When I slew to an object using Starry Night it does not come in the FOV on the telescope. I have to make major adjustments to see the object. I check the coordinates in Starry Night and on my hand controller and the are way off. Any idea as to why this is happening and how to correct it.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Gerry D.
Hi Gerry,
Please provide the following information:
Thanks!
Here is the information that you requested.
INFORMATION REQUESTED
Here is the hand controller picture.
Hi Gerry,
If you align using the Orion P-1 polar alignment camera, then a ONE star alignment as directed by Orion Tech support, and just use the hand controller to slew from object to object, is the accuracy perfect, or at least much better than when using Starry Night? Can we eliminate the alignment process as the origin of this issue?
Thanks for the info and screenshots!
Hi Keiron,
Yes, just using the hand controller I have much better results. At least the object is in the FOV and all's I have to do is center it in the eyepiece. When I did the one star alignment (using Vega) with the HC the star is just about centered (not perfect). Then when I slew to another object (in this session) Saturn I get the same results. I then used Starry Night to slew to Saturn and it took Saturn out of the FOV and could not even see it.
I hope this helps in determining the cause of this problem and I deeply appreciate your attention to help solve it.
Respectfully,
Gerry D.
Please review the time and location as set in the hand controller, as well as what you have selected in Starry Night, and your computer OS.
Starry Night time is based on your computer operating system time. The two must be set correctly, and in sync. An error in either will result in a Starry Night error in calculation.
Thanks!
Also, what size eyepiece are you using when slewing to each target?
When I start up the mount I always set the time by the time on my computer (not to the seconds). As for the location are you referring to my location coordinates, (Tyner, NC.) which are Latitude: 36 degrees 14' N, Longitude -76 degrees 40' W, and elevation of 6 meters. These are the coordinates I have set in the HC and also in Starry Night. I usually use an 26 or 27 mm eyepiece to get started. If necessary I can send you some screen shots of each. When I just started using Starry Night I put in my zip code (27980) to find my location, but it didn't work very well, so I used the Latitude and Longitude boxes to fill in my location, which I think work good. I then went into my location box and saved it as Tyner NC and use that as my home location. I hope I did all this correctly. I will re-check all the data and give it another try, the next clear night, and let you know. In the meantime if you have any further information to share, please do. I can really use your assistance.
Thanks again
Hello Kerion,
I was able to get out last night and I did as you suggested. I had the H/C, Starry Night and computer all synced in time and location. I did the polar alignment as usual and it worked well, I did the one star alignment also with success. My object for last night was M45, Pleiades. I used Starry Night to slew to the object. The location in starry night and the location of the telescope (on the computer screen) were close but not spot on. So I used the hand controller to move the telescope on top of the target indicator in starry night. I figured starry night would be more accurate. Checked in the eyepiece and Pleiades was not in the FOV of the 26mm eyepiece. So I switched to a full 2" "Deep View 35mm eyepiece and still had to slew the scope more to find the target. Once on target the mount tracked fine and I was able to get some good pictures.
I apologize for a lengthy post, but I'm getting concerned about this issue. I realize that when locating a target that it's not "spot on". but it should at least be in the FOV so you can center it up. I am hoping that this is not a problem with the mount itself, so it would be great if you could (some how) rule out Starry Night as the problem.
Thank you for your time and all your assistance so far.
Respectfully,
Gerry D.
Hi Gerry,
From the SN8 User Guide:
#1 Check the electronic controller for your telescope and make sure that the time and location that your telescope is using match the values in Starry Night.
#2 If the view through your telescope still does not match what Starry Night is showing onscreen, use Starry Night to slew to an object that is easy to recognize, such as a bright star (see the next section for information on slewing your telescope to objects using Starry Night). Next, guide the telescope using its built-in control devices (a handbox or controls on the telescope itself), so that the bright star is at the center of your view when you look through the telescope eyepiece (i.e. the view in Starry Night will now match what you see through the eyepiece). Finally, open the Telescope Setup Pane by select- ing View-Show Telescope Setup and press the Align on Gaze button.
You have not mentioned doing #2 yet. So, please give it a try. Do this for a couple of stars. Starry Night will build a mathematical model around the calculated offset that will be used for future slew-to accuracy.
For a deeper understanding of why you may be experiencing this issue please see Tim Campbell's reply here:
