Cartes du Ciel/Stellarium horizon image question

[michaelmorris]

I've decided to put together a panorama image to use as a custom horizon in Cartes Du Ciel software.  I've found a really good Youtube video that explains it very simply.  

My set up is a C9.25 and an 80ED mounted on a dual mounting bar on an EQ8 equatorial mount in my observatory.  Because of the two scope mounted in a side-by-side arrangement on a equatorial mount and lots of obstacles that are quite nearby (trees, observatory walls etc.) I guess I'm going to need a separate horizon images for each scope. 

So here is my problem.  Without having to demount the scopes and replace them with a precisely positioned DSLR, how do I get a true representation of the local horizon for each scope?  One idea is to use my smartphone.  Use Panorama 360 software ( https://teliportme.com/ ) to construct each panorama with the phone somehow mounted on the front of the lens cover of each scope. 

Does this sound a sensible approach? 

How have other people solved this problem?

 

 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

I played around with smart phones & simple camera mountings etc. but in the end I made a Panobot (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2503118) as that made the taking of images relatively straightforward.

There is also a reasonably good Instructable @ https://www.instructables.com/id/360-degree-Photospheres/ 

Once you have your images, a very good tool for stitching them together is Microsoft's Image Composite Editor https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/product/computational-photography-applications/image-composite-editor/

[michaelmorris]

After much jiggery-pokery I think I've finally got a horizon image that I'm reasonably happy with.

[Ouroboros]

Well done. That's very interesting. Not sure I'd want to do it partly because it looks like a lot of work to achieve but mainly because I have so many trees and one large building in view from my back garden I'd rather see the unobscured sky view in the sky app I use. But nonetheless it is very interesting to see it done. Thanks. 

[michaelmorris]

7 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

Well done. That's very interesting. Not sure I'd want to do it partly because it looks like a lot of work to achieve but mainly because I have so many trees and one large building in view from my back garden I'd rather see the unobscured sky view in the sky app I use. But nonetheless it is very interesting to see it done. Thanks. 

Yes, it was a bit of a faff to put together.  I've probably ended up spending a total of about 6 or 7 hours on it to get it right.  However, it's great that I can now accurately predict when an object I'm imaging will sink behind next door's trees, potentially saving loads of time and wasted subs.  It also looks cool! ?

With regard to visibility of objects below the local horizon, there is a simple options box in CdC that means you can have the whole night sky superimposed on top of the horizon graphic, rather than behind it (as shown above), giving you the best of both worlds. 

[Ouroboros]

@michaelmorris that's useful to know. Thanks.