21 replies to this topic

[davidparks]

Along with a few other enhancements and optimizations, ASIAIR now has a Sky Atlas (planetarium), from which you can search, drag around, and Goto.  It shows your current Field of View, and Framing (rotation), for both Preview and Actual.  You can still select objects from the database lists, and from there either GoTo, or Center in the Sky Atlas view.  If you don't like a list of objects, you can just enter the Sky Atlas in the lower left of the main screen and drag around a-la Sky Safari like 

 

My front yard isn't great, with the neighbors unshielded lights and the street lamp, but I had to go out for a test drive.  Good enough to give an idea. 

 

 

 

[hornjs]

Nice David!  Is this feature already released in a new update or pending in the near future?

[IvanTr]

Does it only work if we have internet connection? If you are outside and connected to the AsiAir wifi, is there a way to use Sky Atlas? Thanks.

[davidparks]

It's in Public Testing now.  No internet required.

[alphatripleplus]

I wonder if they will add something like that to ASIStudio, if they incorporate mount control.

[GoFish]

Nice!  I think I’ll find that very useful. 
 

Any progress towards allowing the user to balance the color channels during preview and live stacking in the 1.9 update?

[Andrew_L]

This is the one feature I have long felt was lacking in the ASIair App. I do hope it lives up to expectations. The list of targets is all very well, and I’m glad they’re keeping that feature, but there’s nothing quite as good as  also being able to use a planetarium to control a mount. Over the years I’ve used two different planetarium applications  for mount control - Cartes du Ciel and KStars. It makes all the difference to enjoying the hobby, both for simple observing and in astrophotography. I know it’s possible to link SkySafari to the ASIair, but I found it all a bit of a flaff. So much nicer to have it all integrated on one device. I’m really keen to see how well this works. 

[DavidWasch]

My only concern is that the atlas will slow down the AsiAir. If the performance of live stacking and other memory intensive applications isn't hindered, I'm thrilled to have an atlas be part of the mix.

[Andrew_L]

That’s a good point, David. I suppose it depends how much processing it does when not in use. Hopefully not much. 

[davidparks]

In two nights of testing  (one night on Plus at 350mm focal length, one night on Pro at 1300mm) I haven't experienced any type of performance hit, no lag or hiccups.  It's nice to be able to open the Sky Atlas and 'drag around' looking for my next target while Live Stacking continues.  It is immediately responsive, and doesn't seem to interfere with any background operations such as guiding, stacking, or downloading images.

 

I would consider this a 'Sky Atlas Lite' perhaps... when zoomed out it depicts the constellations, and when zooming in the constellations fade to reveal the deep sky objects.  I assume it includes everything in ASIAIR's object lists (I cannot verify that, but there seems to be correlation).  You can select/highlight them with a touch, Center an object in the Sky Atlas view, Goto the Object, or Goto your FOV, which is very nice for framing a group of targets 'just so'.  Certainly it is not as robust or full featured like Sky Safari, Cartes Du Ciel, or other such dedicated planetarium software.  You cannot specify grids or limiting magnitudes or simulate past/future skies with time-lapse for example.  As an interactive search, point and Goto assistant, the ASIAIR Sky Atlas is a powerful tool.

[DavidWasch]

Thank you for the additional information David. That's good news.

 

I actuallly prefer a simplified atlas. ZWO seems to have included the necessary functionality. It would be good to confirm the completeness of the catalogs, but adding objects would be relatively easy update.

 

On the "wouldn't it be cool" wishlist is the ability to track asteroids and some satelites. Unlikely to see that though.

[GoFish]

Thanks very much for sharing this review!  Looking forward to having the sky atlas available on my AAPro.

[MELeslie67]

Has a beta been released for the Android, have be using on IOS and love the Sky Atlas. 

[Jay6879]

This is amazing. Previously I'd be flipping back and forth between Telescopius and the Asiair app to check framing, now I can do it all in app. ZWO is killing it with the asiair.

[Cliff Hipsher]

Has a beta been released for the Android, have be using on IOS and love the Sky Atlas. 

A stable build has been released.  Click the Mobile App tab

[psy1280]

Do you think you could explain exactly how to navigate Sky Atlas? I downloaded it this afternoon and won't have a clear sky for at least a week. I tried using it indoors, but other than moving the boxes around, I couldn't get the icons to do anything. I know...I'm impatient! But thanks for any feedback.

[Charliedelta]

Cheers David,

 

I found a YouTube from Windy City Astro' that gives an overview. Worth checking out

[Andrew_L]

I played around with the sky atlas feature for the first time last night and was nicely impressed. I think it will be a real aid to framing objects. I was also pleasantly surprised to find it included the comet C/2017 K2 PANSTARRS.  That got me wondering how up to date the sky atlas is with new objects like comets - although I realise that C/2017 K2 isn’t a new object. Does anyone know how soon new objects are included? Is it possible to check for and install updates, or is it just when the app updates occasionally? 

[Cliff Hipsher]

I played around with the sky atlas feature for the first time last night and was nicely impressed. I think it will be a real aid to framing objects. I was also pleasantly surprised to find it included the comet C/2017 K2 PANSTARRS.  That got me wondering how up to date the sky atlas is with new objects like comets - although I realise that C/2017 K2 isn’t a new object. Does anyone know how soon new objects are included? Is it possible to check for and install updates, or is it just when the app updates occasionally? 

ZWO is kinda tight lipped about their update process, and they don't have a "nightly build" or a classical beta testing program like open source developers do, so we just have to wait.

[72Nova]

The sky atlas is a great new feature and I use it to frame all of my images. Once you get it framed up the asiair will remember how it was framed so you can shoot subsequent nights with the exact framing.

The asiair keeps getting better

[Andrew_L]

The sky atlas is a great new feature and I use it to frame all of my images. Once you get it framed up the asiair will remember how it was framed so you can shoot subsequent nights with the exact framing.

The asiair keeps getting better

Is there a save current pointing option now? 

[mhtelescoper]

This has been a great addition to the ASIAir app and I have found it to be really helpful in framing targets as others have mentioned.

 

So much so that the other night I tried using it with just my camera attached (no mount, no tracking, no guiding... just a DSLR).  I was able to Plate Solve and get the coordinates and also do things like Annotate Stars from the tools menu.  But when I clicked the Sky Atlas, all I had was the Red "Target" box centered around Polaris (I was not aimed at Polaris) and no Blue "Sope" Box.

 

Has anyone tried to use it in this way with success?  Essentially, I'm seeing if this is feasible to use with my Star Adventurer when I'm shooting with a simpler setup (no scope, no mount, no guiding, etc... Just my camera on the Star Adventurer).  But having this to help with finding/framing targets would be nice.

Edited by mhtelescoper, 09 September 2022 - 11:55 AM.