Software Configuration – Katorella Astro

PHD2 Polar Alignment Tool – Use It!

August 6, 2018September 11, 2019Katorella Astro

…If the celestial pole is visible.

Even More About Light Pollution

July 16, 2018September 11, 2019Katorella Astro

As July wears on, I’ve had several nights out imaging, and most of them successful. This, despite the fact that the targets I’m shooting are about 24-32 degrees high and directly over the selection in the image below.

64-bit Deep Sky Stacker (DSS) is Here!!

April 18, 2018September 11, 2019Katorella Astro

Version 4.2.1 is out now and has many speed enhancements over the initial 64bit release (link at the bottom).

I stumbled upon this last night after not imaging for a couple weeks due to weather. There are no release notes on the version, but I’ve been waiting for this since I started, so I went ahead and downloaded it. So far, so good. The look and feel are basically the same with only slight visual tweaks.

Imaging in Severe Light Pollution: Part 1 – Unmodified DSLR

January 15, 2018September 11, 2019Katorella Astro

I’ve updated some information for modified DSLRs in a new post here. The tips below are for use with an unmodified camera. Though this is valuable for a modified camera, there are differences and I’ve chosen to separate the two.

Dithering – Do it Now!

January 14, 2018September 11, 2019Katorella Astro

What is Dithering?

Dithering is a process initiated by your imaging software between captures that sends a message to your guiding software to set a new position for the guide star and move the mount accordingly to recenter the guide star, effectively moving the the image a few pixels randomly between captures. This randomizes the noise between captures, allowing it to be cancelled out during stacking.

Easy Astrotortilla Setup & Configuration: Plus Advanced Custom Options Settings

December 11, 2017September 11, 2019Katorella Astro

I have since moved on to using Astrophotography Tool and the integrated plate solving using ASPS and PlateSolve2. The information below is still relevant, especially if you’re using BackyardEOS or BackyardNikon, but I find plate solving through APT easier and more reliable.

How Everything Works Together

November 9, 2017November 29, 2019Katorella Astro

There are a lot of bits and pieces of information out there that you have to piece together yourself to figure out how all of this stuff works together. As soon as you figure out how one piece works, there’s another piece of the puzzle. Hopefully I can put this into perspective and outline all the pieces.