Contents
The symphony of modern astrophotography: beyond the telescope
Telescope OTA
Computerized mounts
Camera: DSLR/mirrorless, cooled camera or planetary/autoguiding camera
Electronic focusers and rotators
Guiding systems
Flat field generators and telescope cover motors
Environmental controllers and dew suppression solutions
Two pathways to astrophotography: planetary/lunar vs. deep-sky
Planetary/lunar astrophotography
Deep-sky astrophotography
Astrophotography with telescopes: a step-by-step guide
Step 1: prepare your EQ or Alt-Az mount
Step 2: install telescope onto mount and set Home position
PLAY software for EAGLE or Windows 10/11 computers
How to let PLAY control your devices
Use CONNECT ALL to quickly connect to devices
Enable dual-telescope mode to simultaneously control 2 OTAs
Use PLAY to capture images
Use PLANETARIUM tab to view sky chart, select targets and control mount
Use FOCUS & ROTATE tab to control ESATTO or SESTO SENSO 2 focusing solutions and ARCO rotator
Use CALIBRATE tab to control GIOTTO smart flat field generator or ALTO telescope cover motor
Use PREVIEW tab to set your camera and preview your image
Use SEQUENCER to start an image sequence acquisition
Use AutoFocus to automatically find the best focus point
Use Auto Alignment to automatically align your telescope to the sky
Use AutoStacking to automatically improve your pictures
How to record Flat calibration frames
How to record Dark/Bias/Dark of Flat calibration frames
Use PLAY and SharpCap to capture Moon and the Planets
Use AutoStakkert and Siril for planets and Moon processing
How to control PLL Observatory Stations with EAGLE computer and PLAY
Step 1: startup procedure
Step 2 (optional): launch handpad simulation software for your mount
Step 3: launch PLAY and control your telescope
Step 4: shutdown procedure
PLAY safety features for PLL Observatory Stations
Maintenance suggestions for using a Telescope or PLL Observatory Station
Useful astronomy softwares that can be used together with PLAY
PHD Guiding, the autoguiding software
Drift Alignment using PHD Guiding
Use PixInsight Weighted Batch Preprocessing to calibrate images recorded with PLAY
Best Windows settings to optimise your computer performances
0
0