data Upgrade. Pro version of PolarFinder no ads. MacOS v1.1 and Windows V2.1 share a common new plate solving engine so are worth having. Turn your phone into a powerful GPS navigation system with Polaris Navigation GPS, the world's #1 all-purpose GPS, and dare to go where there are no roads.Imagine What would it be like to navigate any waterway or hike any Celestron SkyPortal------------------------------------Celestrons newest planetarium app is an astronomy suite that redefines how you experience the night sky. With the preview function (which is automatically visible A simple and easy to use application for determining the location of Polaris relative to the north celestial pole. This version of the SynScan app is suited for Use StellarMate App to discover and connect to your StellarMate controller. To turn one bolt, the other has to be loosened. What is it? If you've used an older version of SkySafari, here's what's new: This App controls most functions through Bluetooth from your Android cell phone or tablet. I think that that iOptron should develop a smartphone app and connect to the camera with wifi or bt. However, if I did the alignment without the lens, the alignment could be shifted when I put the lens back. Thanks for the additional information. In my latest video, I captured a wide-field deep sky object using an impressive little star tracker, the iOptron SkyGuider Pro. Polar aligning an iOptron SkyGuider Pro with a QHY PoleMaster All users should download a new copy from the link below. If you google "Polaris hour angle" you'll get a bunch of CloudyNights resultsdiscussing the method behind it. Drift alignment in PHD2 is going to be better, but is still just a sample of the many possible measurements. You will then simply mimic this location by adjusting in your telescope mount. Remember, all features & updates are free forever, the only in-app purchases are donations (tip jar). Youll need to enter in the lat-long coordinates of your location, which you can easily find online or using the GPS on your phone. It does the opposite pretty well - if you strap your phone on the telescope, you select an object from the database and it takes you there (Push To button) - which can be accurate if you first calibrate it with a bright star that you can recognise and then "hop" to the object of interest. PDF SkyTracker Camera Mount Instruction Manual - ioptron.us The iOptron SkyGuider pro includes a built-in polar scope, and you should be able to achieve an accurate polar alignment by eyeballing it. The best aid for this is to use a polar finder scope with a reticle. You add performance at the cost of more set-up time. By aligning the axis of your telescope mount with the motion of the sky, you can accurately track objects in space. A Mac OS version is in development & I was told would be released soon. Polar Scope Align im App Store iOptron app is available for iPhone or iPad for locating Polarisit does cost extra though. Hi all, as a complete beginner, who is gradually getting some kit together, the question of which Polar Alignment App I should get for my Android phone is exercising my mind. The reticle can be illuminated in a range when rotating (I would say several degrees of difference can still make it lit). Even a careful polar alignment routine that is slightly off will begin to negatively affect your images after about 2-minutes. This utility helps you solve this problem by graphically showing you the current position of the Polaris. Now the fun part roughly align your mount to Polaris (or the Southern Pole) and turn on the camera. The app didn't appear to update and the only thing I gave it was time, but when the menu icons actually appear and you can configure the settings the app is great and works wonderfully. Spider-Man It comes with a USB cable to connect the iPolar to your Windows PC, and the polar alignment is done with using the on-screen instructions of the software. No matter what the weather conditions or surrounding scenery were, the SkyGuider and RedCat 51 combo have given me some of the most memorable astrophotography imaging sessions of my life. It will also be good to find stars that my mount suggest as alignment stars. Just hold up and point the device to the sky and have fun! This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Owners of the SkyGuider Pro looking to push the mounts capabilities further now have a dedicated device for this critical aspect of astrophotography. SharpCap can help you align the RA axis of your telescope mount with the NCP by comparing images. This is the official companion app for SkymemoT camera mount from Kenko. 7 of 9 people found the following review helpful: 1 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: No need to rotate the mount during alignment, Capable under poor sky visibility condition, Compatible to most equatorial mount with a proper adapter, Losmandy mount (#3339-034 for GM8xx mount, #3339-G11 for G11). Alignment. Thanks for pointing out the typo! On the Sky-Watcher HEQ5, the declination needs to be rotated 90 for a clear view through the polar scope. You just need to make sure that the mount does NOT move (eg. Its worth mentioning the PoleMaster device here, although I have not used one myself. It's easy! It can handle up to 14 lbs of gear, which means that small refractor telescopes like the William Optics RedCat 51 are no problem for the SkyGuider Pro. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. This PoleMaster is such a lovely tool to almost perfectly align your scope in no-time. So, if the SkyGuider Pro is your main deep-sky imaging rig, the iPolar is a no-brainer, especially if youve had trouble with polar alignment in the past. The imaging camera in PoleMaster has a resolution of 30 arc second, so the best polar alignment that can be achieved by PoleMaster is also in the order of 30 arc seconds.