ASIAIR guide: how to frame custom targets

An ASIAIR controller makes it fairly easy to frame the astronomical target you want to image. It contains a catalogue of the best-known objects, but what if you want to image a specific part of a very large target, or some lesser-known area of the sky? And then add that to a Plan, so you can easily image the same area night after night? This guide will walk you through how to do exactly that.

Part 1: creating a custom target

Once you’ve got your ASIAIR booted up and all your kit connected, select Preview from the menu [1]. Then tap on the stars icon [2] to load up the sky view.

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The box will show where your telescope is pointing at the moment. Use your fingers on the screen to scroll around the sky. You can pinch to zoom in and out as well. You can use the Objects icon on the left to zoom to a well-known target, but in this guide we’re going to make a custom target with specific framing.

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In this example, I want to frame the Cygnus Wall. It’s part of NGC7000, but simply selecting that target from the menu will go to the middle of the nebula. So, I’ve scrolled around until the red rectangle — the Target view — is over the specific area I want. The angle is all wrong at the moment, but we’ll fix that soon. Tap GoTo [1] and your telescope will slew to the target location.

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The blue box is where your telescope is pointing in the sky. Your ASIAIR will line it up over the red Target view. It will then take a short exposure of the sky to check that it’s in the right position. This is called plate solving. Your ASIAIR will give you updates as to its progress [1]. Once it says that the target is centred, go ahead and tap Frame [2].

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Now it’s time to change the angle of our camera to frame our target just how we want it. Use the dashed-line scale along the right [1] to rotate the red Target view box until it’s how you want it. You can then see how much you need to physically rotate your camera to match this ideal view. In the example above, that’s 87.9 degrees counter-clockwise [2]. If you have an automatic camera rotator (ooh fancy!) then you can do this in software. For the rest of us, use whatever method you have — for my Askar 130PHQ it’s a manual camera rotator — to twist the camera as required.

You won’t get it right first time. This is ok, trial and error is our method. When you think you’ve got it right, click Refresh [3]. Your camera will take a short exposure, and your blue Scope box will update to where your camera is now pointing. Repeat the process as many times as needed until you get the blue Scope view to match your red Target box.

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Note that it’s fine to hop out of Framing [1] and return to the regular sky map view if you want to adjust your Target view if you’ve changed your mind about your framing. Our goal here is to have the red and blue boxes both matching the exact framing you want. Once you’re happy, return to the main ASIAIR menu [2].

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Part 2: saving your custom target and assigning it to a Plan

Now we’ve got our framing spot-on, we want to save it for future use and add it to a Plan, so we can image the exact same area night after night — key to getting long integration times.

Tap on the dropdown menu [1] and select Plan [2].

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Click on the hexagonal settings button [1].

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Change the name to whatever you want — I’ve chosen “CygnusWall” in this example. Don’t worry about the other settings for now.

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Now we’re going to add out custom target to the Plan. Tap on the giant + symbol [1].

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Use the menu at the top-right to select My Favorites [1]. Then, tap Add [2].

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Enter the name of your custom target in [1]. Then click “Use Current Position of Mount” [2]. This will automatically fill the RA and Dec boxes with the coordinates of where your telescope is currently pointing — which, if all the previous steps have been followed, will be exactly at your chosen target. Click OK.

We’ve added our Custom Object. Now it’s time to add this Custom Object to our Plan.

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Scroll until you find your Custom Object. Tap it so it’s highlighted [1] and then tap Confirm [2].

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Tap on [1].

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Now we’re going to create a sequence for capturing Light frames. I use the settings shown above; 120-second exposures, Global Gain. I set the Repeat number to be something very high; it doesn’t really matter, as soon we’ll be setting the sequence to end at a particular time rather than after a set number of images.

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It’s all looking good. Go ahead and tap on the back-arrow [1].

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And then the settings icon [1].

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The settings shown are the ones I use as standard. Don’t be afraid to change them based on how you want to run things.

Auto Guiding: on
Auto Meridian Flip: on
Auto Cooling: on

Timer: Set this to either start now, or you can set a later time if you’re either setting up during the day, or perhaps it’s currently cloudy but you know it’ll be clear in an hour. End time should be when the sky is getting lighter, which depends on the time of year.

End Options:
Turn off Cooler and Anti-Dew: off. I want the Cooler and Anti-Dew to keep running, so my optics don’t dew up. I’ll turn them off just before I pack the kit away.
GoTo Home POS: on. This will slew your telescope back to its default position.
EAF Back to Zero Position: off. Not really needed, I’m happy for my focusser to stay where it was last, as that will be a good position for the autofocus routine to begin from next time.
Shutdown ASIAIR: off. I like to keep the kit on so that the anti-dew runs until I’m ready to pack things away.

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Then it’s back to the main menu, so we can activate this Plan and get imaging! Plan should be selected already, but if not make sure it is [1]. Click on the white circle [2] to begin.

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You’ll see lots of toggle options. We’ve set these up already, but it’s good to check they’re as you expect. Click Start and then your ASIAIR will take over and you can go to bed!

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Bonus: the next morning…

Just for completeness, this is how I finish an imaging session. My ASIAIR will have been running all night. By the time I’m awake, the telescope should have returning to its Home position (for me, pointing north) but the ASIAIR will still be on, as I want the anti-dew to be keeping moisture off the optics.

After logging back into the ASIAIR, I’ll be met with a message about the Plan failing. This is totally fine, it just means that it didn’t image the total number of exposures I set — not a problem because I set that number really high, knowing that the Plan’s end time (5am in this example) would come first.

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I’ll hop back onto the Plan screen, and reset the Plan [1] so it’s fresh and ready to go next time. (This doesn’t have to be done now; if you forget then it can be done before you begin an imaging run on the next clear night). You’ll see a message asking if you’re sure you want to reset the Plan. It’s fine to click OK; it won’t delete your images!

Then I’ll power the ASIAIR down. If the weather forecast is clear, or only light showers, between now and the next clear night, I’ll leave everything set up but with a giant Cygnus Astro cover over it all for safety. If lots of rain is forecast then I’ll put the telescope and its accessories into my shed, but the mount is permanently attached to my concrete block pier, so I’ll leave that outside protected by a smaller Cygnus Astro cover.

I’ll use that Plan mode to image the same target night after night. The trick is to not rotate your camera, as that will make things trickier!

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What about Flat frames?

I’ll take one set of Flat frames per filter, at any convenient time. I use AutoRun rather than Plan mode, and the settings shown here:

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The Grand Finale

Using this technique and the framing shown, I spent three weeks gathering data and eventually produced this image of The Cygnus Wall:

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