StarAid stand-alone autoguider

Sequence Generator Equipment Compatibility
1

Hi Everyone,

Is someone using the StarAid camera as auto guider?
As this camera has no ASCOM driver for the moment, it cannot be connected with SGP. I was wondering if the Direct Mount Guider would work and how dither would behave.

Thanks

2

I have evaluated a StarAid - it works well but it has no ā€˜connectionā€™ to the outside world. I think a future update may have it, just not yet. If SGP does anything to move the mount, Iā€™m assuming that the StarAid would center it back up again.

1 Like
3

Chris,
May I ask if you could find a way to dither a CCD camera with StarAid?

Thanks

4

not so far - it was allegedly on the to do list from StarAid but I believe Covid has disrupted their activities.

Still - if you cannot dither - you could always try cosmetic correctionā€¦ a quite effective alternative.

5

Thanks for the feedback @buzz

Iā€™m dithering my images since ever. How much difference in resolution I will see in non-dithering vs dithering images stacked?

I could not find any ā€œreliableā€ source of information for this.

Regards

6

Dithering has two distinct benefits, which are often confusing.
Dithering for many folks is a deliberate misalignment between exposures which cause hot pixels to land in different parts of the image. The statistical process of integration removes these more effectively.

The other benefit is resolution, but only when the imaging system is undersampled. By micromoving between exposures, it is possible for a star to land on a different, or several pixels. I did some research for one of my books and the general consensus is that the resolution can be up to 2x by dither/drizzle.

7

StarAid has a new release with API to control from other applications.

Is there any probability to SGP integrate StarAid support?

I contact the StartAid team, they are willing to support SGP with it. :blush:

8

Weā€™re certainly open to it. We talked to them at AstroFest Europe last year. Looks like a pretty cool device! I donā€™t really have a timeline or even an indication if/when.

Jared