Live Stacking and Meridian Flip

[sammedina1]

Been using Sharp Cap for EAA for bit now, but have limited my imaging sessions to either side of the meridian (i.e., have avoided meridian flips). I'd like to extend my sessions, which means I'll need to figure out how to flip. My mount - iOptron SmartEQ Pro- can perform an auto flip. My question is this: from what I've taken in on this forum, one should not attempt a meridian flip when live stacking. My understanding is the pre-flip darks and flats won't be compatible with the post-flip camera orientation. Is this accurate?

If my understanding is correct, is there any possibility of working through a meridian flip while live stacking?

[admin]

Hi,

darks and flats shouldn't be a problem - the camera orientation relative to the optical elements hasn't changed during the flip.

I think (hope) it might be as simple as

* pause stacking
* let the flip happen
* resume stacking

The stacking will see that the new frames are rotated by about 180 degrees from the old orientation, but I don't think that should be a problem. The biggest issue will be how far from the original target point you end up after the meridian flip.

Even if you are somewhat off target after the flip, you should be able to recover by

* close live stacking
* do a plate solve + resync to get the target back in the center of the frame
* reopen live stacking and press 'resume' to continue the previous stack

I'd be interested to hear how well (or if) this works - if it doesn't work do let me know where it fails and I will investigate.

cheers,

Robin

[sammedina1]

Thank you. I'm encouraged to hear I may be able to work through a meridian flip while live stacking. I will attempt to work through this as youbhave suggested when skies are clear. Will post on my results.

Thanks again.

Sam