Hi folks,
I have just uploaded SharpCap 4.1.10561, which includes a substantial re-working of the moon mosaic planner.
There are two significant changes from the user point of view.
1) The alignment and other mosaic settings are handled in a 'step-by-step' manner which gives you just one or two things to adjust at a time and then a 'Next' button to go on to the next part of the process. This should make the workflow easier for those who are new to it (the 'everyting in one place' approach was very confusing the first time you saw it).
In the screenshots below you can see the five steps for manual alignment and choosing the mosaic settings
![AlignmentPanels.png](./download/file.php?id=8020)
- AlignmentPanels.png (72.37 KiB) Viewed 6943 times
2) A new 'Guided' alignment mode which doesn't require plate solving and is more accurate than manual alignment. It should give better results and can be used in daylight (it will also be usable for solar mosaics at a later stage too).
The first step for guided alignment is to choose the alignment edge to use. This should be one of the sides of the moon, where (in the camera view) you see the edge of the moons disk as the furthest part of the moon in that direction. In the example below, I will show how this works for aligning on the top edge...
![Step1.JPG](./download/file.php?id=8021)
- Step1.JPG (38.43 KiB) Viewed 6943 times
Once an edge is selected, you need to use the mount to align the far edge of the moon in that direction with the reticule positions that SharpCap will select on screen. The picture below shows the first reticule position SharpCap will select for 'top edge' alignment and also the point on the moon (highlighted with the yellow arrow) that you need to move to the reticule using the mount RA/Dec (or Alt/Az) movements
![Capture.JPG](./download/file.php?id=8022)
- Capture.JPG (124.85 KiB) Viewed 6943 times
Once you have the edge point at the reticule crosshair then press the 'Add' button to add an alignment point. SharpCap will walk you through 3 alignment points by moving the reticule position. If you accurately move the same edge point of the moon to each reticule position then SharpCap can work out
* The exact field of view of the camera
* The orientation of the camera field of view relative to the sky
* Whether the moon image is flipped due to a diagonal mirror on an SCT or refractor
* Any error in the reported co-ordinates coming from the mount
With that information, it's possible to correctly plan the mosaic panels and set-up the GOTO movements accurately even if the mount has a pointing error.
Note that it is *very* important to use the correct point for alignment. When aligning as above on the topmost edge, the correct point is the very top of the moon's disk as indicated by the yellow arrow. Using a different point on the curved edge of the moon will *not* give the correct results, even if you use the same point for all three alignments. If have chosen the right side for alignment, you must align on the very righthand most part of the disk, etc. This must be a point on the edge of the moon's disk itself - not a point on the terminator (shadow line).
Anyway, that's all updated, but still very keen for feedback. The moon has been unco-operative with testing over the last few days, as it has been low enough to the horizon that I am unable to target it even when the clouds have parted briefly.
cheers,
Robin