New to Astrophotography? Why aren't you plate solving???

So you started to dabble in Astrophotography? My question for you is: why aren't you plate solving? I talk about the reasons why you should start using it during your imaging sessions. I wish someone had told me about it sooner!

Here's some equipment I'm using for my setup:

Sky-Watcher EvoStar 100 APO Doublet Refractor Telescope

ZWO ASI183MC 20 Megapixel USB3.0 Color Astronomy Camera for Astrophotography

iOptron GEM28 Mount - Head with iPolar in Hard Case

ZWO M48 to M48 Extender / Spacer Ring with 16.5mm Extension # ZWO-M48-EXT16.5 (used to obtain precise back focus with field flattener)

ZWO Filter Drawer with M42 & M48 Threads - For 2" Mounted Filters # FD-M42

2" Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow Filter with IR Cut

Optolong 2" L-Enhance Dual Narrowband Light Pollution Filter (H-Alpha and H-Beta/O-III)

This eyepiece is awesome for visual astronomy with its wide field of view.
Alpine Astronomical Baader 76° Morpheus 17.5mm Eyepiece (1.25"/2")

This is a very well made barlow lens I've been using for visual astronomy. I found thought that this doesn't seem very compatible for astrophotography for my setup unless using the diagonal (only way to get camera focus).
Celestron 93436 Luminous 2-Inch 2.5x Barlow Lens (Silver)

This is a must have for astrophotography purposes.
Sky-Watcher S20201 Reducer / Corrector

Astromania M48X0.75 (2" Filter) Female to M42X0.75 T / T2 Male Thread Telescope Adapter (to achieve back focus with reducer/corrector)

Alstar Astronomical 2"/M48-extension Tube Kit for Cameras and eyepieces - Length 5mm 8mm 10mm 20mm 30mm - M48x0.75 on Both Sides (adapter to use with tubes for achieving back focus with reducer/corrector)

SVBONY Bahtinov Mask, Aluminum Alloy Bahtinov Focusing Mask, 85-120mm Caliber Fixed Diameter 80-135mm

I find this lightweight cart handy for hauling in/out a stack of organizer boxes and the mount case.
Leeyoung Folding Hand Truck and Dolly,309 lb Capacity Aluminum Portable Cart with Telescoping Handle and PP+EVA Wheels

Some gear for cleaning purposes:

UES Air Blower Dust Blaster for Digital, DSLR, SLR Cameras Sensor Lens Cleaning, Rubber Bulb Air Pump Dust Blower Cleaner - Black

UES APSC-16 DSLR and Mirrorless Digital Camera Sensor Cleaning Kits for APS-C Type CMOS and CCD Sensors (14pcs APS C Sensor Cleaning Swabs and 15ml Sensor Cleaner)

UES Lint Free Microfiber Cleaning Cloth for Lens, Eye Glasses, LED (8 Packs - 15cm x 15cm)

These are great for making sure you don't have any dust or dirty spots on your CMOS of your camera.
Beileshi Watch Repair Magnifier Loupe Jeweler Magnifying Glasses Tool Set with LED Light with 8 Interchangeable Lens-2.5X 4X 6X 8X 10x 15x 20x 25x

If you have to transfer images/files from your laptop to another computer for further processing, this external drive is very fast compared to something like a thumb drive.
SAMSUNG T7 1TB, Portable SSD, up to 1050MB/s, USB 3.2 Gen2, External Solid State Drive (MU-PC1T0H/AM), Blue

To avoid unrolling and rolling up power cables for each imaging session or setup where there's no outlet to connect to,, this is very convenient.
Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300, 293Wh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V/300W Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet

If you want to share your astro images so I can feature them in a future video, send them to my email:

[PeterK]

To enhance your view of the object, you can employ the "Auto Stretch" feature within the "Display Histogram Stretch" control in Sharpcap. With this option, most objects become visible even with brief exposures.

[diogenes]

Thanks for this video. I have just started to use Sharpcap for EAA. You explained that I need to change the exposure time for plate solving 20-30 seconds versus whatever I will use for live stacking.

[moonraft]

I am also a beginner in astrophotography and I tottaly agree with you. I had my light bulb moment in May last year and since then I am using platesolving. Thank you for this video. I am also using the same gear. Cheers

[bluelemon]

Amazing video Mark! Its amazing to see how far you've come!

[anata]

Double plate solving for correct adjustment tells that you need star alignment for 5-10 stars, solve backlash problem of mount and use Sharpcap for PA.

[celestromel]

How did we survive without plate solving?

[KJRitch]

Thank you. I purchased an ASIAir Plus and this introduced me to plate solving. It was one of the reasons I purchased the product. However I’ve been having issues with its plate solving. I have a C8 SCT with and AVX mount. Like you did I’m starting out with a planetary camera, ASI585MC, to dabble in DSO. I find in native focal length, 2032mm, and the ASI585MC the ASIAir plate solving fails. Maybe the field of view is too small or my camera sensor is too small. It’s 11.2mm x 6.3mm, 3840x2160 resolution and 2.9 pixel size. It isn’t until I install my 6.3 focal reducer does ASIAir plate solving work. I noticed in your video that every time you plate solve SharpCap will also sync to mount. I’m not sure ASIAir does that. When you choose and object in ASIAir it will slew to a target and if you did everything right in the setup, it will plate solve and center. If it fails it will try several times automatically. But sometimes it just gets lost. Maybe the field of view is still a little small for some section of sky. I don’t have a Windows PC, just a 2015 MacBook Pro but I’m testing a trial of Parallels 19 with Windows 11 Home to try out some of the Windows only programs. Using Stellarium with SharpCap and All Sky Plate Solver and PHD2 looks like a good setup without going to the complications of NINA. I’m a beginner too but I’m far behind you. You’ve given me something to think about for a plan B solution. Have you tried to plate solve on a planet like Jupiter? Were you able to get it centered?

[jesuschrist]

Sorry for the dumb question but using platesolving in nina i dont need star alignments? Dont see it as an option in nina

[dannyhull]

I'm not plate solving because I'm using a C8 and a Canon F-1 with ISO 1600 film. Any suggestions on where I might find helpful information on this type of astrophotography?

[davidletz]

"New to Astrophotography? Why aren't you plate solving???"

Since I am new to astrophotography, I don't even know what plate solving is... 😉