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Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | (show all) werewolf6977 Lord High Smasher Reged: 12/15/03 Loc: Hanover, Ohio Alignment tips here...       #158237 - 07/29/04 07:07 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Just a couple alignment tips here. 1/ if your Nexstar does not have index pointers for getting the ota orthagonal(perpendicular to the vertical axis of the mount) make some. It's easy, and speeds up the alignment process. 2/ Most of the time, a 2-star alignment well done is just as accurate as the auto-align, and simpler to do. No lat/long entries to do, no finding North. However, if you use the 2-star method, it will NOT goto the moon/planets unless you go into the Menu, and input date/time. 3/ Best Pair is a great little Windows app for determining the best alignment stars for a given time/evening. 4/ Speaking of Alignment Stars, don't do what I was doing, and assume that the ones the scope would choose are the best ones. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Play with it a little. For example with my N8, the old Vega-Arcturus pair is OK if you want to explore in, and around Lyra, but Altair-Arcturus gives better accuracy in, and around Cygnus, and coincidentally U Major. 5/ This is a big secret here: You DON'T have to use the goto universally! Yes, it's a great tool, but not critical. Try it the old fashioned way. Find your brighter objects with the star-pointer/finderscope. Starhop with it. Have fun. Above all, keep you sense of humor alive. 6/ That star-pointer can be replace with a magnifying finderscope relatively cheaply. No batteries to mess with, and it can help tweak a missed goto into view. Just some tips for newb, and oldster alike. Pete Post Extras:       square_peg Postmaster Reged: 03/26/04 Loc: Maple Valley, WA Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #158292 - 07/29/04 09:32 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: ... 3/ Best Pair is a great little Windows app for determining the best alignment stars for a given time/evening. ... Just some tips for newb, and oldster alike. Pete Is 'Best Pair' available as freeware/shareware somewhere? Post Extras:       b1gred Enginerd Reged: 04/01/04 Loc: Castle Rock, CO 6677' MSL Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: square_peg]       #158459 - 07/29/04 01:31 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   You can get "Best Pair" at http://www.ilangainc.com/bestpair/ It is "freeware" but they ask that you register it. Post Extras:       werewolf6977 Lord High Smasher Reged: 12/15/03 Loc: Hanover, Ohio Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: b1gred]       #158862 - 07/29/04 09:20 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Sorry about that, my bad. I got mine from Michael Swanson's Nexstar site. Address is www.Nexstarsite.com . Pete Post Extras:       Michael_Swanson super member Reged: 04/23/03 Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #159045 - 07/30/04 01:07 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Pete, Do you mean to say you got the software to suggest alignment stars at my site? If so, you were either suggesting Jean Piquette's program for generating suggested lists of alignment stars (found in the Downloads section) or NexStar Observer List which suggests stars on the Alignment Star Chart (which can also be printed - both the all sky charts and the suggested pairs). Both are freeware. Best regards, Mike Swanson Author of "The NexStar User's Guide" Author of "NexStar Observer List" http://www.NexStarSite.com Post Extras:       werewolf6977 Lord High Smasher Reged: 12/15/03 Loc: Hanover, Ohio Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: Michael_Swanson]       #159152 - 07/30/04 06:33 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Michael, I was speaking of Mr. Piquette's software. Extremely useful piece of code. Thank you for chipping in here sir. I will of course defer to your expertise with the Nexstar Series. Pete Post Extras:       werewolf6977 Lord High Smasher Reged: 12/15/03 Loc: Hanover, Ohio Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #159752 - 07/30/04 10:40 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Wow! Can I kill a thread, or what? Pete Post Extras:       square_peg Postmaster Reged: 03/26/04 Loc: Maple Valley, WA Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #159784 - 07/30/04 11:35 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Sometimes us little dogs have to fill in till the big dogs get here. Mike is Da Man when it comes to Nexstars. His site got me off to a good start. Still refer back to it when I'm not on CN. Post Extras:       werewolf6977 Lord High Smasher Reged: 12/15/03 Loc: Hanover, Ohio Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: square_peg]       #159927 - 07/31/04 08:16 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have gotten a lot of good stuff off of Mike's site. I just figured a sticky with what I know would be helpful. If any of y'all got any tips feel free to chip in. share the wealth! Pete Edited by werewolf6977 (07/31/04 08:17 AM) Post Extras:       square_peg Postmaster Reged: 03/26/04 Loc: Maple Valley, WA Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #160005 - 07/31/04 11:30 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Agreed. Yours is a great list of alignment tips and will be very helpful for Nexstar users. The order of the tips is correct, too. Make orthagonal marks and do two-star aligns. I made my marks shortly before the Table Mountain Star Party. With just a two-star alignment, every Messier Object I attempted was in the FOV (near center) of my 30mm Ultima at 33×. That method really works great. One thing I might add to your list is the importance of aligning the red-dot star pointer. This is easily done during the daytime by using an 'artificial star' like the red light on top of a radio antenna tower. With the pointer properly aligned, most objects are easy to find without goto (much more fun). Carefully study the objects position on a star chart and aim your pointer accordingly. If it's not in the FOV, try drawing imaginary lines through neighboring stars to more accuratlely place the red dot. This will help you learn the constellations and the names of stars to use in future two-star alignments. Great thread, Werewolf! Post Extras:       markf Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/13/04 Loc: Houston, TX Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #267547 - 11/30/04 05:06 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: 4/ Speaking of Alignment Stars, don't do what I was doing, and assume that the ones the scope would choose are the best ones. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Play with it a little. For example with my N8, the old Vega-Arcturus pair is OK if you want to explore in, and around Lyra, but Altair-Arcturus gives better accuracy in, and around Cygnus, and coincidentally U Major. Pete, Can you expand on this? Is GOTO only acurate for certain constellations, depending on the alignment stars you choose? Mark Post Extras:       werewolf6977 Lord High Smasher Reged: 12/15/03 Loc: Hanover, Ohio Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: markf]       #267652 - 11/30/04 06:39 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Mark see my response to your next post. Post Extras:       Anonymous Unregistered Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #448850 - 05/22/05 01:57 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Is there any way I can find out the Latitude and Longitude of where I live? For when I Align My scope? Post Extras:       rustynpp Pooh-Bah Reged: 08/27/04 Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: ]       #448925 - 05/22/05 02:52 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Is there any way I can find out the Latitude and Longitude of where I live? For when I Align My scope? I love this site. It's amazing how useful it is. http://www.zipinfo.com/search/zipcode.htm Post Extras:       Anonymous Unregistered Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: rustynpp]       #448938 - 05/22/05 03:01 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Quote: Is there any way I can find out the Latitude and Longitude of where I live? For when I Align My scope? I love this site. It's amazing how useful it is. http://www.zipinfo.com/search/zipcode.htm Thanks, I should have said but I live in England so I can't use that site! Thanks anyway Post Extras:       werewolf6977 Lord High Smasher Reged: 12/15/03 Loc: Hanover, Ohio Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: ]       #448977 - 05/22/05 03:42 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I think Skies Above can help. run a Google, and see what you find. Pete Post Extras:       Anonymous Unregistered Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: werewolf6977]       #448993 - 05/22/05 03:57 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   X: 419400m Y: 560000m Lat: 54:56:03N (54.9343) Lon: 1:41:53W (-1.6981) Thats what I get but how do I enter that into my HC as it displays a differnt format. Post Extras:       Anonymous Unregistered Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: ]       #449832 - 05/23/05 09:27 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I think you have what you need there. 54 deg, 56 min 3 sec North, 1 deg, 41 min, 53 sec W. FYI - for simple coordinate conversions, I use this freebie.. http://www.mentorsoftwareinc.com/freebie/FREE1198.HTM Post Extras:       haleymon Pooh-Bah Reged: 09/10/05 Loc: Spring, Texas N.W. of Houston Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: ]       #615144 - 09/25/05 02:47 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   This was a GREAT thread I leard quite a bit Thanks Guys Dave Post Extras:       Chris Emley member Reged: 04/24/04 Loc: San Francisco, Marin Re: Alignment tips here... [Re: haleymon]       #741574 - 12/22/05 07:42 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   You oughta try Google Earth (a free download from Google). I gives aerial surveys of most of the globe. I found my own backyard on it, centered the cursor on the concrete pad where I set up to stargaze, and read the very precise coordinates. Sure improved my Goto results! Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | (show all)

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