Star Adventurer - Southern Hemisphere Polar Alignment Procedure

Learn how to align the Star ASdventurer with the South Celestial Pole to allow log-exposure astro-photography. Here is a link to a printable PDF alignment guide you can take with you: bas.asn.au/wp-content/uploads...

[@atoieno]

As an antipodean amateur astronomer and Star Adventure owner I thank you for your clear instructions. I was lost in space without them.

[@ShevillMathers]

This is as good an explanation I have seen for the Southern Hemisphere. Thanks for sharing your time to present this method. Greetings from Tasmania-Southern Cross Observatory-42 South.

[@thethirdman225]

Clear and to the point. So many of these things just go on and on and on... Thanks.

[@menglandau]

Thanks for putting this together. I was not understanding how to do this until watching this

[@kyliejoyce2992]

A fabulously simple and clear video to help beginners get the hang of polar alignment in the Southern Hemisphere. Thank you so much

[@billybobnz1]

The best instruction for the Southern Hemisphere I have watched, thank you.

[@A_Dane_Downunder]

That was an awesome video. Just got a star adventurer and there are not really any great instructions in how to do the polar aligning here in the Southern Hemisphere. After watching this I feel comfortable enough to go out and use my start adventure on the next clear night.

[@Tekytek]

Thanks so much for this video. I’m an Aussie newbie, and while I’ve got a different Sky-Watcher mount, but with the same reticule, this video has helped me understand polar alignment for the Southern Hemisphere much better than anything else I’ve seen!!

[@steveamurray59]

Thanks for this, been struggling to find a Tutorial that is easy to understand.

[@liamisrael7160]

This was the most helpful instructional video on this I have found, and I've been looking for a while. Thankyou!

[@CoroDan]

Great instructions. Thanks 😁

[@gihanilangakoon]

Thank you, very helpful video

[@jarrajoseph-mcgrath9142]

Thank you so much for putting this together. Fantastically helpful!!!!

[@ergio1]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing! This is what I needed.

[@Lank871]

Fantastic video mate! Great footage and explanations :)

[@brisbaneledstreetlights6328]

You are most welcome Lank. Send us a link to some of your photos one day.

[@jasonghaby]

thanks so much for uploading this. very helpful

[@phil-1477]

This was awesome, thanks a bunch!

[@acidrtv]

BTW awesome video with great clear instructions for the SCP given we don’t have the training star our northern compatriots have lol.

[@robertotolosajr4890]

Excellent explanation! Thanks

[@Mr09260]

Thank You from S Africa >> just what I needed

[@lawrencedoran1508]

thank you so much easy to understand and follow waiting for mine to arrive then im off to stars

[@anthonywarwick6090]

Very helpful thanks

[@peterdonnelly1074]

Really helpful -- many thanks!

[@christianbecerra3615]

Excelente vídeo, nos hacia falta Saludos.

[@ageprevention]

Good luck seeing them

[@TheRattleSnake3145]

Helpful to align my eq mount telescope. Thanks.

[@antonishere000]

I'm in south Australia and just acquired one of these. Next clear night I'll be out

[@visiontvaustralia]

great video.

[@Fleschette]

legend mate good vid

[@stew8584]

Cheers very helpful.

[@stevenlippis5488]

Had a go with mine tonight and failed miserably to find the stars. I think next time I'll have a better chance having watched this.

[@frl8031]

Excellent, thanks! Exactly what I wanted to know

[@cristianjara2211]

gracias, muchas gracias, al parecer en un principio sera dificil pero poremos lograrlo, saludos desde chile

[@PatrickGuerrisi]

Hi, thanks. I bought an ioptron Skyguider Pro and live in Melb. I am struggling to get decent polar alignment. Hope I can get better at it. Can you tell me if the Star Adventurer is any easier to polar align in the southern hemisphere? or should it be just as hard/easy with the ioptron skyguider pro ?

[@lukerendell]

Great video which helps with my upcoming trip to New Zealand! What tripod is that in the video? Mine has a centre column which is a weak point causing wobbles, yours looks great.

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

The tripod is the standard one supplied with the SA.

[@johnvgladden6594]

What tripod are you using?

[@PatrickGuerrisi]

do i need the counter weight for a sony mirror less camera and a wide angle? My payload of the camera is 1168g

[@danielgum8289]

Thanks heaps for the tut, very helpful! Do you have any recommendations for planetarium apps?

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

Daniel Gum I really like SkySafari. Even the free version is excellent.

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

We now have a video on how SkySafari can help you find faint astro objects

[@acidrtv]

Sorry to post on an older video, but I have just purchased my SWSA and will be beginning to use it. One question I have, why is some people state that you should level your tripod on the ground? I was under the impression this is not actually necessary because once you point to the SCP(or NCP) accurately, the device will track the sky anyway. Is this the case or not?

[@geryadams9694]

Thanks for sharing. btw after we align it, and balancing the camera, should i retight the clutch and then turn on star adventurer. or we don't need to retight the clutch then turn on the star adventurer? thanks

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

Gery adams Yes, retighten the clutch and turn the power on.

[@stephen2615]

Might I first say thank you for providing this wonderful guide. I am in the ACT and I was wondering if I have to "Calibrate the Polar Scope". I can't determine whether it is mandatory or it only has to be done in the northern hemisphere. Also, what is the other little bit of plastic that seems associated with the Polar Scope Illuminator?

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

Hi Stephen. Yes, you do need to polar align the Adventurer in the southern hemisphere. If you don't, all the star will photograph as streaks rather than dots. The little plastic part is probably the LED illuminator for the polar scope.

[@stephen2615]

@@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252 Thanks for the information. I will get onto it ASAP. That little bit of plastic seems superfluous to the actual illuminator. It does seem to fit on the part of the illuminator that goes into the Adventurer but if it is there, the illuminator doesn't go in. A mystery.

[@sthhasuii5980]

We can see polar north in australia

[@robbrady3096]

after undoing the left and right adjusting screws, do you also have to slightly undo the left and right allan sockets to allow the base of the wedge to slightly move

[@brisbaneledstreetlights6328]

Hi Rob. You should not need to loosen or tighten the Allan-head screws. The Star Adventurer should be supplied by the manufacturer with the Allan-head screws just sufficiently free that the entire Star Adventurer unit can rotate a little eaqch way clockwise and anticlockwise in the tripod base. However, if the Allan-head srews on your Adventurer are screwed down tight, then yes, you need to slightly loosen them. But this is just a one-time adjustment. You don't loosen/tighten the Allan-head screws every time you set up your Adventurer. They just need to be set slightly loose so the Adventurer can rotate to let you find the Sigma-Octans stars in the polar scope.

[@robbrady3096]

Thank you Brisbane LED Street Lights. They must have put mine together on a friday arvo, the 2 allan screws were tight as. I loosened them a fraction and everything works fine now. thanks again mate

[@AmarildoAmorim]

Thank you very much! I am in Brazil. And for the first time, I found a very good explanation! How to polar align the SA. The documentation/manual of the SA is terrible! Anyway, is it possible get nice exposure up to 90 sec. WITHOUT polar alignment?... Again, thanks a lot!

[@brisbaneledstreetlights6328]

Hi Amarildo, greetings from Brisbane, Australia. I hope you get some good astro-photos now.

[@AmarildoAmorim]

Brisbane LED Street Lights Thanks. Is it possible get nice exposure up to 90 sec., without polar alignment?

[@brisbaneledstreetlights6328]

90 seconds is very likely to result in trailled stars even with a very wide lens and rough polar algnment. 90 seconds really does require polar alignment to make the stars pin-point sharp.

[@AmarildoAmorim]

Brisbane LED Street Lights Thank you! I will set the polar alignment.

[@robbrady3096]

Hi again am i correct. Once I have all the stars aligned and the 2 screws at the base locked, I can move the mounting platform then lock the clutch

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

Yes, correct. You are then ready to attach your camera and align it with your target. I suggest you release the clutch and swing the counterweight up and away from hanging vertically down (then tighten the clutch) such that the weight is then slowing descending back down to verticle below the Star Adventurer while you are taking your image/s. I also suggest when you balance your camera setup against the counterweight you actually make it slightly counterweight-heavy, just a little. I suspect these steps might deliver better tracking than having the counterweight descent and pass the vertical and then start ascending - not sure, but that is my guess, It works for me.

[@David_Glazebrook]

I have recently bought a SA 2i Pro Kit. When attempting to align the scope it doesn't fit all 4 stars accurately with either Octans T or X not in their circles. No surprise I'm having trouble getting aligned. Is it possible the scope is not correct or am I missing something else? Thanks in advance :)

[@travelthetropics6190]

thanks mate! would the procedure be same for the new SA GTI version ?

[@peterallison57]

Sorry I can't be definitive, as I'm not familiar with the new model. But my guess is, yes.

[@MrGerter1]

Thanks for this video! However I can hardly even see the Octans stars at night, is this a common thing or just me?

[@larrysgonebush]

I have the issue and use a compass to assist.

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

It's not just you. Binoculars certainly help to initially find the Octans asterism and it's orientation. City light pollution makes it especially difficult.

[@noom_tv9113]

They made the illuminator "illegal" in Australia because of the button batteries, when I bought my Star Adventurer 2 recently they had to confiscate it. It makes using the polar alignment viewport almost impossible at night.

[@peterallison57]

Here in Brisbane, button batteries are readily available at the supermarkets. Your experience is very surprising.

[@noom_tv9113]

@@peterallison57 I'm in Brisbane, it's a federal law, something about providing them without safety instructions. I spoke with Sky-Watcher and they confirmed it's the case. They're working on a fix so they can send out illuminators to people who purchased their products but had the illuminator removed. It's frustrating but at least they're working to fix it. In the mean time I'm learning about aligning in the blind with various techniques, which is honestly worth doing anyway because Octans is hardly visible in most places.

[@randomoldbloke]

Hi just curious is south true or magnetic south ? Is it possible to align when cliffs block sky view to the south ? Been waiting to get out to dark skie area but the larger lurgy has stopped that for the time been

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

You need to use true south, but the offset from magnetic south varies with location. The is another video on the Brisbane Astronomical Society channel covering a "quick polar alignment" that might help with your cliff problem, but not as accurate as actually sighting the stars.

[@randomoldbloke]

Brisbane Astronomical Society cheers i found that video after i asked the question it pretty much answered all my questions thanks for the reply. Hopefully the clouds will clear up here in the north soon am hanging out to do some shooting. Cheers

[@josele844]

Wolfie?

[@anzaeria]

Great tutorial. Roughly how long could the Star Adventurer accurately track for? Would it be realistic to get anywhere near 40 or 50 minutes? I guess it would be quite ambitious to have that kind of exposure time with a camera with a standard lens (50mm on full frame) and no star trailing? By the way, I would be shooting on film so there wouldn't be a build of noise during a 40 - 50 minute exposure time.

[@peterallison57]

The wider then lens, the longer you can expose for and not have tracking errors displayed in the image. I've done 12minutes with a 14mm lens on an APS-C sensor. But I think films suffers from film reciprocity failure for long exposures. This causes colours to go a bit strange. But I'm not sure if it is a problem with low-light astrophotography. Google might know. Also, achieving sharp star focus with a film camera is difficult. Digital is much easier. Good luck with your astrophotography.

[@anzaeria]

@@peterallison57 Yes indeed. I know that wider lenses are more generous and allow for longer exposures with less tracking errors. I have got decently long exposure times on M4/3 with a 12mm lens without a star tracker. One thing that puts me off digital astro though is that after stacking, there is an incredibly long and drawn out post production process that I found overwhelming. Whereas with film, I like that you have a single image which is pretty much 'complete' after the film is developed. And yes, reciprocity failure could be an issue. There is someone who managed to get 45 minute long exposures with a 35mm SLR and a 600mm lens but I suspect that the tracking mount he used probably cost a fortune.

[@Ishouldbeflying]

Please can you tell me what App you are using to locate "sigma octantis / Polaris Australis" I have downloaded 6 different Apps and not one has those stars in its database? Your App on screen at 2:02 has a clear indication of the South Celestial Pole, no Apps I found have that. Driving me bonkers... thanks

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

Just open any of your planetarium apps and zoom in on the south celestial pole (where all the co-ordinate lines converge) and look for two stars close to the pole. The brighter of the two will be Sigma Octans. Sigma Octans is not the closest star to the south celestial pole you might find on your app, but it is the brightest star close to the pole. Just click on a bunch of them and find the one named Sigma Octans. It might also be named Polaris Australis.

[@Ishouldbeflying]

@@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252 any idea what App you are using on this video, it looks easy and simple with those concentric lines to locate the South celestial pole etc. I've downloaded 5 Apps now and it's ridiculous as only 1 of them has "Polaris Australis" in the search function and doesn't show anything else. Also none of the databases have a star called Sigma Octans, do you mean Sigma Octantis?

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

@@Ishouldbeflying Sigma Octans is the correct name, I believe. But if there is a Sigma Octanis listed, it will be the same star.

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

I was using SkySafari.

[@PhrozenPhlanges]

just a question, how would you go about polar aligning in NZ with Polaris Australis if what you want to photograph isn't visible at the same time, or is that an issue that doesn't exist because anything that's visible to photograph in the southern hemisphere should be visible at the same time that Polaris Australis is above the horizon

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

Polaris Australia (Sigma Octans) is always above the horizon. Just pick the right time of year for your desired target to also be above the horizon.

[@mikehoskin1674]

@@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252 okay thanks. Orion's Nebula is currently out around 9.30pm to 10 which suits me because in the winter it isn't out until 2-3am but its still pretty hard to see polaris Australis, is there some sort of tool that put you right on it

[@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252]

@@mikehoskin1674 If you go to the Brisbane Astronomical Society channel you will find another video on the topic of SA Quick Alignment - that might help you get closer to Sigma Octans.

[@doubledark2]

@@brisbaneastronomicalsociet9252 I cant see Octans from my backyard in Adelaide due to trees blocking my view; considering buying the ASIair-pro and a guide scope to help.

[@mikeyphoto48]

4.40 can be fiddly? I’d suggest it’s INCREDIBLY fiddly unless you have at least an intermediate knowledge of Astronomy. Thanks anyway.