Oh no - I think I might have broken my telescope. It won't track anymore.

[Stu1smartcookie]

17 hours ago, StarGazingSiouxsie said:

1. Never trust the weather forecast (For my fellow Bits in the UK - we really do have the best weather service in the world!! The National Weather Service where I live is inconsistent at best.......)

I did the same last night ...set up and then a thick blanket of cloud covered the entire sky !! all apps said it would be clear ! It really is the most frustrating part of our hobby as its something we cant control . Its not even as though it takes a couple of minutes to set up the equipment !!! OMG im ranting about cloud !!! ... Hope you have success this evening with your scope and of course wishing you clear skies

[AstroMuni]

14 hours ago, StarGazingSiouxsie said:

I'm just hoping & praying I didn't do any permanent damage to the motors

I very much doubt that would have happened considering you just moved it around manually whilst the motors were running. As long as you didnt hear a crunching noise of the gears then you should be good 🙂

I am a newbie as well, and given  the wonderful weather we have here, I have taken to trying out different aspects of my mount within the confines of my home aided by an app like Skysafari. This way I can rehearse alignment (even of Vega 😉 ) by holding the phone against the base of the scope and check the tracking (after 10-15mins) to see if its more or less in the right area.

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

7 hours ago, Mick H said:

Yes Siouxsie, sunspots.

It's quiet at the moment, but at least I get to use the scope. 😉

I have Astrozap Baader filter and at the eyepiece a Baader Continuum filter, not my image but looks like pic below.

Wow I'm loving that colour!!! I could sit and stare at that all day!!! 

Those filters are defs going on my shopping list. Along with some other Baader accessories I've been drooling over latelyt (ClickLocks, prisms, etc). 

Astronomy is defs fuelling and enabling my impulse purchasing tendency - the problem is, the online stores know this and follow me around online everywhere I go. . 

Edited August 6, 2020 by StarGazingSiouxsie

[Mick H]

19 minutes ago, StarGazingSiouxsie said:

Baader Continuum filter

Works well on the Moon and Venus when they are very bright.

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

On 05/08/2020 at 04:37, Cosmic Geoff said:

........... watch out for the gap in the printed instructions.   In the FIRST TIME SETUP: CALIBRATE CENTER, at the end of para 2. you need to press ALIGN before following the rest of the instructions. (para. 3.)

 

Thanks, Geoff, that's a great tip.

So, in Para 2 -

* scroll to the star you want to use for calibration, then press 'Enter'. StarSense will slew to the star.

* Then press 'Align' (the missing step from the manual) and follow the directions from Para 3 onward. 

Right?

Late edit - Geoff, I appreciate you helping me, but I don't think what you said is right. As far as I know and I have read and watched, 'Align' is not selected until one has actually got something centered or otherwise ready for StarrSense to align to. I'll soon find out!   

Edited August 8, 2020 by StarGazingSiouxsie

[Starwatcher2001]

Siouxsie, I have a tip for you when using the StarSense. I spent a good 30 minutes last night failing to get it going. It was thrashing around all over the place, before I unplugged it and did a manual align. When I packed up at 3am this morning, I noticed I hadn't taken the lens cap off. If I had a brain I'd be dangerous.

What did surprise me is that during it's efforts, it claimed to be finding stars, but not enough to plate solve. I wonder if there's some duff pixels in there.

 

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

OK, so this is what I learnt this evening. This is the actual process of calibrating a star to StarSense as opposed to what the StarSense mnanual says.  The manual I that came with my telescope is dated February 2016 and is the same version as appears on Celestron's site. Linked to here: 
https://celestron-site-support-files.s3.amazonaws.com/support_files/94005_StarSense_AutoAlign_Manual_5LANG_F.pdf

I know Celestron are reknowned for having out of date or inaccurate manuals but the data in the current manual is woefully lacking. It may have been extant, in date, once but it surely isn't now. 

Anyway - this is the process that worked for me. Maybe it will help someone else out down the line -   

Star Sense Calibrate

After you have completed the initial Auto Align procedure (page 11 of StarSense manual) - 

* Install a low magnification eyepiece. Something between 25mm - 40mm is ideal, depending on the focal length of your telescope.    

* Select STARS from the hand controller (HC)

* When you see NAMED on the HC display, press ENTER

* Scroll the list of stars and select one as your calibration star.  ( TIP - Do your homework in advance and select a few suitable (Mag 1.5 or below) stars. Use something like Stellarium in adavnce of your session to see where the stars you would like to use will be in the sky when you are outside. I like Red Giants and the like as they easier for my Neuro A Typical brain to discern. )

* Press ENTER and your scope will slew to the star

* Important bit and the bit that isn't currently, as of August 2020, in the manual:  

* Once your telescope has slewed to your star of choice, press BACK until you come to the 'Starsense Ready’ screen

* Then select MENU

* Select ‘StarSense’ and press ENTER

* Then select CALIBRATE and press ENTER

* Press ENTER again (It should name the star you are calibrating on)

* Look in your eyepiece. The telescope at this stage will be in Coarse Centering Mode which has a relatively fast slew rate. 

* Once you see the star in your eyepiece, roughly centre it using the HC arrow keys, then press ENTER 

* The telescope will now enter into Fine Centering Mode, which has a slower slew rate to allow more accurtate centering of a target. 

* Change your eyepiece to a higher magnification, something like 15mm - 20mm is ideal. 

* Centre the star in your eyepiece

* Then press ALIGN

* The hand controller will display a new center coordinate for the star 

* Press ENTER to accept 

* Then start new Auto Align

 

That's what worked for me. Your starship mileage may vary - but I hope it might help someone down the line. 

 

Siouxsie 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by StarGazingSiouxsie

[Mick H]

6 hours ago, StarGazingSiouxsie said:

OK, so this is what I learnt this evening.

Well done Siouxsie.

you can also add additional alignment points scattered across your visible sky, and each one will add to the accuracy of your goto’s.

I think it's up to 10 reference points that can be used.

Then use the User Align feature to save for next time you setup.

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

1 hour ago, Mick H said:

you can also add additional alignment points scattered across your visible sky, and each one will add to the accuracy of your goto’s.

 

Thanks, yeah that is on my to do list

Along with using one of my hair dryers to keep the dew & Corrector Plate fogging at bay. I have a Dew Shiled on order. Last night it was a real problem, although it was extremely humid and sticky where I am ( 38 north) 

I am also wondering - if one felt that a star was particularly well centered in a high power eyepiece if at that moment one could use the calibrate proceedure I mentioned above as a new / updated calibration point?? There is one way to find out - my inherent need to tamper with things and investigate must be satisfied. 

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

Plus I got to see Pluto!!! More or less sits between Saturn & Jupiter at the moment. Looked like a speck of lilac dust but I saw it!! 

Although it was very steamy and hot last night, at one point a gentle breeze started. It lasted for about 20 minutes only but in that tiny window of time a few things happened. My corrector plate became instantly unfogged (think about when you clear your cvar wiondscreen with the blower) and I saw my best view of Saturn EVER. Clearly saw the equatorial banding of the planet's atmosphere  and cool colour definition.   

This is a good article for anyone interested about where to look for Pluto at the moment
 

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/cool-off-with-pluto-this-summer/

Edited August 10, 2020 by StarGazingSiouxsie

[Mick H]

 

22 minutes ago, StarGazingSiouxsie said:

Along with using one of my hair dryers to keep the dew & Corrector Plate fogging at bay.

Or get three friends pointing their hairdryers as well, that would Straighten you out. 😏

[Knighty2112]

On 08/08/2020 at 18:39, Starwatcher2001 said:

Siouxsie, I have a tip for you when using the StarSense. I spent a good 30 minutes last night failing to get it going. It was thrashing around all over the place, before I unplugged it and did a manual align. When I packed up at 3am this morning, I noticed I hadn't taken the lens cap off. If I had a brain I'd be dangerous.

What did surprise me is that during it's efforts, it claimed to be finding stars, but not enough to plate solve. I wonder if there's some duff pixels in there.

 

We’ve all been there with that one on Starsense. D’oh!  

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by StarGazingSiouxsie