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The Starwave 50mm Guide Scope and Altair GPCAM2 Package is the perfect combo for this Polar Alignment process. My current autoguiding setup is the perfect combo for the SharpCap Polar Alignment process. SharpCap explains that a focal length of about 200mm works best. A guide scope in the 50mm-60mm range has the ideal focal length for this process.
![astrotoaster with backyardeos astrotoaster with backyardeos](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QBoDkZVgKbU/maxresdefault.jpg)
I later discovered that using my guide camera and guide scope was a much better option for using Polar Alignment in SharpCap. The magnification of the long (714mm) focal length of my ED102 was way too much to make any fine adjustments. The only hiccup I had was when I tried to use my primary imaging camera through the telescope to plate solve the images. I found the process to be quite easy to understand and complete my first time through. The Altair Starwave 60mm guide scope pictured above has a focal length of 225mm, which is in the sweet spot for this Polar Alignment process. A guide scope with a 200mm – 300mm focal length is ideal SharpCap uses plate solving to scan the images and then tells you how much you need to move your mount to increase the accuracy of your Polar Alignment. I will be using SharpCap for all of my future astrophotography imaging sessions to confirm the accuracy of my Polar Alignment.īasically, SharpCap takes two pictures near the pole and analyzes them to judge the accuracy of your Polar Alignment. The fine-tuning I made to my telescope mount made a difference in my autoguiding graph. In the video below, I roughly demonstrate the Polar Alignment process in SharpCap pro.
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While this method gave me good results, SharpCap can achieve a level of accuracy that rivals a QHY PoleMaster device. My previous method of Polar Alignment involved using the Polar Finder app for a readout of the current night’s position for Polaris. Increase Your Accuracy without a PoleMaster A more accurate Polar alignment will be evident in your autoguiding graph, and in your individual image frames. I think we can all agree that improving the accuracy of the telescope mount can improve our astrophotography images. SharpCap was designed for dedicated astronomy imaging cameras, and can not be used with a DSLR.
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This includes the Altair Hypercam 183C I will be reviewing later this month.
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In fact, all astronomy cameras sold by Altair Astro in 2017 include a license to SharpCap pro. SharpCap supports a wide variety of astronomy imaging cameras including models from Altair Astro, ZWO, and QHY. SharpCap is an extremely easy-to-use astronomy camera capture tool, and I use it to frame and focus my target when using a CCD Camera for a night of imaging.
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In this post, I’ll briefly cover why I think you should start using SharpCap for astrophotography, and how to use the Polar Alignment feature to improve your images. This useful feature can make a big impact on your astrophotography tracking and guiding accuracy.
#Astrotoaster with backyardeos pro
SharpCap Pro introduced the Polar Alignment feature in version 2.9, and backyard astrophotographers have been taking advantage ever since. This procedure is quick and easy and can make a huge difference to your astrophotography. Align the RA Axis of your astrophotography mount to the North Celestial Pole using Polar Alignment in SharpCap Pro.