SharpCap Forums

Hello Everyone:

I have a cheap telescope mount that DOESN'T have computerized or auto tracking, ... is there anyway I can hook something up to my Celestron mount to make it track the planets automatically ??? I have a Celestron 102GT Telescope and the tripod mount doesn't have a tracker. I wanna be able to image the planets but without a tracker the planets move way too fast for me to snap any pics of them !!! Can I put a tracker on my mount ?? I have included a couple of pics of my telescope. Any advice to save me some money is Greatly Appreciated !!

Hi,

the Celestron GT should have a handset and be able to perform tracking and GOTO targets under handset control - see https://s3.amazonaws.com/celestron-site ... ual_sm.pdf

I can't see a handset in your photos, but the mount base that the telescope is attached to certainly looks like a motorized Celestron model.

cheers,

Robin

Unfortunately, I burned the handset a while back because I used a 12 Volts AC adapter INSTEAD of a 12 volts DC adapter !!

Is there another option like Celestron Tracker, or a motor drive axis that you think I can add to this Mount ??

Any advice or help is GREATLY appreciated !

Thank You.

Hi,

no, nothing that I am aware of. You would be best trying to buy a new handset second hand (for example on ebay). Search for 'Nexstar handset AZ' (to make sure you get the version for alt/az mounts rather than equatorial ones).

cheers,

Robin

Hello,

I don't have the finances right now to buy a nexstar handset. But is there a way in sharpcap where I can Zoom out of the image field, this way the object ( planet ) can stay in the field for a longer period of time, this way I can capture it with my SV305 CAMERA without having to use a tracker ??

Is it possible that in sharpcap there is a Zoom Out Function that could work with my camera and give me a wider field view?? I think this could help keep the image longer in my view field and I can capture it !

Please let me know.

Thanks

The field of view is determined by the combination of your telescope and the camera. You can zoom in with capture software but you can't zoom out, that's just impossible.

Menno

ok but my telescope is small, its only 4" Isn't there a way in sharpcap settings or the camera settings were I can zoom out somehow !!

I am frustrated because from the default settings, when I point at the moon with my sv305 using sharpcap, I only get a portion of the moon !!

Isn't there a way to zoom OUT so that I can get the full pic of the moon in one shot ?? is it possible that the default settings on my camera or sharpcap are zoomed in too much and I can zoom out ?? Here is a pic of the moon as I see it with my sv305 using sharpcap. I am sure there is a way to get the full picture of the moon in my field of view. my telescope is only 4" and I am NOT using any eyepieces when I plug in the SV305 CAMERA.

I appreciate any of your input !

Thanks.

Again, this is hardware related. Your scope and the camera give that view, period. No software can change that, can zoom out.
I have it too with my equipment: I only get a small part of the moon in view with my scope and camera.

The only thing that would help is buying a reducer. That is a kind of lens that goes between your telescope and camera and this reduces the focal length and that gives you a bigger field of view.
But you would need to reduce a lot, like 0.33x. See screenshot below.
The red rectangle is roughly your current view, the yellow one with a 0.5x reducer and the green one with a 0.33 reducer.

Menno

So is it safe to assume that most people are using a reducer ? Because to image the planets or the moon on any size telescope, you would need a reducer to expand the field view, because this allows for more focusing and imaging. And back to my main problem, my AZ mount is manual ( since I burned the nexstar handle ), is there any other way of turning it into a Tracking AZ mount? Is there some kinda of electronic drive for my mount that I can buy and hook up so that I can track planets and be able to image them with my SV305 camera and sharpcap software?? Its very frustrating not being able to track ... it kills any imaging possibilities ( other than the moon since its so big !! ).

Thanks for your assistance.

Sadly it's what Robin said: you have to get a new Celestron controller. The mount needs that controller to work.

On the reducer: no. There are enough telescopes who can have the full moon in their FOV.
The f number of a telescope can tell you that amongst other. Your telescope is what they call a slow telescope, it is f/9.8. You can determine that by dividing the focal length by the aperture, in your case 1000/102=9.8. Scopes with f/10 have a smaller FOV than scopes of for example f/4, a fast scope.
And then the camera: the sensor of the camera has a certain pixel size and a resolution. Your camera has a pixel size of 2.9 micrometer (mu) and a resolution of 1920 x 1080.
The combination of your scope and camera determines what fits in your field of view. In your case the moon is too big for it but the planets are no problem, these are a lot smaller than the moon.
But you can capture the moon completely by making a mosaic. This is generally done, also by me. It just takes some effort to do.
You capture the moon in overlapping parts. For you it would mean around 6 or 8 overlapping captures of the parts of the moon.
Then with freeware software (I can give you a link) you can stitch those captures of different parts of the moon, into 1 big picture with the whole moon on it.

And a tip for the future: when you buy a new telescope and/or camera, first ask yourself what interests you most: the moon and planets or deepsky objects like nebulae. It's way easier then to determine what kind of telescope/camera is best.

Menno