PushTo direction

[Gfischer]

Robin,
you're right same file. Here is link to other file.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/26she2b8 ... o106p&dl=0

I was thinking if initial solve was centered on zenith max radius would be 90 deg to cover complete visible sky. That way if fails it will resolve quicker.
After solve change center to target object. The radius could be distance from target to solved point. Since this will only be used if solve fails it should not slow solving. When your distance to target gets below a limit the radius becomes that limit. I hope I'm thinking correct as I have to admit I don't have a lot of knowledge on solving.

George

[admin]

Hi George,

how did you get the 8 bit FITS file that you shared? It seems a bit odd in that it is monochrome, wherease the other is colour. Also the brightness of the 8 bit image is significantly higher than the 16 bit one, so I'm struggling to understand whether it works better because it is a brighter image or whether something has been done to brighten it?

On the 16 bit image, you can see nothing but blackness without stretching the image, which is probably a sign that the exposure is on the short side!

cheers,

Robin

[Gfischer]

Robin,
I took a snapshot of the raw 16 that failed. I then changed color space to mono8 and using same exposure and gain took another snapshot. I noticed when magnifying the two images the stars are more defined in the mono8 file. I assume the Bayer matrix causes that. No manipulation of either file

George

[admin]

Hi George,

I think I know what is going on here...

When you use binning with a ZWO camera, how the binning works depends on a couple of factors

* Hardware binning on or off? - with hardware binning on, binning is always averaging, so it reduces noise but does not increase brightness

* 8 or 16 bit mode? In 16 bit modes, ZWO uses averaging binning, but in 8 bit mode they use additive binning which makes the image brighter

So, when you switched into 8 bit mode it changed the way the binning was working, making the image 9 times brighter. This clearly helps the plate solving. You should be able to achieve the same brightening effect without switching to 8 bit mode by bumping the gain - adding about 190 to your gain value will give you a 9x brighter image, but actually it may turn out that a smaller gain boost is sufficient (maybe 400 instead of 300)?

cheers,

Robin

[Gfischer]

Robin,
I didn’t know that about binning thanks for the info. I can’t believe the breath of knowledge you have on this subject.

I appreciate your help
George

[admin]

I must admit with that one I had to get a ZWO camera off of the shelf and test to confirm that my guess about the binning was correct

cheers,

Robin

[Gfischer]

Hi Robin,
Been using sharpsolve exclusively for many nights with no issues. 2 sec exposure with max gain seems best. Your solver is much faster than astap or ansvr with a much smaller data base size. Excellent work. Don’t know what to do with finder now!!
George

[admin]

Hi George,

that's what we like to hear I still have a little to-do list in relation to plate solving, I think that automatically applying binning to high resolution images (>2000x2000 or so) will help, as will automatically applying background subtraction to help eliminate skyglow. Both will help a bit in difficult situations.

cheers,

Robin

[Gfischer]

Robin,
With the 2sec exposure I get instructions for move I push scope and the solver tried to solve blurred image which fails quickly due to radius limit. The next frame loaded is good and solves almost instantly. The timing works well for me. A smaller radius when close could save a little time but not noticeable.
I use a profile for the settings on camera Exp,Gain ect. when using plate solving then change to another profile for viewing and imaging. I think I mentioned it before but an auto profile switch when opening plate solving then return to previous profile would be awesome.

Really enjoying your hard work

George

[jepho1]

Hi folks,

I have been experimenting with this feature, and currently have a prototype that looks like this

Capture.JPG

Right now, I can only test with ASCOM sky simulator (I only got things working today and currently 100% cloud cover). It works, but isn't polished yet.

Since I'm not really someone who uses a push-to system, I'd be very interested in feedback on what information is shown and whether it is useful and presented in the right way...

I've included the required movement in RA and Dec, on a coloured background that shades from red (more than 5 degrees) through orange and yellow to green for small offsets (less than 0.01 degrees).

The total distance from the target is similarly shaded, that's a great circle distance from the current point to the target point in degrees of arc.

I have also included the movement required in horizontal co-ordinates (left/right/up/down), which may be more useful for those using a Dobsonian. The left and right here are in compass degrees, so when you are pointing to a target high in the sky (as in the screenshot) the compass movement in degrees may be larger than the actual distance to the target via the great circle calculation. It seems a bit weird, but I think it's the right choice - probably...

Any comments on this from people who are using PushTo on a regular basis are very welcome,

Robin

Hi Robin,
I finally got the push to feature to work but how do i get the left right up and down to work? i have a 12 dobsonian. here is a pic of what i get when i use it.

Screenshot 2024-01-03 151002.png (172.99 KiB) Viewed 9957 times