NINA NEW Polar Alignment - HOWTO use

[@realmcerono]

Latest version has a "start from current position" button. So you can manually point your mount whereever you want and start.

[@yangyunbo1]

thats amazing.it means i can polar alignment in my south balcony？

[@jplorge]

@@yangyunbo1 Hi, yes you can, i use it only in my south balcony between 4 weeks, follow the update to have corrections

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for letting me know! It's crazy how it's getting improvements so quickly!

[@billblanshan3021]

Yep, just tested the start from current position, works great!!!

[@billblanshan3021]

So, after leaving my mount in the same position as last night, I went ahead and ran the PA function tonight and it said I was off, which was strange as I never moved it, so after redoing the PA and running it a second time to confirm, I started imaging, but this time my drift was off 12 min. So maybe they still need to work out some bugs as it didn't seem to be consistent. Please check on your end too as this might not be reliable

[@ronniesvensson]

I’m already looking forward to your drift alignment test. Such a cliff hanger! 😃

[@andreya108]

Yes. And one can try play with settings. I've noticed that results are slightly different with different settings. Looks like there is a space for some polishing of Nina's PA algorithm. But in any case PHD2's DA can be a judge.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep - if the clouds let me :/

[@FrankSD76]

Thanks! Excellent tutorial. I’ve also watched your later one in which you use PhD2 to verify the polar alignment, and that will good confirmation.

[@astrojw1039]

I tried this the other night. It works extremely well. In fact last night after I was done imaging, I took the polemaster to see how close it was. I found it was only slightly off. This can be used without using a polemaster or other tools, as I do feel confident this add on is that good. I can see polaris, but its neat you can use any point of the sky to do this. I can see getting used to it, it would actually be faster than the polemaster.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

At some point, I will need to get my hands on a Polemaster!

[@andersgengard1726]

Hi Cuiv. Yet another good video, thank you... After guiding with PHD2 for a while, you can just check the the Polar Alignment Error under the Drift-tab in PHD Log Viewer. No need to run the Guiding Assistant or to Drift Align to find out. I use to check the guiding performance in the Log Viewer now and then during my photo sessions without need to paus the exposures.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks! I ended up using the guiding assistant (upcoming video), but this is good to know!

[@amrikarim]

Someone paid attention in math class and made a NINA plugin for everyone. Thanks!

[@marcycohen1996]

I'm a newbie - just got my setup and feeding from the firehose - I have a wonderful view of the sky from the South to the West but no Polaris so this is a total lifesaver - thank you so much for the video Cuiv!!! Also the one on using the AZ GTI mount in EQ mode - that is part of my setup so also invaluable

[@nickswimsfast]

Cuiv, I did some testing with this and found it to be much more repeatable and accurate results when I expanded the measure point distance to up to 45°. This is much closer to the RA axis sweep range that we use in sharpcap. I found my results to be much more repeatable when i did this. In order to set this up I changed my Alt, Az start point to be roughly @ 45 degrees to sweep evenly across the home position. I'd recommend you try that. I suspect you'll get more consistent results between sharpcap and nina if you do that. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Nick! I'll do some more tests when time allows!

[@Lasidar]

Would love to see some more experimentation around which is more accurate (SharpCap vs. Nina vs. Polemaster), and maybe validate using PHD2 drift alignment as others have said? It would be awesome to see the results.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep, waiting for the weather to allow such a test!

[@UruPTer]

Hi, cuiv, Tested with SharpCap and the plugin, both agree if you do not set the "Correct for Atmospheric Refraction" in SharpCap. Only about 5" to 6" diff. Then they both use the "apparent" celestial pole with no compensation for Atmospheric Refraction. Otherwise there is indeed a big discrepancy. Good to see that you are back in business.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Very interesting! Thank you for this (along with others pointing out the atmospheric refraction) - it gives me more to test! :D

[@michael.a.covington]

Theoretically, this problem should go away if you use NINA aimed high in the sky rather than at the pole.

[@billblanshan3021]

Cuiv, I have already done comparisons with iPolar and Sharp cap and also compared against PhD drift analysis. Nina is far more accurate and I have been staying under an arc minute typically for the whole night. One suggestion, if you're wanting to polar align in the direction of Polaris, set your altitude values to the same as your GPS altitude value i.e. 29,38,0. And for AZ, set 0,1,0. Keep east direction off and stay at 10 degree movements.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you for the details! I will try that!

[@1AngryDpg]

I would also be interested in seeing how PoleMaster compares with PHD-2 Drift Alignment, SharpCap, & Nina.

[@derekderek2570]

Easy. It's the best...if you have line of sight on Polaris.

[@beatsntoons]

+1. I use the Polemaster which is very quick and accurate. But I don't like the process of manually selecting stars. Plus the Polemaster aligns the mount, not the scope. I'd like to use the Polemaster to align the mount, and then NINA to "sync" the scope to the Pole (means quicker and more accurate go-to later). Aligning the mount should remove any issues with field rotation

[@1cezet]

I have compared polemaster, sharpcap pro and NINA doing polar alignment. All 3 give slightly different results. But since I am using NINA for the whole process of framing, focusing and sequencing the session, I stick with NINA.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I need to get my hands on a PoleMaster first :)

[@User1dentification]

Hi all, very interesting Video. I got everytime different values between Polemaster and ASIAir Pro focusing methode... Currently I trust Polemaster more as it is a dedicated device for only one purpose and now lots of years on the market... but due to that I'm not 100% sure what methode is superior... Keep up doing such greate Videos I stay tuned.

[@enriqueboeneker]

I really like your inquisitive approach, and try to verify the result obtained with one piece of software with another. Thanks for sharing and keep that critical point of view!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Absolutely, thanks Enrique!

[@enriqueboeneker]

¡Hola, Cuiv! I used this polar alignment last week. Have to admit that it is quite cool and easy to use. Unfortunately for me did not have the results I expected, since I had some issues with my guiding, even the stars I got were not so round. I have a simple Celestron AVX mount, and today I polar aligned it as I used to do before: with the any star polar align that this scope has built in. Now my guiding is decent again and my stars fairly round. So, just wanted to let you know about my personal experience with NINA’s polar alignment compared to the one built in my mount. Again, Cuiv, thanks for sharing! Cheers!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hi Enrique, actually that makes sense to me! Mounts like the AVX tend to have large DEC backlash, and for those a less than perfect polar alignment, such as the one obtained with the ASPA, can be better (as it basically makes DEC guiding mainly occur in a single direction)

[@rifleman175]

Speaking from the perspective of an astrophotographer in Singapore at only 1 deg N, I can positively confirm that there does appear to be some error between the polar alignment value reported in NINA polar alignment vs the PHD2 drift alignment. However, I have trusted NINA and went on to have fantastic results when polar aligning with it. The best part for me is it saves me tons of time on polar alignment, so more time could be spent enjoying taking those sweet images! Keep up the good work Cuiv! Merci beaucoup pour tes videos!

[@christiangloor6504]

I'm 5 degrees South, in Indonesia, and noticed the same. Aligned with NINA and checked with PHD2 to find that it was not spot on. I didn't dare imaging directly, so I adjusted in PHD2. Next time, I'll try directly after NINA's alignment.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Very interesting - so it does seem like atmospheric refraction is playing a role here. Thanks for letting me know! I really need to test against PHD2

[@richardshagam8608]

I just ran the NINA 3 point alignment for the first time. Wow!!! I compared it to PHD2 drift alignment. Spot on!!! (also the first time I ran NINA, as well--everything works!)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It really is quite good :)

[@lepetitbaigneur9073]

cant wait to try this method. Tried it few nights ago, but idk what i did bad and it did not work. Hopefully next clear night ill figure out how to PA correctly

[@AstroDenny]

This is great- I love NINA more and more as I use it. On a side note, my IDAS NBZ shipped. I'll do a side-by-side with it and an L-eNhance with my RASA and send you results.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Ooooh awesome on the NBZ!! I do expect it to perform better in the same conditions, so looking forward to that!

[@oscpe262]

Looking forward to the drift alignment test, unless I get some clear skies to try it out myself before my SharpCap license runs out in roughly a week. :D I really hope the NINA solution works well enough!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Definitely! Meh, even if it's off by 1/10th of a degree, with autoguiding it doesn't matter much. It can even be better if your DEC has a lot of backlash!

[@martrich1098]

As ever, thanks for this insightful video! I am looking forward to the next installment as a lot of my imaging is done from my south facing balcony

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Clouds are making a next installment difficult but it's definitely part of the plan!

[@thedonahoes]

Loving all the new content, and happy you are doing better.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@michaelkuper8268]

Awesome vid - I almost wish I would have found it before I spent $253 on an iPolar electronic polar scope. My only reservation about using NINA for PA is my longer focal length 'scopes make the adjustment very touchy and I have to do a bit of back and forth to zero in to an arc-minute or less.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

To be honest I've never felt like such precise polar alignment is absolutely needed - anything less than like 5 arcminutes is fine as long as you're guiding imo!

[@michael.a.covington]

Hello, Cuiv... I haven't used NINA 3-point polar alignment myself yet, but if I understand the geometry correctly, it should be more accurate when used a long way away from Polaris -- such as near the celestial equator. As I understand it, it is doing the same thing as drift alignment -- looking for non-parallelism of the telescope's RA motion with the actual lines of declination. So the farther you get away from Polar, the bigger this discrepancy will be, for any given polar alignment error.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Actually no! It doesn't rely on the RA motion, actually the more RA has time to drift, the worse the TPPA is! So if you were far off from PA in the first place, there was a lot of drift, and doing TPPA twice in a row is best!

[@anata5127]

Some info on polar alignment in NINA and SharpCap. I PA aligned in NINA, run 10-star model in 10 micron, PA accuracy calculated by 10 um was 70”. I done the same with Sharpcap PA. 10 um after the same modeling showed 14”. Interestingly, using my previous mount AVX with their software, I was consistently getting the same outcome Sharpcap is better than NINA in PA. Then, I thought “Celestron is probably more compatible with Sharpcap”. Now, it is settled for me: Sharpcap is better in PA.

[@ColinDies]

Isn't it funny how when the lights are turned off, we naturally speak more quietly? Love the video, and am going to attempt this tonight. :)

[@majortom4338]

Thanks a lot. Your video came just in time as I am currently planning the restart of this hobby

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent! Wishing you all the best restarting the hobby!

[@majortom4338]

Maybe one advise from your side? I am medium experienced, get good 60 Second subs. For my ioptron cem25p, stock DSLR, no guiding under bortle5, would you recommend a 60/360 FPL53 dublet or 72/432 dublet in same quality. So my question is about the focal length. I can't decide yet...thanks a lot in advance. BR from Germany

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

@@majortom4338 I'd personally go for the lower focal length, since it's lighter and easier to guide. Don't forget a focal reducer/field flattener!

[@felipeleon_astrofotos]

As soon as the winter clouds go away, I'll try to compare this NINA plugin with phd2 drift alignment. My balcony looks directly to north, so these are the only options I have to polar align, since Sigma Octantis is completely to the other side 🤷🏻‍♂️. Happy to have another option with this plugin now. Thanks again for your video, Cuiv!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome, let us know how it goes!

[@ryanmichaelhaley]

I love my Go-To EQ6-R, but man I love PA with the SGP iPolar. It's like a mini-game.

[@dadthespanners]

Thanks for the helpful video. I’m going to give Nina a try. I’m having real problems with star aligning my Eq6r. Possibly suspect cone errors? Further investigation required there. Nina looks useful. Thanks again.

[@matthewbrown8679]

Sharpcap is much more responsive in live view with my qhy600m camera. Makes it better for a lot of things that NINA would otherwise be much better for. But it can be very nice to have polar alignment options that dont require polaris. It means I can move my scope about a foot or two to the north towards the fence and neighbor's wall, which is going to be a lot more practical, and will open up a lot of the southern sky.

[@VikramHarinath]

Thanks for this. I was looking at Sharpcap but, since I don't have a guide scope & guide camera, and use a C8 SCT (with f/6.3 reducer) and a ASI294MC Pro (with IR Cut Filter), Sharpcap didn't seem to suit my purpose (and I didn't way to pay money just for it to not work). I live in the Southern Hemisphere and can't see Polaris - well Sigma Octantis that is - very well (amongst other things like tree cover). NINA looks like it will suit my needs just right for Polar Alignment. FYI: currently have an ASIAIR Plus on backorder that will come who knows when so being able to hook things up to a laptop in the meantime is awesome. Additionally, seeing this video, I will also need to give GSS a go! Also going to use Stellarium/CDC as well. I have a HEQ5 Pro mount. For me, my main purpose is EAA, so this is more than suitable. I was going to look at ASI Live (as part of their ASI Studio PC software) for live stacking as well (and ASIAir App on the iPad when I finally get my ASIAIR Plus).

[@suwandicahyadi9213]

Thank you for the information. This is a good feature for someone who live in a area where polaris cannot be seen. But for this, do we need to point to where we can see any star? Is it possible to start at any random position even where there is no star can be seen?

[@Boekoe12]

i used this polar allignment technique and it said barely any errors, when doing a 60sec exposure i had insane amount of star trail.

[@jesuspineiro1622]

It may be due to mount periodic error and not due to alignment. You must check it

[@mif1118]

That is weird. I use this new method with NINA and can get 300s exposures with guiding without any sign of star trails (imaging through a 80mm f6 refractor).

[@Boekoe12]

@@jesuspineiro1622 i Will look into this, but with a quick look I think I don’t have backlash/worm gear problems.

[@Boekoe12]

@@mif1118 it was quite wierd not sure what went wrong. Because the night before it was fine I thought.

[@backgammonbacon]

Was your mount sidereal tracking? These tools leave the mount stationary while aligning you then need to star align/set tracking rate of your mount as normal afterwards.

[@jesuschrist2284]

After using this once, i dont even look through my polar scope any more. My lazy old back and knees send you thanks :)

[@tjeyko40]

Thanks for continuing to produce these videos Cuiv! I hope to give this a try my next time out!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome! I have an upcoming video where I compare NINA to Sharpcap in a more rigorous manner and the results are unexpected!

[@tjeyko40]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I can't wait to see it and the results!

[@southbronxny5727]

Good tutorial. I use ipolar to monitor alignment at all times throughout the night because polar alignment moves during the session.

[@peterlaubscher3989]

Thank you - great review. I hope to try it this weekend. Clouds tonight in Cape Town. Appreciate these reviews very much.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for the feedback, glad it is helpful!

[@redabdab]

Thanks for this Cuiv. I am excited to try this new feature of NINA, so this is super helpful!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's really good, I hope you enjoy!

[@IonutNedelcu]

As usual, a very informative video. I've just started using NINA and I haven't had the courage to use this tool, but I will have to in the summer as I won't be able to see Polaris any more. Could you go over the setting of the limits in EQmod at some point, please? That would be very good!

[@mif1118]

Hello Cuiv, I am using the PA routine in NINA since it is available (having a south facing balcony in the northern hemisphere) and have very good results with it. I am just going for an error < 3' and then start taking photos. With guiding, I can easily take 300s subs without star trails on my 80mm refractor. So it seems the alignment data NINA provides is quite good.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for letting me know! I will really want to check via PHD2!

[@Astrofotografie]

This way of polar alignment is also used on ASA Direct Drive mounts, works very well, I always did it 2-3 times.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Great to know! Thank you!

[@elritualk]

Hi, nice video. I want to ask: Do you use the three point polar alignment with the guide scope + camera scope or the main imaging camera + the main scope? Thanks.

[@massibegous7261]

Thank you for the clarity of your tutorials. In my version NINA 1.10 HF3 in French, I do not have access to plug-ins, let alone the one for polar alignment

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for the feedback! Yes you need NINA 1.11 for this (nightlies)

[@peterkudzinowski1274]

Hi Cuiv. I tried the Nina 3 point last night and found it got close but not as good as sharpcap. I hope they can make this more accurate as it a very easy way to polar align. Great video as always

[@jimwaters304]

This may not be the case. You need to do a very accurate Drift Alignment then determine which is more accurate.

[@EmeraldHillsSkies]

Thanks Cuiv! i’ve taken note of this feature, but Polaris is very available and i’m super comfortable polar-aligning now in Sharpcap. But what i’ll be watching for is your determination of which routine is more accurate! : ) thanks for all you do for the hobby. tell me this: how much back pain do you have now at this point in your recovery after the accident?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! I have back pain especially after exerting myself, but manageable (and no pain meds). Those huge rods and screws in my spine don't help. In a few months, I should be able to get them removed and hope the pain will be gone!

[@EmeraldHillsSkies]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek May it be do. I’m praying right now that you will be able to recover 100%. Glad for your willingness to help all of us learn from all the time you’ve invested. Thankful for your resilience.

[@oskarinikkinen102]

I am not guiding in DEC and rely on very accurate PA for imaging, going to have to try this next time i get a chance as i would love to just use NINA for everything. I will say that Sharpcap PA agrees with my guidegraph, DEC barely moves when i have polar aligned to some arcsecond accuracy.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

DEC Drift will be the final arbiter indeed!

[@jimwaters304]

Looking forward to your Drift Alignment vs. N.I.N.A. vs. SharpCap analysis.

[@msacco]

As far as reviews goes so far, NINA beats them by far.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Me too :D The clouds are not as excited though!

[@terrybrooks395]

Hey Cuiv, loving all the great information, thanks, is there a way do achieve the alignment when using the NINA file camera as I don't have a dedicated astro camera, just my Fujifilm X-H2

[@aescaffre]

I have noticed using the plugin plate solving works only if I use at least 2x binning . 1x fails to plate solve (imx570 sensor)

[@Hidden.Light.Photography]

Hello, awesome video!! I tried using this last night in Phoenix, Arizona and NINA kept wanting to point the OTA down toward the ground. If I manually slewed and started from current position it would not engage tracking and could not plate solve. I have a Celestron AVX mount. Any suggestions? I am sure the wanting to point toward the ground is due to the azimuth and altitude settings as I have left them default, but I am very new to this and not sure what to set them at.

[@Ronbo765]

I’ve had this prob with the AVX with APT. Never figured it out but make sure ur longitude, lat and time are correct. I deleted any previous alignments in CPWI. It finally stopped, but I’m always nervous about the problem happening again.

[@peterraymond3653]

Thanks for another fantastic vid. Is that the beta version you are using? I don't have the plug in icon on my nina screen.

[@barrycampbell532]

I just left all at default and started NINA Polar Align here just north of Sydney Australia. Telescope rotated north then pointed to the ground. NCP???. Restarted this time remained pointing close SCP. Plate Solved but I seemed to spend a long time getting as close to zero error on both Alt and Az. PHD2 had a hard time keeping up with drift. Checked in Sharp Cap and was way out. Aligned in Sharp Cap PHD2 and guiding sweet as usual. To be fair there was a Update to NINA PA yesterday but I think I am used to Sharo Cap and have a years sybscription to go. Still like NINA for everything else.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Interesting - have you tried asking on the NINA Discord? I know they have some main members in NZ, so it's likely this was taken into account.

[@barrycampbell532]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Will Do also try the update to NINA PA tonight if weather keeps clear.

[@barrycampbell532]

Clouds so not tonight

[@barrycampbell532]

Last night 10th Sept 2021 I installed update to PA in NINA and compared it to Sharp Cap. Leaving all at default this time the telescope did not slew North and look for worm holes in the lawn but angled about 60 degrees East from SCP facing and plate solved. Azimuth error was a adjusted to -00' 00' 04"and Altitude -00' 00'03" Total Error 00" 00" 05". Then checked in Sharpcap Polar Align Error 00'03'29". Right 00'03:29 Up 00:00:10. So something like I think you got but not too bad.

[@louisrosner7902]

Loved the video. Have to try it and do my own test against my pole master which I’ve been very happy with. Also loved my new T-shirt. The coffee mug looks beautiful but needs to be bigger. Doesn’t hold enough coffee.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

So cool the t-shirt and mug arrived! Glad you liked them, but yes, more coffee is always better :D

[@morbli]

you can use 'guiding assistant' in PHD2 to double check the real polar alignment error

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep, definitely want to do that! I wanted to image quickly on that night, but now I'm waiting for further clear nights

[@EODHammer]

My QHY polemaster does this. It's usually 3 arc minutes or so off of what sharpcap gives me. I never have figured out which is more accurate. I had issues with the polemaster drivers so it's just sitting on the mount doing nothing at the moment. Looking forward to giving this a shot once it cools down a bit here.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah, in the end we're kind of slitting hairs (at least when autoguiding)

[@Messi_2.0]

Hi there, can this also work if a DLSR is the camera on a star adventurer?

[@xpanderxsert2613]

Thanks for this share. I will lovely try it with my new AM5 next week :)

[@christianvulpescu1398]

Hey Cuiv, recently I've whached an interview on KZbin with one of the founders of PHD2. He revealed shocking news regarding perfect polar alinement! He told, that PHD2 works best if you have an error of 2 to 10 arc seconds in your polar alinement! He also claimed, that there won't be any field rotation error in that range. I'm still shocked!😅 Greetings from Germany, Christian

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha that sounds like something I want to watch! I don't have the precision needed to be within a few arcseconds anyway :p

[@christianvulpescu1398]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek "PHD2 a quick breakdown- Bruce Weddington". That is the title on KZbin.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

@@christianvulpescu1398 Thank you!

[@christianvulpescu1398]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek The plesure is on mine.😀😘👍

[@JohnMcGFrance]

I’ve installed the plug-in but not tried it yet. I like the fact you don’t need a widefield view. I now have a permanent setup with a pier in my observatory so hopefully won’t need to do this often but still have a second mount for portable use too. Be interesting to compare the different results from the 2 programs. I have SharpCap pro but not sure it will work with my scope - 425mm length.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I think 425mm may work with Sharpcap Pro - it's gotten much better at longer FL than it used to!

[@JohnMcGFrance]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I’ll give it a try. I’m about to put that scope on for some imaging of the Veil nebula. The mount is well polar aligned using the routine in the ASIAir pro. I’ll try N.I.N.A. and SharpCap. As there should be no movement of the mount being on a pier/concrete base it will be interesting to see what happens. I’ll let you know🧐

[@nathanbarnard5997]

Your videos have been unbelievably helpful, keep up the good work! Question - If I drift align with phd2 after I finished polar aligning, would the adjustments I make to drift align mess up my polar alignment?

[@bento1024]

Hi Cuiv, I am really a newbie doing my first steps with an EQ6 + SC 150 / 1500. As I do not see Polaris from my home location, I thought I’d give it a try with NINAs Polar Alignment. What happened is, with my initial alignment I am quite “off”, so I just getting trails on a 5 exposure. image. With those trails Plait solving does not work. What can I do?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well, I am not sure - just to be sure, you are tracking for sure right? And have you tried the guide assistant in PHD2 to make sure that you are indeed quite off? I would ask in the NINA Discord otherwise see if they have advice...

[@moosoneerocketry9826]

Hello, I am trying to learn NINA but I am pulling my hair out. I am just trying to autofocus before I polar align and I can't even get an image of a star. I am using the ZWO ASI224MC on a Orion Starmax 127 mm Mak-Cass with no barlow. I manually slewed the HEQ5 Pro mount to Jupiter and using a 25mm eyepiece, set the focus manually. I slipped the belt back on the focuser without disturbing it and replaced the eyepiece with the camera. I go into NINA with a exposure of 3-10s and a gain of 150-300 and all I get is what appears to be amp glow. I know the camera works. Is it simply that my FOV is too small at 1540 mm focal length to capture any stars in the home position? The mount was polar aligned yesterday and not disturbed. Just trying to learn to use NINA. Any help would be appreciated.

[@brunodirienzo3607]

Good morning. For alignment with Nina, what to do when the mount is oriented towards the North, on the wall side of my balcony, this one being oriented due South. The mount will rotate but will therefore only see my wall. THANKS.

[@andrewsalotti7257]

Thank you for your time. I have a skywatcher star adventurer pro that is not a goto. Can I still use this method for polar alignment? Can move the camera to the 3 locations manually, if so how do I know where to face the camera on each occasion? Also can you clarify that this method uses imaging from the main camera, in my case a dslr, and not the guide camera? Thank you, I am new to this hobby and having issues with PA here in the Southern Hemisphere as my view of the octans is blocked. Cheers.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I believe there is a manual mode via the Manual button in there - you may want to double check on the NINA Discord!

[@moisesvicente1946]

I understand that it is a valid method even if the only available horizon is the South and therefore totally away from Polaris. Is that so?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That is correct, as far as I understand!

[@sorrycharlie1736]

Great video! I have an asi120mm guide camera in the mini guide scope and was wondering if I could use this to do the polar alignment routine in NINA? I only use a DSLR and WO zenithstar for my imaging. Would I be better off to try and use the DSLR for this routine or the guide cam?

[@astrotechnique1]

Please reply

[@kevinburke8608]

I believe you can check polar align error with PHD2 ( I haven't done it), but may give an idea which process is more accurate.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks! Yeah that's part of the plan once clouds go away!

[@PagyBio]

Cuiv, is the imaging from the guidescope or the main camera?

[@montygiavelli8125]

Thanks for the great videos !! Does it matter if the camera is at an angle ? I use N.I.N.A 'Framing' to frame my camera and adjust the angle. It seems to me that if the camera is at 0 degrees the measuarements might be better when doing the Polar Alignment. I've been getting some inconsistent results using N.I.N.As 3PPA. My mount is on a very heavy concrete pier. thanks, Monty

[@montygiavelli8125]

I went into N.I.N.A. and with the help of the Framing tool I rotated my camera assembly so it was showing 0 degree rotation. I then did a 3 Star Polar Alignment and my guiding made a big improvement even though the moon was overhead. Tomorrow I will do another 3SPA and see if the numbers are the same !!

[@michaeljarvis4612]

Awesome. Will this plug in work for RA camera drives like the Sky Guider Pro. My building totals blocks Polaris. Thanks

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

As far as I understand it, YES it will work with something like the SkyGuider Pro - the Manual mode is there for that.

[@chrissheppard3178]

Hi Cuiv. can you help or advise me with my EQ6-R PRO mount. When I slew or platesolve. The mount slews to the target and decides to slew way off of the target and then back to the target again and decides to slew back in the other direction and then back again, the same happens when I platesolve. It platesolves but because it slews a massive amount it takes 4 to 5 time to be exactly on point. This has only just started in the last month. Before it stopped at the target and platesolved with minor adjustments.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's weird. I'm wondering whether the platesolving itself is to blame - have you looked at the distances from target reported by platesolving? If they look large while you were close to target, you could be getting incorrect platesolving results...

[@chrissheppard3178]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thank you. I'll try and have a look. Do you know of any settings in Eqmod that would cause this problem

[@glen2880]

I don't have n i n a but very interested in it. I watch you all the time. I'll be glad to see you on the Astro imaging channel September 19th.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Glen! NINA Is great, but it does require some initial setup indeed.

[@glen2880]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I'm using SGP at this time and I just got semi adjusted to it. The thought of starting over isn't apealling. But it looks interesting.

[@troyhunter4740]

Cant wait for the drift alignment, we need to have a winner!!.. Though for me Sharpcap is winning, NINA takes way to long to platesolve. Im using All Sky Platesolver, which works but all so slowly!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I would strongly recommend you use ASTAP instead. ASTAP is pretty much instantaneous. It works wonders for me.

[@gazza9839]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek +1 for ASTAP

[@neggleston]

Great video Cuiv

[@oscar__rally]

Well, TPPA works very good (sometimes) and it drives me nuts when it doesn't (two issues happen) and I don't understand why :/ Maybe you can share some light!!!!! My procedure is always the same: 1- set up my eq6-r well balanced, latitud gauge at 41º in my case and point roughly north (I can't see polaris) 2- slew to any visible and brightest star (I use synscan app for windows) connected via ASCOM to NINA 3- once the telescope is pointing roughly to the star, I start TPPA Then shit happens... - 1st error: it may decide not plate solve even if the image is clearly focused and stars pin point. It happens pointing to any star, I try different coordinates and fails.(looping) Any idea why this happens? I use ASTAP, tried 2,3,4,5,,,10 sec exposures; 100 /200 gain or more as I said, sometimes works, sometimes not.... - 2nd error: In case the plate solve works (cross fingers); Maybe I can get an error of 2º (not bad) oooooor a huge error of 20º.... and I'm like what? obviously I cant move the knobs with a 20º error, seriously what am I doing wrong? It's like a lottery LOL!!!!! I've been using TPPA for a while and some nights are successful, but when a 20º error appears or when it doesn't plate solve.... IT'S FRUSTRATING....and I repeat, I always do the same and same location; I would really appreciate some feedback. Thanks a lot!!

[@timliscum2861]

Cuiv.. how do you set your mount limits with GS server? Im debating updating Nina so I can get this PA feature but I haven't found how to set limits with GS server.. Thanks

[@derekregan6926]

I compared some while ago the differences between polemaster, sharpcap and the drifttool in phd..drifting came out tops(no suprises there) then sharpcap ...they all differed to each other..this pluggin reminds me of ASPA that celestron uses.. didnt think much of that for imaging personally

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for letting me know - I just wish clouds would go away so I could double check the PA result!

[@gazza9839]

ASPA works best with a few iterations, maybe we should try the same with NINAs version ?

[@derekregan6926]

@@gazza9839 yes I've heard this said before.. but the inaccuracy comes from using star position for PA. PA is the point in the sky that the stars revolve around, so unless you're pinpoint or measuring the drift then it's always going to inaccurate..

[@timothysheridan5602]

hi cuiv i have just installed n.i.n.a.64 beta version and i am pulling my hair out trying to get some of the features to work. 1) when using sky atlas and do a search it will not load an image to preview, so i have to send it to the framing assistant to see the image and to seems to have a a lot of square tiles in it. Not sure what i am doing wrong??? 2) i have tried to load some plugins like 3 star polar alignment and i can' t seam to get ANY plugins.....What the Frick is up with that??? and it says no plugins available ??? i am very confused......Do you have any recommendations.

[@rickslan362]

It would seem having the tripod/mount exactly level would be very important, no? If so, what recommendations do you have for getting an exact level on the mount? Thanks!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Nope it's not really important. Having rough leveling is enough to follow the NINA process (left right up down) with the only downside being that if you're really far from level, changing left right will also affect up down which can be frustrating. But once you're polar aligned and in the proper home position for your mount, then the mount leveling doesn't matter (assuming of course you're not so unleveled that your equipment would topple over :) )

[@davidterraza889]

Cuiv, please correct me if I'm wrong... I usually do the polar alignment routine with sharpcap with the mount turned off. So the mount don't try to move during the alignment and I can measure the real misalignment of it. If you do the routine with the mount on and tracking you could get some error only for the movement of the mount around the pole, if you are near the celestial pole the amount of the error will be low but is not perfect, instead if you do it with the mount turned off, the sky is rotating around your RA axis and you can get a more accurate measure of your alignment, if you can align to the pole with the mount off your results will be consistent between Nina and sharpcap.... The only thing is that Nina move the mount by itself.... So it require that the mount have to be on.... maybe the routine has to be manual??? To get better results?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's a very good point - Sharpcap definitely prefers no tracking. But NINA... I don't know! For 5 second exposures, tracking is definitely needed though, and my guess is that NINA keeps track of that. More tests to do :)

[@davidterraza889]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek maybe you don't need tracking if you are pointing near the pole. In sharpcap, When I don't have a guide scope I use the Main camera (DSLR in my case) and take several exposures of 3 to 5 seconds that are automatically downloaded to a folder where sharpcap can take it and use it for polar align... I think that Nina can do it to.... If you want to polar align pointing far from the pole I would prefer drift alignment instead.

[@nicolasaigues]

Hi. I tried this method last night. I use a Canon DSLR as imaging. After taking the first picture, NINA processed it and then the process showed the "start button" again. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Thank you!

[@nxu5107]

Hi Cuiv, I am one of those dinosaurs who use pole master. Obviously it’s another cable etc. I did the same thing that you did. Compare polemaster results to sharpcap. Having done bang on pole master alignment I get an error in sharpcap polar alignment. I didn’t try it the other way round though. That is polar align in sharpcap and then do a polemaster alignment. This will ruin the night as it will take so much time but I think that’s a missing step to settle which method is polar alignment king / queen or whatever. Also on skywatcher mounts it’s not easy to do small adjustments for alt or az i also use an app available on AppStore Allen’s polar align pro that can get you very close to polar alignment during the day. The other thing is to eye ball it off the polar scope itself! I could do that as well. Also Cuiv more importantly the music at the end, really. It’s not you or the channel. I love music but just any music is no good. Also I know I can’t criticise W/o suggesting something. For now nothing is better but if you must use the sound of yurt Gagarin rocket taking off or landing! Please.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! I wouldn't call using Pole Master as being a dinosaur! I think polar scopes belong to that category much more! I'm having so clear skies tonight so I hope to investigate the polar alignment :) On the music, I understand the feedback - I don't think it's too obtrusive (and I've used music before, for the images at the end of a session), but I'll think of workarounds!

[@nxu5107]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek sorry if I was rude with my comments about music. Your channel your music and you know what it’s the knowledge you give that counts. Your topics are fantastic. That’s the long and the short of it. Thanks.

[@zer0g77]

I'm struggling to get it working because at every steps it stops tracking on my eq6 r pro with eq mod. Is there a way configure the tracking on?

[@deeber35]

I have a Nikon DSLR, tracker, and manual mount. I can also only see 60 degrees left and right of south, and only over 30 degrees from the horizon to overhead. Is NINA still do-able?

[@AstroSmoke.]

I tested the NINA 3point on my Esprit 100ED and SW AZEQ6 mount front inside my office with a 600mm square window view. Appeared to work. The error between apps, you have a lot of variables with differences between methods, for one 3point is using the main scope, for me sharpcap is using the guide scope. Then how well is your scopes aligned with the axis of rotation. Just a lot of compound error with setup and equipment. I suspect all methods get you close enough to get the job done. For me, less is more, being less fussing with multiple software packages and ease of use.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

In theory both sharp cap and NINA account for the cone error, but I think the main source of the difference could be the refraction compensation in Sharp cap! I'm looking forward to trying this more!

[@MrSummitville]

Follow-up video ... Which software is actually more accurate / correct ?

[@davidjennings2733]

Hello Cuiv, I tried this last night after going through the setup process with ASTAP, Astronmy and all the features for plate solving. Sad to say, I failed at it. During the second measurement point it told me to move the mount along the RA axis! 0/10 degress, could not figure out what that was supposed to be. I used my EQMOD mount controller to move the mount in different directions but it was never in the right spot, again, whatever that was supposed to be. I think for now I am just going to use my Stellarium and Backyard EOS to help with proper polar alignment and work on NINA as I have lots to learn with that. UGH...

[@davidjennings2733]

Update on my NINA usage, I have now managed to get this to work after making sure I have the star database and installed, letting NINA know where it's located on the pc. Anyways, it's working now and I just love using this this. First and second night of using it worked flawlessly, went out the 3rd time to use and could not get it to plate solve. I could not figure this out to save my life, uninstalled the star database, reloaded it and still had the same problem. Then the light bulb turned on, it was my focus that was out enough so it could not determine where it was looking in the night sky. Boy did I feel dumb, after I focused, it began to work again. Slaps self on the forehead and takes mental note.. FOCUS, FOCUS and FOCUS. Just had to share that as to also alert others and as you also said, make sure you are in Focus.. Thx

[@spordniar]

I tried NINA TPPA, nailed it down to approx 30 arc-sec in both RA & Dec, then I do TPPA again to check polar alignment error again, and I got approx 6 arc-min in RA & Dec, performed knob adjustment again, and check again with TPPA and it seems the result is still not correct, perhaps you can give it a shot this way and see if TPPA agrees with itself.

[@SimonT65]

I've been playing with NINA's new 3PPA over the past few nights. I'm not convinced how accurate it is. I got exceptional PA with it then ran it again straight afterwards and it was way off PA. I'm in the Southern Hemisphere btw

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Interesting to know. Well, I need to do more testing :)

[@stevefpv7249]

awesome! Just installed the plugin.....will try this tonight:)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome, and enjoy!

[@PopeAstro]

Will this work with a sky tracker like Ioptron skyguider pro? Asking for a friend.

[@xNihilObstat]

Have you tried this with DSLR cameras? I am hoping to do this without the use of something like a Polemaster.

[@OlliesSpace]

Hey Cuiv, More cool stuff from NINA ! when is NINA also going to make me a coffee when it realises (using my webcam) I am falling asleep? 😴 🤔

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I think you could do that via scripting :D

[@keivanhamidi]

Very interesting, it's free and already in nina, but is it really as precise as sharpcap's? And choosing points far away from each other makes the alignement more precise or does it not change anuthing?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Exactly, lots of things to test, so few clear skies these days :(

[@christianvulpescu1398]

Hey Cuiv, do I have to use the guide scope or can I polar aline with the imiging tray of my 10" Newtonian ( it hase an off axis guider)? Thank you, Christian

[@MarvelousLXVII]

I'm sure you know by now but use your Newt.

[@gregb5149]

I still prefer the Kstars PA tool. It uses the guide scope and is much faster for updates so you can adjust in realtime.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

You can also use the guide scope in NINA PA - I think with guide cam and no filter, you could easily have an exposure time of just 1 second, so it's more real-time.

[@vzr314]

You should trust whichever has atmospheric refraction taken into account :D

[@keithhanssen7413]

I suppose you could’ve tested your guiding based on NINA scores then polar aligned with Sharpcap and test guiding and see if your guiding improved or worsened. Probably would’ve been the same.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes - the best way is to simply run the PHD2 guiding assistant and see if DEC drifts - I will do that once the weather allows!

[@ozziesalcido1148]

I would like to use plate solving to find deep sky objects under dark skies for observation only I do not want to use a camera of any sort to photograph. I am only interested in observations. How can I use Nina and plate solving to help find my object through a SCT 10 inch F 10 telescope

[@nikivan]

Anything less than 10' is fine. You won't see much field rotation with exposure times of 5-10 minutes.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Completely agree - still it will be good to double check with a PHD2 drift alignment!

[@aethyr13]

not so, depends on what F# you are imaging at. 10 minutes leaves big star trails at F10