Celestron StarSense Autoalign - Price Increase Alert

[Deane]

Hi gang,



According to Bintel (as at 19 Aug 21) the supplier's RRP is set to increase to $950 when new stock arrives - ETA late Sep early Oct 21. Currently Sirius-Optics appears to be taking backorders for $695 AUD https://www.sirius-optics.com.au/celestron-starsense-autoalign.html



I just snapped one up...

[Nikolas]

Old technology

ASIAIR pro NINA etc uses plate solving much more accurate than this.

[Finbar]

Deane, thanks for the heads up. I’ve been wanting to get one for use on my Saxon mount with refractor.

Nik, for those of us who are visual this “old” tech works very well. My experience is that it has been quite accurate. But, you’ve got me thinking, perhaps Asiair pro on the refractor would be a good idea. Perhaps I would’ve got some shots of Sunday past’s Jovian spectacle.

[Zuts]

Well AsiaAirPro is less than half the price, but it also does guiding, focusing, camera management, mount control ..

Of course there is SharpCap for 1/20 th of the price.., but you need a laptop whereas with the pro it's all controlled wirelessly from the phone in your pocket.

I used to really want a starsense, i mean really really want, but now i wouldn't use one if someone gave me one for free as there are far better options that i want attached to my scope.

Basically with the pro you do a polar alignment which can take between 5 and 15 minutes going back and forth with your dec and AZ bolts, 5 minutes if your mount is on flat concrete, 15 if you are in a field and are not (you don't need to level your mount, except by eye). Once polar aligned you slew away from the pole, press do a plate solve (5 seconds) select a target on the phone, say alpha centauri and do a goto. If its not centered you press do another plate solve and say goto and you are accurate for the night. if during the night a target is not centered, you have the image on your phone so you press it and click Centre target..., if you want to resume a nights viewing you recall a previous image and press goto...

easy as, polar aligned and accurate dead center goto's, plus the other functionality. Or mix and match and crank up the laptop for other functionality if you choose.

[Dave882]

I’ve used both the starsense and ASIAIR pro on various mounts. I can tell you they both have their merits:

Starsense:
Extremely accurate with alt-az mounts especially with extra align points or a 2nd calibration run. Great for visual and can land any target within the field of view at high magnification (250-300x no probs). Not quite as accurate for a GEM but still ok if you do accurate pa. It works with any focal length as it is independent of the ota so no need to swap out camera/ eyepiece if you going visual.

ASIAIR pro
Absolutely magnificent for AP or EAA - it’s an all in one solution and very user friendly. The platesolving is great and will centre the target, or you can tap on screen to re-orientate. No need for accurate pa for visual observation with a GEM cause it’ll just re-solve if the first attempt is off. 2 problems- it’s gets more and more inconsistent as focal length goes up and I’ve had trouble platesolving for planetary imaging at 3500mm and up, especially if using small fov camera. Alt-Az mounts will need an alignment first before it will work. If your alignment is good then it kind of defeats the purpose if strictly visual. Might need a second piggyback guidescope or a flip mirror if doing visual.

As I said I have and use both but if had to choose one, I’d choose the ASIAIR pro as it is a lot more versatile and gives the option for EAA even if you’re more into visual observation.

Anyways - just some of my thoughts…

[Zuts]

Hi David,

I agree, after much happiness with my esprit 120 and asiair pro, i loaded it onto my edge 9.25. I thought now Jupiter images would be best focus and a snap.

Long focal lengths are not a snap, especially ASIAir focussing at 5.0+ m with a 2.4 televue powermate, plate solving is a problem as well, but you can pa through the guide scope and as long as it's aligned, goto's are fine...

Anyway, gives me something to do and i think the software will get better..

As i said, i havn't tried but can always crank up the laptop to try some other software to focus...

Yes, I could use my bhatinov mask, but won't unless I am desperate for a planet pic.

[TerryC]

That's a good price. I'm very happy with the performance of my Starsense to date :thumbsup: