A sort of ASIAIR Pro review (kinda thing)/Andromeda

[Astro Waves]

Skip to the end to just see the images, Kinda wrote way more than I anticipated. 

 

So, after moving to Edinburgh a couple of months ago I finally found a place that I can do some AP from. Got in touch with some allotments about 20 minutes walk from me (as I have no garden). such a lovely place to go and set up, I even have a little shed to sit in which is great and I can also nap a bit whilst the camera is away shooting, it feels like my own little cool observatory but a bit more rustic. The only slight down side I would say is that being in an allotment at night by yourself is a tad creepy especially when there has a been a few nights this week I've been there and you hear the locked gate open and close at about 11:45pm and then you know.....you're locked in there with some one else but its a big place so its ok, kinda.

I finally got into guiding and using the ASIAIR Pro. First couple of nights was mainly just spent trying to figure it out which I had varying degrees of success with but now I've got the whole complete set up to shooting time down to about 40 minutes which is nice. I've written a bit about each section of the ASIAIR Pro in the steps I take to get set up.

Focus: This is more being able to control I from a phone or tablet and having a larger screen which makes thing sooooo much easier as the buttons are larger than on the camera and you also don't have to touch the camera set up itself with risk of moving it. I just use a bahtinov mask and a keen eye to check the focus, though an EAF would be nice that might be something for down the line a bit. 

Polar Alignment: I did have a bit of trouble with PA to start with. I set up the iOptron Sky Guider Pro and look through the eye piece to get a pretty decent polar alignment which I can usually do in about a minute or so, then use the app to fine tune but there has been a couple of times I've done this'd and it says its aligned but when looking through the eye piece Polaris is way way off where it should be. Not sure if I'm missing something in the whole set up. Some times I just go back to using the Sky Guider as its way less faff but I do try get both done properly. I also find when you get to the final stage of PA via the app, I almost struggle to move the mount in such a minute increments to get it spot on. It gets a tad frustrating, so I've been settling for anything within 40 Arc seconds so and still works great. The William Optics Wedge would be very handy for this I reckon because it looks like you can get way more precise. 

Plate Solving: I'm not sure I'm using the plate solving to its full potential yet but it makes finding targets incredibly easy due to have the actual RA and DEC coordinates and not just hopping , some of this is still done to find the target initially but otherwise its great. Having a library of targets in the app itself makes it quick to flick back and forth to remember where it actually is. 

Guiding: The guiding is super easy to use which I like as I'm not really too fussed about bettering super technical just yet. Focusing the guide scope feels like it takes some getting used to in actually finding the stars and fine tuning them as its a fine line from being to see them or not. I think second to PA this is definitely a fiddly task for myself, its seems I have to have the guide camera almost all the way out the finder scope to see anything but not really a problem. 

Autorun: I like this feature a lot as its super quick, easy and the most simple to use with being very self explanatory. Its great that you can pre-label everything and that its in FITS files, so when it comes to getting the images onto your computer some of the work is already done. Its saved a lot of time having to faff around converting Canon CR2 files into FITS. On the imaging side I'm not sure I'm understanding this fully as in taking images, are you looking to get a good image with or having to use the auto stretch within the ASIAIR? I felt like I had to have a faith in the data being captured knowing that it was there. Any weigh ins on this would be great!

Conclusion: The ASIAIR Pro is very simple to use after a couple of goes, its pretty intuitive to use which is perfect for someone like myself who isn't the most technology abled person lets say. Because of where I live and the fact I can only image on Friday/Saturday nights I want to get up and running quickly which this I great for and would highly recommend. I've added a couple images of my kit set up and how minimal set up you can get away with/pack down into as I know the price of getting into this amazing hobby could almost put you off (but its totally worth it). The £6 magic arm for the ASIAIR to attach to the tripod is a good addition that I would recommend. 

This is the First proper go I've had at Andromeda and the edit I've done. Might have another go when I can Starnet++ to play nice as well but pretty damn happy with it especially as its just above the moon, took me a while to flatten out the background due to this. 

Edinburgh - Bortle 5/6 in 74% Waning Gibbous Moon - Shot over two nights

x74 Lights - 180 Seconds

x12 Darks - 180 Seconds

x10 Flats - Set to ASIAIR auto

x10 Biases - 0.001 Seconds (ASIAIR fastest Sutter speed choice, not actually sure how fast it is)

Edited August 29, 2021 by Astro Waves

[iantaylor2uk]

Good review. I also recently got the ASI Air Pro and find it fantastic. I usually get the main and guide cameras focussed separately, and polar align with Polemaster, before switching the AAP on. Not sure what you mean when you say Polaris is way off when you polar align. Polaris is about 3/4 degree from the pole so should be away from the pole axis when you are correctly polar aligned. I also tend to use autorun rather than the live or plan options.

 

[AstroNebulee]

On 29/08/2021 at 19:39, Astro Waves said:

On the imaging side I'm not sure I'm understanding this fully as in taking images, are you looking to get a good image with or having to use the auto stretch within the ASIAIR? I felt like I had to have a faith in the data being captured knowing that it was there. Any weigh ins on this would be great!

Brilliant image and really nice report. I've recently got a AAP and only started using it this week but I love it with my sw 72ed AzGti Canon 600D setup. When I set a lights plan I just let the AAP do its thing, as long as the image in the image library folder looks good and the peak of the histogram is away from the left edge I'm happy. 

On 29/08/2021 at 19:39, Astro Waves said:

x10 Biases - 0.001 Seconds (ASIAIR fastest Sutter speed choice, not actually sure how fast it is)

I see you have a canon dslr, I'm not sure which model but I use a 600D and don't shoot darks, I shot flat, dark flat and bias. For my bias I set the exposure time to 0.000032 and this gets me to the equivalent of 1/4000 shutter speed my dslr can go to. Shooting dark flats I go in the bias plan and change exposure to 2 secs with the lens cap on. Try no darks next time or with to see if it makes a difference. Could save you more time to get dome light frames in. Clear skies 

Edited August 31, 2021 by AstroNebulee

[Catanonia]

Excellent write up.

I too have started the hobby again with an ASIAir Pro as I didn't want the laptop and all the associated wires from years ago.

As said, Polaris is not bang on the North, it is off to the side and so the AAP is much more accurate. But I agree, it is a pita trying to make those tiny movements. You should try it on an old NEQ6 Pro that has a heavy scope on it.

I love the meridian flip of the AAP, combined with plate solving it automatically flips and positions within a few pixels.

Get the EAF, it is well worth it.

Also for adjusting / framing an image, did you know you can press on a star and then press go on the screen and the software will centre the image on the star you pressed. VERY cool and VERY useful

Cracking image and great portable setup you have there, very compact.