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Old 30-11-2020, 07:44 AM
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The_bluester (Paul)
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Kilmore, Australia
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The step in the Polemaster routine where you pick a star, rotate, pick it again, then rotate and pick it again is for the software to work out where the center of rotation is in the images produced by the Polemaster. That is the aim point of the RA axis of the mount and the point that you are trying to line up with the pole but it may not necessarily be the center of the Polemaster field of view, which is why you need to go through the steps to determine it. I am assuming here that the camera view you were plate solving was the Polemaster? If it was the view through the main scope then you have probably got even more errors to contend with.

What that means is that you can't just plate solve the Polemaster image and trust that as being your error form the pole. If you plate solve one with the scope to the west and counterweight bar horizontal, then plate solve another with the scope to the east and counterweight bar level, half the difference in Dec reading would be your error, but it is likely to be so small an error that it probably is not a great way to check it. You would be better off with a drift align check in PHD2 or the DARV check that Allan described.
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