How to align Nexstar 6SE?

[Jojo204]

Very simple and dumb question but what method should I use to align my 6SE. Just got it (my first scope) and want to know if there’s a difference between skyalign and 2 star align, they’re different options in the menu. Beautiful scope though and optics are all good as tested on the moon! Clear night tonight so first proper observing session!

[PhotoGav]

I think, if I remember correctly, that SkyAlign is where you just centre the scope on bright objects in the sky and the system works out what you were pointing at and does the alignment, whereas a 2 Star Align requires you to centre up on particular stars for the alignment process. I have used a NexStar system in the past and aligned with the SkyAlign routine and it works very efficiently - seems almost like cheating that you don't have to know what you are pointing at! The only thing I would say is that the more level the mount is and the more accurate you centre the objects during the alignment process, the better the GoTo will be.

Good luck and enjoy your new scope!

[Jojo204]

1 hour ago, PhotoGav said:

I think, if I remember correctly, that SkyAlign is where you just centre the scope on bright objects in the sky and the system works out what you were pointing at and does the alignment, whereas a 2 Star Align requires you to centre up on particular stars for the alignment process. I have used a NexStar system in the past and aligned with the SkyAlign routine and it works very efficiently - seems almost like cheating that you don't have to know what you are pointing at! The only thing I would say is that the more level the mount is and the more accurate you centre the objects during the alignment process, the better the GoTo will be.

Good luck and enjoy your new scope!

ok thanks! 

[JG777]

Have a look here https://www.nexstarsite.com/AlignmentFAQ.htm

 

[wheresthetorch?]

I used to have a 4SE, and ensuring the mount is level is critical.  Also make sure you enter the date in US format: mm/dd/yyyy - a common error.  

Good luck - they are good scopes. 

[Jojo204]

3 hours ago, wheresthetorch? said:

I used to have a 4SE, and ensuring the mount is level is critical.  Also make sure you enter the date in US format: mm/dd/yyyy - a common error.  

Good luck - they are good scopes. 

Thanks, I had a clear night last night but had very limited time and slightly rushed the alignment so it didn’t really work ?. I clicked m45 and it did a full 360 and pointed quite a bit off ?. It was dark too so not 100% level. Luckily I have a week off for Christmas and a couple of clear skies so I can spend some time doing it then, I’ll set it up during the day too. Problem was it was raining until 20:30 and I only had from 21:00 until 22:00 with clear skies so yeh. Very good night at that time though, Orion was high up and the Pleiades which I wanted to see but the weather wasn’t on my side ?

Sorry bout the essay ^ but my question was what would be the most accurate method of aligning the scope, Skyalign or the other options? Identifying stars is no problem for me! I’m also quite impressed how easily the skyalign knows which star you’re pointing at!

 

Thanks! 

[wheresthetorch?]

1 hour ago, Jojo204 said:

Sorry bout the essay ^ but my question was what would be the most accurate method of aligning the scope, Skyalign or the other options? Identifying stars is no problem for me! I’m also quite impressed how easily the skyalign knows which star you’re pointing at!

 

No worries. I always used the 3 star Sky Align, making sure the stars I chose were well spaced out across the sky. It also pays to do the final approach to each star in the centre of the eyepiece in the same direction, if that makes sense?  eg always finish by moving up and left (or whatever suits) on each star. 

[Jojo204]

1 hour ago, wheresthetorch? said:

No worries. I always used the 3 star Sky Align, making sure the stars I chose were well spaced out across the sky. It also pays to do the final approach to each star in the centre of the eyepiece in the same direction, if that makes sense?  eg always finish by moving up and left (or whatever suits) on each star. 

Ah ok I’ll keep that in mind!

[Anne S]

3 hours ago, Jojo204 said:

Sorry bout the essay ^ but my question was what would be the most accurate method of aligning the scope, Skyalign or the other options? Identifying stars is no problem for me! I’m also quite impressed how easily the skyalign knows which star you’re pointing at!

I had an 8SE for quite a few years. I always used the auto 2 star alignment. You choose the first stat from a list and manually slew to it. Once centred, click align and then choose a 2nd star from the list. Make sure it's well away from the first one. When you select the star the scope slews to where it thinks it is and then you correct and click align once you're centred. I found it much quicker to get going, particularly when the clouds are around! You also need to make the final centring of your stars from the right direction, that makes subsequent goto s mor accurate. Check out the Nexstar website  for more details. You can alter the directions needed. It helps to deal with the backlash in this mount. The Nexstar site gives suggestions for stars for initial alignment also.

When possible I used Dubhe and Altair for my initial alignment. I didn't have much luck with staralign, you need stars above a certain magnitude.

[JG777]

Auto 2 star and skyalign provide the same accuracy all other things being equal.  With skyalign 2 stars are used for alignment, the third verifies the other 2. I always found auto 2 star more reliable in use. The complete solution though is starsense, with that you can have a pint while the alignment is happening.