I'm embarrassed to ask this question re: GoTo tracking

[Maideneer]

*where is that shame shame shame gif when you need it?*

When I slew to an object using my C9.25/CGEM II, in addition to finding the object the mount will automatically track the object and keep it centered in the eyepiece assuming alignment is correct yes?  The reason I'm asking this is because my mount was definitely NOT doing this yesterday, objects immediately started drifting out of FOV and I could not figure out why for the life of me. I almost felt like I was back using my little Alt/Az manual mount.

There's nothing extra I have to do after slewing to keep the object centered for a while is there?

[Knighty2112]

Make sure your not set on lunar or solar tracking as that is a different tracking rate than for tracking stars etc.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Knighty2112

[globular]

Check your tracking is on the correct setting... one of Sidereal, Solar and Lunar.

**  Gus beat me to it, but I've typed it so may as well post it 😁

[Maideneer]

15 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

Make sure your not set on lunar or solar tracking as that is a different tracking rate than for tracking stars etc.

Thanks so much!  Do I need to polar align to accomplish this or an EQ align is enough?

[ONIKKINEN]

You will always have to polar align an equatorial mount for tracking to work. For go-tos to be accurate you will have to star align on multiple stars. 

 

Also, sidereal tracking for stars and planets, lunar for the moon and solar for the sun.

[globular]

For your CGEM II the alignment steps are:

1. Rough Align
2. EQ Align
3. Polar Alignment
4. EQ Align #2 (optional)
5. Calibrate Mount (optional)

For visual use you need to do 1, 2 and 3. 
4 & 5 are unlikely to be necessary - unless you are imaging or unless 1 and/or 2 was very rough.

1. is point it north
2. is set the correct degrees for your location
3. is star alignment
4. will make automatic slewing to targets more accurate.
5. allows the mount to compensate for heavy / unbalanced loads that require slightly different movements depending on which way the telescope is pointing.

[Maideneer]

2 minutes ago, globular said:

For your CGEM II the alignment steps are:

1. Rough Align
2. EQ Align
3. Polar Alignment
4. EQ Align #2 (optional)
5. Calibrate Mount (optional)

For visual use you need to do 1, 2 and 3. 
4 & 5 are unlikely to be necessary - unless you are imaging or unless 1 and/or 2 was very rough.

1. is point it north
2. is set the correct degrees for your location
3. is star alignment
4. will make automatic slewing to targets more accurate.
5. allows the mount to compensate for heavy / unbalanced loads that require slightly different movements depending on which way the telescope is pointing.

Clear skies tonight over here.  I've got my Starsense autoalign and my hand controller. Starsense apparently can do ASPA so I'm going to give it a shot.

[Knighty2112]

41 minutes ago, Maideneer said:

Thanks so much!  Do I need to polar align to accomplish this or an EQ align is enough?

If you want the best accuracy then do a polar align. I always do it with my goto mount even just for visual use.

[wimvb]

... and don't forget to tighten the clutches (but not too much). My mount suddenly stopped slewing yesterday due to just that.

[Maideneer]

17 hours ago, Knighty2112 said:

If you want the best accuracy then do a polar align. I always do it with my goto mount even just for visual use.

I made decent progress last night.  The summer problem now is that there aren't a ton of 0-2 magnitude unique stars in the right spots so it's a bit limiting, but I made out alright.  Altair is a life saver.

[globular]

Your starsense will automatically do the (step 3) star align for you... so you don't need to manually find stars you know the names of.
You do need to make sure your starsense camera is aligned with your telescope though.... but this is a one off job (provided you don't remove the camera between sessions).

[Maideneer]

21 hours ago, Knighty2112 said:

If you want the best accuracy then do a polar align. I always do it with my goto mount even just for visual use.

I don't have a polar scope because I'm relying on ASPA to handle things and my own 2 eyes to center things in the EP.  What I'm finding though is I'll of course never be able to get things perfect without some sort of crosshair, so I'm wondering if I should either get a polar scope (2nd choice) or get a reticle eyepiece (1st choice) that can assist me with centering stars.  I did pretty well yesterday but still noticed some drift which means I need to improve things.