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Hi Everyone, I'm in need of basic help with my equipment. I have auto-guided before and I am struggling to connect. I have a Star adventurer pro, a orion starshoot autoguider, Canon 600D and I've downloaded PHD2. I did all the connections but, when I start the program, it just doesn't see my guide camera and it doesn't seem to have the star adventurer as an option in the mounts. I am a total beginner and also absolutely useless with computers and technology in general, so please be patient with me 😅 Thanks in advance for any sort of help

So recently I bought the star adventurer and am planning on using the z61 as my imaging telescope. I have seen a lot of people recommend it as a great telescope to use and after doing some research have decided that it is probably the telescope that I should get. I am confused on one simple thing though, do I have to be polar aligned while imaging? And if I do, how do I all the telescope I am using to point close/towards zenith. Wouldn't I have to stay at the latitude of Polaris to image?

Hi all, For a long time I wanted to shoot this frame, probably from the early days of my astrophotography adventure. Finally after all these years I managed to get a decent result of the 'stuff' between these two beautiful nebulae. Fairly happy with the image but always looking for improvement. I hope one day to redo this all with a mono camera and filters. Apart from NGC1499 , M45 and the Baby Eagle Nebula no idea what else is in the picture. If you happen to have an idea feel free to educate me. Some info on image and capturing: Widefield Pleiades to California. Taken over 2 nights with a total of 11hrs 25min integration. With a stock Nikon d610 and Nikkor 85mm 1.8 objective. Tracking was done with the Skywatcher Star Adventurer. Lights and all calibrations frames were stacked in DSS. Processing was done in Adobe Photoshop CC using Adobe Raw, GradientXterminator plugin, HLVG plugin, Nik software plugins and Photokemi action set. Ken

Hi Everyone, Not posted some images since my introduction in the welcome section. With the dark nights finally back here in Scotland I thought Id share some of the DSOs I managed to capture back in Feb-April just before the light nights rolled in at the start of May. These were all stacked and edited in PixInsight. 1. The Running Man and Orion Nebula - less than an hour of integration time (SA pro + fuji 55-200mm lens). 2. Bodes and Cigar Galaxy - Less than an hour of integration time ( SA pro + SW 72 ED telescope). 3. Flame, Horsehead, Running Man and Orion Nebula - Less than an hour of integration time (SA pro + fuji 55-200mm lens). 4. Pinwheel Galaxy - 35 mins integration time (SA pro + SW 72 ED telescope). 5 Whirlpool Galaxy - 21 mins integration time (SA pro + SW 72 ED telescope). 6. Andromeda Galaxy - 1.5 minutes integration time (Move Shoot Move + fuji 55-200mm lens).

Hello everybody. My last imaging session left odd looking star trials in my photos, almost like a clockwise motion. My polar alignment and balance were good, so I am not sure why this issue is occuring. Below is an attached video of me scrolling through my subs. Any help/ advice would be greatly appreciated! IMG_7102.mov

Taken with the 450D & baby Tak on the Star Adventurer. This is about 5.5 hours of 1.25 minute exposures over two nights, which is the longest I’ve ever managed to image. I just left the camera clicking until the battery ran out. Processed in Pixinsight with flats & bias but no darks. I usually find it very difficult to align the camera with the previous night’s, but this time I left the scope in the same position overnight & placed Merak in the bottom right hand corner which actually worked.

Another lockdown capture from my light polluted balcony. Approx 1.5hrs of 90s subs with a Samyang 135mm f2 (at f2.8) using a Canon EOS 60d (unmodded). Stacked in DSS. Processed in Photoshop CC https://flic.kr/p/2j89ifg IBRC4507.tiff

At last, I have 3D printed an adapter to attach an angled viewfinter to the polar telescope finder. This is for the Star Adventurer polar telescope, but I think it fit even others. My document of how I did it: http://www.astrofriend.eu/3d-printing/90degree-polarfinder-adapter/01-90degree-polarfinder-adapter.html It works so perfect compare to my film canister build adapter. This is my first real 3D printed product I will use so I have great times. /Lars

Hi All, I have a Star Adventurer but have had problems getting consistent results even when setup was as near to perfect as I can do, (this was focussed on due to this issue). It took me a while to find out that when the eyepiece is is extended for focus it is very loose, so loose the graticule moves indipendantly of Polaris / background. I have asked the supplier, "Astroshop.eu", to highlight the problem and ask for their feedback. Question to Astroshop.eu: I have had a constant issue with Polar Alignment. As I cannot use it so often, (visibility), it has taken me a while to identify the problem. When I adjust the polar scope focus the eyepiece is so loose that the graticule moves a lot laterally in all directions in the view. I can send a video but I think you can understand what I am saying. Basically I must be getting something very wrong or there is an issue with the product. The thread is so loose it is entirely unstable. Please advise what we can do about this. Answer from Astroshop.eu: 1. "I'am sorry to say, but this is very normal and does not affect the function of the star adventurer". 2. "My collegue confirmed that this will not be a issue". I have subsequently asked the guy to ask his colleague again, but some time has gone past and I have no further reply. I think it is clear enough from the text and would really appreciate some experienced answer, any comments very welcome. Additionally here are the videos I have sent to show them, (hand holding the phone so a bit shaky but issue can be seen. I'd really appreciate some help before I spend too much time again tring to get it to work, for reference the eyepiece wobble is around 3.5 graticule intervals, so not small. As it's full of grease it took me a long time to see how poor quality the Polarscope build quality is. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VC1p30t8n45oS6fkdxjkztrnoR1r7c6x/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mjBaecqTmIhXgJUC-dERRYBb-LaryLMN/view?usp=sharing Thank you all, Andy

I've had a Star Adventure since October, but haven't had a chance to use it until Friday night (work and weather limitations). Also, I don't have a car at the moment, so I'm quite limited to how far I can travel on my e-bike and get to dark skies. Ran into a couple of issues, 1. my Nikon Z50 is limited to 30 second exposures and the wifi connection to my phone so I could use qDslrDashboard was terrible (now found out I can tether directly to the phone via USB, yey!). 2. my lens started to fog (a warmer was ordered as soon as I got home and has now arrived). Anyway, what I did manage to get was a nice shot of the Orion Nebula. Nikon Z50. 50-250mm kit lens @250mm. F6.3. 26x30s exposures. ISO640. Sky Watcher Star Adventure. I want to try the Horsehead or Rosette next, not sure how well the unmodded Z50 is with HA though.

I have used my Star Adventurer for a while now and is very satisfaid with it. But it could be improved and I have installed an angled viewfinder to the polar telescope, rebuilt the wedge, etc. But there is also the tripod, the one I have now is stable but very big, nothing that I could take with me when traveling. All photagraphy tripods I have looked at that is maximum 0.5 meter long folded look a bit weak or are very expensive. Now I have bought an used Manfrotto model 144, very stable but too long folded. This weekend I cut off the legs to make it shorter. I don't need very high tripod now when using the angled viewfinder. Here is my tripod project: http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/projects/project-star-adventurer-tripod/01-project-star-adventurer-tripod.html /Lars

Hi, Last night when we was out in the night to do astro photographing I got problem with my Star Adventurer mount. The friction coupling in RA axis got stuck and I have difficulties to aim the camera to the object. Today I have dismantled the mount to find what the problem is with it. I got to repair it, I took photos from my disassembling and repair that I think can be interesting for others to look at and read. Here is the link to my homepage: http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/projects/project-star-adventurer-part2-repair/project-star-adventurer-part2-repair.html Have any other of you had a simular problem with the Star Adventurer mount? BR Lars

I took this with my unmodded canon, 135mm & CLS filter at f4 iso400, 40 minutes worth of 30 second images on the Star Adventurer. Fairly short exposures in an attempt to avoid over exposing stars, wasn’t sure how much of the veil I’d see but it’s there My there are an awful lot of stars in this area, which illustrates how faint the veil is if nothing else. I’d like to try again wth longer exposures to compare. I’m still learning Anyway, a different fov, hope you like it.

Messier 31 Andromeda Galaxy Distance from Earth - approx 2.5 million light years After spending ages getting a decent polar alignment, the clouds were on their way in so I only had a small window of opportunity remaining. This was my first real run with the new setup (minus the ST80 and ZWO ASI120 as i was having issues there) and I almost gave up. SO glad I didn't!! Focus was off a bit though I think and I've definitely over-processed EXIF: Nikon D5300 270mm f / 5.6 @ ISO 800 21 x 30 second subs Bortle 5 Stacked in Sequator. Very quick minor crop and global edits in LightRoom. No darks/flats/offsets

Hi all, First post here, and I'm pretty new to AP, just picked up a Star Adventurer mount a couple months ago and have been happily playing around with it with DSLR and various lenses and a 72mm Sky-Watcher refractor. I'm new to the whole setup process, and I'm trying to do a decent job of leveling the tripod/mount, polar alignment, and I should probably think more about balancing the weight of things. I've gotten some decent shots, like 60-120 second subs with up to 300mm lens. My last time out I was getting star trails at 200mm and 15 second exposures, which could have been just a sloppy polar alignment, but today out of curiosity I looked through the polar scope and rotated the RA axis 360 degrees, and I saw that the target circle jumped a few times. I'm guessing that the target circle should appear not to move while the numbers 3, 6, 9, 12 would rotate around as I rotate the RA axis. So my guess is that the polar scope would need to be calibrated?

Now the dark season has started for us who live in Sweden. Then we must have all our equipment in top condition. I have one mini mount, the Star Adventurer, I'm very satisfaid with it. But you can always get it a little bit better. One small problem I have is that the altitude lock of the wedge slips. Maybe others of you also have this problem? Here I have some photos and my attempt to get it better: http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/projects/project-star-adventurer-modify-wedge/project-star-adventurer-modify-wedge.html I will test if my modifications work in reality next clear sky. /Lars

Greetings everyone. Few months ago I wrote a post about a small refractor to mount on a Star Adventurer, but I'm now considering fast tele lens like the Nikon 80-200 f2.8. My question is: what is the best tele lens to get pictures of Andromeda galaxy, Orion, Soul, Hearth nebula and stuff like these? If I'd pick a 70-200 f2.8 lens, can I plug a teleconverter 2x to get better crop without losing details? I've attached a picture taken with my Nikon D3300 and 18-105 kit lens, as you can see it's quite small (forget about the quality, it was also quite foggy back then). Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, I recently decided to get a 70-200 f2.8 lens or similar (liek 80-200 nikkor) to mount on my Nikon D3300 and Star Adventurer, because as a landscape photographer I feel I will use way more a tele lens than a telescope. It will be a graduation present, so I hope no budget limit. My question is: which lens to choose? In order to capture some extra details I'll most likely add a teleconverter 2x if the choice will be a 70-200, otherwise I'm considering a 100-400 Sigma or Tamron but I can't find anything about how they perform. Thanks for your advices.

I continue with my Star Adventurer experiments how to get the most out of it. I can notice when I taking 120 seconds exposures with my Star Adventurer mount and the 150 mm camera lens I sometimes get elonged stars. And with that long exposures also the brighter stars oversaturate. How will my equipment perform if I take more and shorter exposurers, can my Canon 6D handle that? It has relative low readout noise at higher ISO settings but limited dynamic range then. Here I have done two tests to compare: http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/tutorials/tutorial-dynamics/tutorial-dynamics.html At least in this case I feel the camera can handle the shorter exposure and still have good dynamics. I live close to a big city, but I have found two places out in the east close to the coast where I have a relative dark sky. With my small Star Adventurer I can easily go out there and doing astrophotographing. Almost all my earlier AP have been done with a very lightpolluted sky. /Lars

As the title says I've finally, after owning a 7nm Baader Ha filter for more than a half year, did my first imaging session in Ha. My target was the Lagoon Nebula because the weekend before I captured 4.5 hours on it and wanted to see what difference it would make. It's also very bright so easy to locate and it helped my getting focus as well. Focus was kind of a challenge as I had to locate the nebula without the filter first ( the Star Adventurer has no GoTo), screw on the filter and take numerous amounts of test shots (max iso at 30sec) to finally get the focus right. Though I still think the focus was a bit off. For some reasons I had problems with the B-mask and focusing will have to do more tests in the future on this. That said and done I was ready to start clicking, used settings of iso 1600 and 180sec subs. This was what I saw on the back of the camera after 3 minutes. Pretty exited! Just the fact that I had something showing up amazed me. Decided to keep the exposure at 3minutes and planned on getting 1 hour of data at least before calling it a night. Quick info on the gear used here: -Camera: self modded Nikon d90(Ha data), Nikon d610(RGb data) -Optics: TS-Optics Photoline 72mm f/6 FPL53+TSflat72 -Mount: Skywatcher Star Adventurer -Guidescope: TS-Optics Optics 50 mm DeLuxe Mini -Guidecamera: ZWO ASI120MC-S -Filters: Baader 7nm 2" Ha Back on imaging. After 1hour and 18min I stopped the session, took 10 flats, 10 darks and 20 bias frames and called it a night. The day after loaded everything in DSS, imported the stack in Photoshop and did a little stretch on the red channel. This was the result (1hr 18min at iso 1600). First there is so so much more data than I'd captured the weekend before with my unmodded Nikon d610 and almost x4 as much integration. That was a real excitement! Second is a question(s), the diagonal pattern you see is this walking noise? Will dithering remove these lines? and is it even possible to dither with the SA? I've seen the dithering option in PHD2 but not sure if the combination with the Sa works. So I've left the noise ,to be hopefully resolved in the future, and tried to combine the Ha with the previous captured RGB. The RGB data ,as said before, was captured using a full frame Nikon d610. Aligning the two was kind of a challenge but eventually with all the twisting and turning managed to get it almost perfect. This is the fully processed image from ONLY the RGB data the week before. 4.5hrs of data with the unmodded d610. Combining the datasets I decided to re-edit the RGB set with just a curves and levels stretch and some minor tweaks in Adobe raw. Followed a simple tutorial of changing the red channel of the RGB set with the red channel of the Ha set and adding another Ha layer on top to use as a luminance layer. The result was a bit weird to be honest, green in the background and pretty ugly colors in the nebula. ( I didn't had the original to show so just now I made a quick alignment just to show more or less the results. Should it look like this? Hope to find out what caused this. Made some tweaks in the channel color mixer in Ps to get rid of the odd colors(in my eyes at least) and did more editing to get a final image. Besides some tweaks here and there I added an extra layer from the RGB set and used 'color' as blending mode. This is the result I came up with. Apart from perfect alignment of both data sets and maybe a better color balance I'd have to say the image itself looks a lot cleaner and more pleasant to the eye. Though it seems the image is not as sharp as just the RGB image, maybe that's because it has less stars and it only appears to be more fuzzy? Hope to get some input and cc on my workflow and/or the images to improve my results. Thank you, Ken Mitchell PS. For those interested I've also did some imaging with the unmodded d610 + Ha filter to show the differences and if it is worth it to use a Ha filter with an unmodded dslr. I'll see if I can make a separate thread for this.

Hi, sorry if this was already posted, i'm looking for a flattener/reducer for my William Optics Zenithstar 66 SD (already asked WO by email) they reply me that since this product is discontinued over 10 years ago, i need to look for FlatII, FlatIII - with 2"sct thread Flat6a with 2"SCT adapter and i saw this one https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reducersflatteners/william-optics-adjustable-flat6a-iii-08x-reducer-flattener.html and this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32917167365.html but i'm not very sure, so i'll ask before buying anything i will use it on my recently buyed star adventurer classic (buyed on FLO) Thanks in advance

Hi all, Thought I'd share the clip I designed to fit a Right Angle Finder to the polar scope on my Star Adventurer mount. I designed it to work on my Neewer RA Finder but it could possibly work with similar ones (that have the removable adaptor plates for various camera types). My finder came with a few different adaptor plates and I chose the metal screw-together type which was labeled for use with the older Nikon F series cameras. As you can see from the photos, this just screws into the printed clip allowing you to leave it in place on the Polar Scope but remove the RA Finder easily. It is best oriented with the clips at the top and bottom (rather than on the side). I've made it available for download from Thingiverse, there's a printable version of the adaptor plate on there too (along with instructions and pics) should you need it. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2762334