manual Telescope and phone app use

[skippyinspace]

Ok I have an old Celestron C8N and original mount, I had updated the mount to a goto but the goto  has died so am thinking of going back to the manual mount, while I save for a new goto mount.

So my question is if polar aligned how wasy is it to use a phone  app or simialar mounted to the scope to manually find your way around the sky .  

Also what would people suggest for a phone app

Scope is on a pier if that helps

Thanks in advance

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @skippyinspace

What phone have you got?

I have a Google Pixel 3a and I have installed the free version of SkEye. Apparently, you can use the app in ‘indirect’ mode… i.e. use it when laying on its back horizontally instead of being held vertically.

Edited May 4, 2023 by RT65CB-SWL

[Ratlet]

You could always scavenge a starsense unit from a cheap celestron scope.

I use manual setting circle and digital inclinometer with my dobsonian and look up the coordinates of objects in SkySafari and it works very well.  Pretty much always lands within the FOV with my 16mm and 30mm eyepieces (so 1-1.8 dgrees FOV).

[PeterStudz]

I use the PushTo feature in an iPhone app called PSAlign Pro. It cost (at the time £2.99). After aligning to a know objects(s) it’ll put a target within the FOV of my 25mm eyepiece every time. Something like Starsense might be better but you’d need to purchase a “cheap” telescope and as PSAlign Pro just works I can’t see the point! I’ve also used it, aligning to the sun with a white light filter, to locate the planets - Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn in complete daylight which has been very rewarding and fun. 

 

[Guest]

I will second the setting circle and angle gauge.  I use either Sky Safari, Stellarium or Sky View and have no issues findinf what i am looking for.  

[skippyinspace]

4 hours ago, Philip R said:

Hi @skippyinspace

What phone have you got?

I have a Google Pixel 3a and I have installed the free version of SkEye. Apparently, you can use the app in ‘indirect’ mode… i.e. use it when laying on its back horizontally instead of being held vertically.

I have an Android, an old Samsung Note 9

[skippyinspace]

23 minutes ago, Mike Q said:

I will second the setting circle and angle gauge.  I use either Sky Safari, Stellarium or Sky View and have no issues findinf what i am looking for.  

I probbably should rea up on the setting circle and angle. 

 

Thanls for the advice

[Guest]

Its a slick and easy way to do it once you figure it out.  Call it GPS on the cheap. 

[cimh]

On 30/04/2023 at 11:32, PeterStudz said:

I use the PushTo feature in an iPhone app called PSAlign Pro. It cost (at the time £2.99). 

First post here for several years! That sounds v interesting - so does the app help you to point the scope? - if so what a clever idea. I have had my skywatcher heritage 150mm dobsonian for just a couple of weeks and it can take time to find very feint objects. eg last night with the moon up and light pollution it was taking me ages to find the beehive cluster. I could see it instantly in my binoculars but I couldn't see it with my naked eye so the red dot finder was no good I could find it eventually but more by luck than judgement. At times like that an app like this could be great - (It could also save me a cricked neck when trying to point at things high up in the sky).

 

 

 

[PeterStudz]

On 03/05/2023 at 19:15, cimh said:

First post here for several years! That sounds v interesting - so does the app help you to point the scope? - if so what a clever idea. I have had my skywatcher heritage 150mm dobsonian for just a couple of weeks and it can take time to find very feint objects. eg last night with the moon up and light pollution it was taking me ages to find the beehive cluster. I could see it instantly in my binoculars but I couldn't see it with my naked eye so the red dot finder was no good I could find it eventually but more by luck than judgement. At times like that an app like this could be great - (It could also save me a cricked neck when trying to point at things high up in the sky).

 

 

 

Yes, that’s basically it. PS Align Pro has a feature within it that will add PushTo capability to a telescope when using a compatible smartphone. I think that it’s just available for iPhone. You need to strap your phone to your OTA like shown in my picture above. I have a phone adapter for a tripod that’;s bolted to my 200p Dob. Out of interest, the first time I tested it I simply struck the phone to the steel tube of my 200p by using the built-in MagSafe magnets on the back of my then iPhone 12. Surprisingly the damn great magnets on the back of the phone and in the case I was using, did not hamper the way it worked at all. Obviously not very secure but enough to get the PushTo feature working.

It does require that the long axis of the phone is parallel to the optical axis of the telescope, but it doesn’t need to be extremely accurate. And there’s no need to level anything or point anything north. Smartphones aren’t accurate enough on their own. With PS Align Pro you need to align to at least one known target (eg a bright star) and “Sync To Target". PS Align Pro will calculate and apply an offset or error. Ideally you want to sync-to 3 known targets but I often get away with just one and take it from there. Eg the Beehive Cluster earlier in the year… I’m in Bortle 7 so it’s only on rare occasions when I can see it naked eye. But I can see it in my 9x50 RACI finder. By locating Betelgeuse in my low powered eyepiece (an easy task) and syncing to it using the app I could then push-to the Beehive and it would be in my RACI. But for greater accuracy if I sync to 2-3 known bright stars the Beehive would then be in the FOV of a low power eyepiece. From the Beehive I could then push-to other targets, eg the galaxy M81, and it would be in the FOV of my low power eyepiece. A little nudge and there is M82. 

I found the app intuitive and never had to read a guide/manual. It includes a database of targets in the sky at the time you are observing. There’s also a host of filters, inc types of target,  brightness, distance from horizon, size, sorting, distance from a specific sky location.

Now, I do like to sky-hop and learn/find my own way around the sky. But the knowledge that if I get confused I can quickly locate a target is reassuring. Also been useful having a daughter who can be impatient (like most kids) with a beginner like me to star-hop. I’ve also used it to find planets during daylight. Eg back at the end of January my daughter had some friends over. We’d been looking at the sun in white light and as they were leaving at 5pm I decided to have a look and using the app see if we could find Jupiter. It was surprisingly successfully, seeing was very good and we could even clearly see the GRS despite contrast being a bit washed out in the daylight. The kids were really impressed that looking up at the sky there seemed to be nothing but in the telescope there was Jupiter with its banding & spot. Plus, as it got a bit darker, the moons slowly came into view. A lot of fun!

If you search the iPhone App Store for “PS Align Pro” you should find it. You do need the Pro version. Make sure you include a space after “PS “, otherwise the search can fail to find it. Or use the link…

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/polar-scope-align-pro/id970161373

[Starfazed]

How does that compare to Astrohopper which is a website (I guess you need to open it to load somewhere that you have mobile reception though of works off grid once loaded). 

 

https://artyom-beilis.github.io/astrohopper.html

 

Would that work on an iPhone? Or just Android? And are there any Android apps that do the same thing, ie attach phone to side of scope, align to known visible star, save position, choose mew target and phone's position sensors tell the phone when it (and there scope as well) are pointing at same target?

As I just got a goto I javemt tried it out but looks like a clever idea assuming it works precisely enough to be useful.

[cimh]

On 06/05/2023 at 19:06, PeterStudz said:

Yes, that’s basically it. PS Align Pro has a feature within it that will add PushTo capability to a telescope when using a compatible smartphone. I think that it’s just available for iPhone. You need to strap your phone to your OTA like shown in my picture above.

Thank you.  After your recommendation I bought the pro version for my iphone. And it is brilliant. Yes I like star hopping but my skies are not v dark. So for eg the beehive cluster is not visible to the naked eye when I am out around 11pm. I can find it instantly in binoculars but it can take forever with my 6" dobsonian. With align pro it is a piece of cake - First sync to Pollux then it directs me straight to the cluster. Wonderful. Same for the Hercules globular cluster. I've had no luck finding that directly with my scope. But with Align pro I sync on Vega then once again it takes me straight to the cluster using  a 15mm ep. Amazing. So far I've not been able to find the whirlpool galaxy using it. I have only had the scope our 6 or so times so Im new to this. The whirlpool is directly overhead align pro seems to struggle with that (as does my neck using the red dot finder!). Perhaps my scope is not big enough?   

[cimh]

On 10/05/2023 at 13:40, Starfazed said:

How does that compare to Astrohopper which is a website (I guess you need to open it to load somewhere that you have mobile reception though of works off grid once loaded). 

 

I could not find astrohopper on playstore but there is a program called Skeye. The desription sounds as if it is trying to do the same thing as ps align pro. But did you say you have just bought a goto? In which case you would not need this app?

[Starfazed]

19 minutes ago, cimh said:

I could not find astrohopper on playstore but there is a program called Skeye. The desription sounds as if it is trying to do the same thing as ps align pro. But did you say you have just bought a goto? In which case you would not need this app?

Indeed, I looked into the astrohopper when deliberating over what first telescope to get and got a goto in the end, as that could help ne find things and track them once found.. Seems to only be web based not app but sounded like a clever idea potentially.

[PeterStudz]

13 hours ago, cimh said:

Thank you.  After your recommendation I bought the pro version for my iphone. And it is brilliant. Yes I like star hopping but my skies are not v dark. So for eg the beehive cluster is not visible to the naked eye when I am out around 11pm. I can find it instantly in binoculars but it can take forever with my 6" dobsonian. With align pro it is a piece of cake - First sync to Pollux then it directs me straight to the cluster. Wonderful. Same for the Hercules globular cluster. I've had no luck finding that directly with my scope. But with Align pro I sync on Vega then once again it takes me straight to the cluster using  a 15mm ep. Amazing. So far I've not been able to find the whirlpool galaxy using it. I have only had the scope our 6 or so times so Im new to this. The whirlpool is directly overhead align pro seems to struggle with that (as does my neck using the red dot finder!). Perhaps my scope is not big enough?   

I’m pleased it’s worked for you and thanks for getting back and letting us know. The PushTo feature is brilliant (intuitive too) but is a little hidden in the app. I’m surprised that the developer doesn’t make more if it.

I have an 8” Dob and can never see the Whirlpool Galaxy in my Bortle 7 sky. Maybe a very faint smudge just once with adverted vision. However, I know that the app has found it because if I put my phone to the eyepiece and take a 30 sec exposure the Whirlpool Galaxy appears in the shot. Blurred without tracking of course but still unmistakable.

Edited May 22, 2023 by PeterStudz

[cimh]

4 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

I have an 8” Dob and can never see the Whirlpool Galaxy in my Bortle 7 sky. 

Thank you, Ah good so its not me. What about M101 Pinwheel Mag 7.8? Im guessing im Bortle 6 /7 too.  

 

 

[PeterStudz]

7 minutes ago, cimh said:

Thank you, Ah good so its not me. What about M101 Pinwheel Mag 7.8? Im guessing im Bortle 6 /7 too.  

 

 

The only galaxies that I’ve been able to see through my 8” Dob in my Bortle 7 back garden are M81 & M82 (you can get them together in the same FOV) and M31 - Andromeda. 

M81 & M82 are the best as it’s possible to make out some structure without much effort. M31 it’s just the core plus a little extent  or “fuzziness”. On a good night I can also just about make out the companion galaxy to M31 which is M32. 

[Stu1smartcookie]

On 30/04/2023 at 11:19, Ratlet said:

You could always scavenge a starsense unit from a cheap celestron scope.

A great idea that i have taken advantage of . 

[cimh]

19 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

The only galaxies that I’ve been able to see through my 8” Dob in my Bortle 7 back garden are M81 & M82

Thank you, Spotted both last night. Once again a big thumbs up to PS Align pro. Some years back I bought an expensive scope on a motorised mount with Goto. Its was heavy and took ages to set up (polar alignment, electrics, camera, laptop etc). Yes it worked but because it was such hard work I gave up using it and eventually sold it.  Because of my reliance on its goto system I did not learn much about the night sky. My 150mm dobsonian with this $2.99 app is so much more fun and easy to use. Of course the complex kit has major advantages and is essential for many aspects of astronomy, however with temperamental UK skies something that's quick to set up and use also has its advantages. 

[Artik]

On 22/05/2023 at 00:52, cimh said:

I could not find astrohopper on playstore

AstroHoppper is web app you just open the link https://artyom-beilis.github.io/astrohopper.html and you are good to go.

You can also install it for offline use line an ordinary app (see manual)

 

On 22/05/2023 at 00:52, cimh said:

but there is a program called Skeye.

SKeye uses compass for orientation (and for me was highly innacurate) while AstroHopper relies on gyro - sensors that exists in smart phones for AR/VR and have decent accuracy.

On 10/05/2023 at 15:40, Starfazed said:

Would that work on an iPhone?

Yes. It is free and open-source and thanks to the community help it runs on iPhone/iPad as well.

Disclosure: I'm the author of AstroHopper 🙂 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Artik

[cimh]

2 hours ago, Artik said:

AstroHoppper is web app you just open the link https://artyom-beilis.github.io/astrohopper.html and you are good to go.

You can also install it for offline use line an ordinary app (see manual)

Thank you Artik that looks interesting. I'll take a look at the manual (https://artyom-beilis.github.io/manual.html) and try it out on an android and an iphone.

[jock1958]

On 30/04/2023 at 11:32, PeterStudz said:

I use the PushTo feature in an iPhone app called PSAlign Pro. It cost (at the time £2.99). After aligning to a know objects(s) it’ll put a target within the FOV of my 25mm eyepiece every time. Something like Starsense might be better but you’d need to purchase a “cheap” telescope and as PSAlign Pro just works I can’t see the point! I’ve also used it, aligning to the sun with a white light filter, to locate the planets - Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn in complete daylight which has been very rewarding and fun. 

 

Hi Peter 

Just downloaded that app to my iPhone SE and it looks very, very promising, also sussed out the go to and align functions after a bit of digging around.
I’ve got an old phone holder and will look at mounting it on my 4” Tak over the weekend. 
As a visual Alt Az observer I’ve been looking for something like this for ages, and for £2.99 it saves a good bit on Celestrons Starsense. 

Many thanks for the heads up on this 👍
 

[irandar]

Hi folks, If you have an iphone you should look into using FinderCam . Plate solving is used to find the object. It requires mounting your phone on the scope. And now the developer has added use of the StarSense mount with mirror. I have been helping him with his English. It is now free on the app store. I have done a YT on it. 

Introducing FinderCam

https://youtu.be/uCnj5vVCvdM

[bosun21]

25 minutes ago, irandar said:

Hi folks, If you have an iphone you should look into using FinderCam . Plate solving is used to find the object. It requires mounting your phone on the scope. And now the developer has added use of the StarSense mount with mirror. I have been helping him with his English. It is now free on the app store. I have done a YT on it. 

Introducing FinderCam

https://youtu.be/uCnj5vVCvdM

How do you align the phone with the view in the eyepiece?

[PeterStudz]

7 hours ago, bosun21 said:

How do you align the phone with the view in the eyepiece?

I’ve download it. I have a phone mount on my 200p that should work. Just need the clouds to go away!

Under Settings there’s an option “Align Scope” - I’m guessing that might do it?