Beginner - Polar Alignment Challenge

[ericrin903]

I have my first astrophotography setup( star adventurer 2i, 135 rokinon lense & dslr) but have a challenge. I live on a steep hill and can only get visibility of Polaris from the back of my apartment. However  the Southern exposure to all of my photo targets is in the front of my apartment; I don't have a line of sight to both from anywhere at my location.

Is it possible to polar align my tracker and then carry the rig to a new location for shooting my targets assuming I point it directly South? Or do I need to think about a dedicated astro camera and do plate solving? Thank you

[AstroMuni]

25 minutes ago, ericrin903 said:

Is it possible to polar align my tracker and then carry the rig to a new location

Polar alignment (PA) needs to be done at the location where you are imaging from, so cant be done at a different place and then relocate the kit 😞

Suggest you get the Altitude alignment sorted when you can see Polaris. When you are at the imaging location, do an alignment with a compass and see if you get significant star trails. Note: Your mount will still need to point North (the Polarscope should still be pointed in direction of Polaris)

You are correct that to get accurate PA you would need to Platesolve (you dont need an Astro camera - a DSLR will do). Good luck.

Edited February 5 by AstroMuni

[Elp]

Learn to drift align using the darv method.

[LandyJon]

Not something I've ever done but I believe drift alignment is what you need.

Someone might be able to help further with it, or start researching it yourself. Its different to plate solving which just centres you on a target.

[Skipper Billy]

This might help you.....

 

[ericrin903]

thank you everyone, I'll definitely dig into all of these options.  A dumb question,  is a star adventurer the "right" equipment if I have to do plate solving or drift alignment?  or should start looking at more robust options?

[AstroMuni]

14 minutes ago, ericrin903 said:

is a star adventurer the "right" equipment if I have to do plate solving or drift alignment?  or should start looking at more robust options?

You can platesolve and drift alignment for PA using the Star adventurer 🙂 To make full use of platesolve (i.e to align to any object) you would need a goto mount.

Edited February 5 by AstroMuni

[900SL]

You can polar align using an Asi Air with a view south. Look up 'all sky polar alignment'. 

[Denys]

+ 1 for N.I.N.A. I have tried to use the DARV method but found it too cumbersome, while N.I.N.A. is very easy to use and works most of the time for me (although sometimes it fails). The downside is that you need to carry your laptop with you.