Better Guiding Tips and Tricks

There is no question about it. Guiding is essential to capture very faint details. Here are some quick tips and tricks that have greatly improved my own guiding. I would also add that it has made guiding far less frustrating.

[@cevoner]

Always have trouble with guiding. Great tips especially did not ever hear of using a red filter. I de-focus and play with aggressiveness but never move the exposure. 5 sec sounds like a plan. Thanks.

[@SKYST0RY]

Using a red filter on the guide scope is a great idea. I live in a Bortle 1 area but there is often a lot of atmospheric turbulence and moisture in the air. This should be a tremendous help. Mind if I ask which red filter you are using?

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Yes so I use a Baader IR pass filter. Here is a link to its specs. www.baader-planetarium.com/en/filters/visual-and-photographic/baader-ir-pass-filter-(685-nm).html
I think you will find it will help you out. Another channel called Ro Ro did a test and found it made for a 10% improvement. Quite substantial for just adding a filter.

[@grahammckain4492]

Ty! Last week I polar alligned to a wrong star and tried guiding. My picture looked like a bunch of check marks lol (star trails).
Also, do you have to start autoguiding from home position?

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

You do not have to start guiding at home pos.

[@Jackalhit]

I’m fairly new to this, and the eureka moment I had as soon as you linked atmospheric disturbance and auto guiding was fantastic. Chills up my scalp type of eureka haha.
I will be trying this in a couple hours. And to think, I bought an asi462mc and as well as 742nm and 805nm band pass filters specifically to cut through the atmosphere for planetary and solar. I never connected the two.
Thanks for the fantastic video! I’m subbed now.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Martinko_Pcik]

Great 2 tips, defocus autoguiding camera and use a red filter. You have just confirmed what I was planning to do.
Red color is deflected the least by the air and a little defocus spreads the star light to more pixels to help the algorithm to calculate subpixel centroid.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you. This hobby has so many little tricks to it that it never stops getting to be more fun.

[@noypi75]

Hi. This is so helpful. How were you able to attach the filter to the guide cam? TIA

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Should just thread right in. I use 1.25in filters.

[@noypi75]

The Narrowband Channel thanks! Clear skies!

[@nathanhassey4724]

Wouldn’t a mono guide camera cut though the atmosphere?

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Actually no. As it captures a wider and greater spectrum than a OSC. The blue and green wavelengths are the most susceptible to atmospheric disturbances. But eliminating then you are left with just the red.

[@nathanhassey4724]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel yea thinking about it after I commented I realized that the stacking of the colored frames with mono is what negates atmospheric dispersion. Greats vids btw!

[@yangyunbo1]

thanks for your tips

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you. I plan on doing more soon.

[@easylivingsherpa]

New subscriber here. Thank you for your content.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you for subscribing. Hope to bring out many more tips.

[@DavesAstrophotography]

Thanks for tips, I had never heard of putting a red filter on the guide camera before. I'll have to give it a try sometime. Cheers. (ps. sub'd for more!, I think I was the 1000 :-D)

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thanks for subscribing Dave. Yes I have seen this talked about rather rarely. I found this trick while reading The Astrophotography Manual by Chris Woodhouse. It a rather advanced book.