Celestron skyalign

[Steve2018]

Hi,  whats the easiest  sky align method with the celestron 5se for a beginner? 

I found an option to align it with the moon but selecting anything else seemed to be way off,  im guessing that wasnt a very good alignment method :-)

 

I read that polaris is a good star to use with auto 2 star alignment but I also read that you need to set your location on the celestron handset but I didnt see this option

 

Any help would be great thanks

 

I did get a good look at the moon that i didnt think would be possible with as it was looking all fuzzy by eye with all the clouds

[Knighty2112]

Pick bright stars that are approx 90 degrees apart in the sky if you can, or closest to that for best alignment accuracy. Works most of the time for me on my 8 SE goto mount. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

1 star or Solar System align - easiest but least accurate. (critically depends on the tripod being level)

2-star or auto two star- good accuracy (but you nee to know your stars)

Skyalign - align on 3 bright objects, you don't need to know what they are.  Accurate but more work.

I usually use 2 star auto align with Nexstar.

1 hour ago, Steve2018 said:

I read that polaris is a good star to use with auto 2 star alignment but I also read that you need to set your location on the celestron handset but I didnt see this option

It's okay to use Polaris.  You do need to set your location in the handset, but after you've fiddled with it, finding the option can be a challenge.  Try pressing Back or Undo at the point where you have Skyalign or the time setting prompt on the display. You can enter the nearest city, or the Long & Lat which you will have to look up and present in the correct format.

Note there will be differences depending on whether you have the Nexstar (older mounts) or Nexstar+ (newer and current mounts).

[MarsG76]

The 3 star alignment will be better...

[Demonperformer]

I do a version of two star. (1) Do a single object align. (2) Perform a GOTO  to an object as far away as I can, making sure both RA & DEC  are not close. (3) Once centred, use the 'add another object' option in the align menu to add it as a second point.

This means that I have not been left trying to align with an out-of-sight object. On the nexstar, the three-star option is only of use if you don't know which objects you are using (skyalign). It only ever keeps two alignment points active. 

If concentrating on a particular object,  make your alignment points on either side of it. You can always replace one of these if you start to observe outside of this area later.

The more level you can get the tripod before you start the easier the whole process becomes.

[Steve2018]

Thanks I have set the longitude and latitude and yea it was like a hidden setting,  I pressed undo and it just appeared and was setup at the previous owners settings. 

I will try them ways asap,  annoying thing with these summer nights when you want to look at the night sky,  it doesn't get dark until late! Not good when you need up early for work

[michael8554]

10 hours ago, Steve2018 said:

also read that you need to set your location on the celestron handset but I didnt see this option

Google for Nexstar handset menu tree, that'll show you where to enter location.

Worth printing out as a reminder.

Michael 

[LukeSkywatcher]

I normally do a solar system object alignment and pick a visible planet. Won't be able to do that for a while, no planets to see. I'll have to give 2-3 star align a go. 

[JG777]

Before I used Starsense I always used Auto 2 star which I found highly accurate as long as your input data is good. If you can find Polaris then use that as your first star, the scope will automatically slew to your second chosen star from the list so you do not actually need to know exactly where it is, it will be the brightest one in the view or very nearby. The time input is more important than location input , your coordinates are good for about a 50 mile radius but no harm in being accurate. Remember to select DST On this time of year in UK. The mount level helps but do not fuss about this slightly out will make no difference.  Skyalign is no more accurate than auto 2 star, apparently the third star in that process is used only for checking the other 2 are correct.

Stars higher than 30 degrees and lower than 70 are ideal and in different quadrants of the sky. Once done you can add alignment stars for accuracy. Your next job will be dialling out any backlash from the mount which is just a case of entering numbers into the HC settings area for backlash until the scope starts and finishes smoothly in a slew. The original owner may have already done this.