My first experience with hyperstar was on my 14" SCT back around 2014.? I was into Electronically Assisted Astronomy and decided to try and see what I could see with my tiny (6.5mm diagonal) analog video camera and the hyperstar on my C14.? Well I was dumbstruck by the view of the Sculpter Galaxy in great detail filling the screen in just 21seconds.? I have continued to use hyperstar both for EAA and conventional astrophotography, now on my C11 and find it to be an extraordinary assets to an SCT.? For those who haven't tried it, I put together a video explaining how it works, showing some examples from both EAA and traditional astrophotography and explain everything (I think) that one needs to know to get it going.? If you don't already have a hyperstar you might want to take a look.? And even if you already use hyperstar you might want to check out the video to see if there is anything you did not already know.? You can find it here??would be happy to hear about other experiences with hyperstar and any feedback on the video.

Regards,
Curtis

yes hyperstar is amazing stuff, changes your F11 sct into an F2 monster :) I would readily buy one for my C14, but we don't get any clear sky here anymore in Wales UK. I know that may sound like an excuse or an exagerration and to a certain extent it is, as we did have some clear nights on odd occasions between September and May around full moon - but I can't image galaxies then :( Climate change has wreaked havoc for ground based telescopes here.

There is a really good source of info on Hyperstar . Greg Parker who runs the observatory, picked up an early version of hyperstar from Starizona when it was first available, and did a lot of technical work with it to obtain good collimation, which was almost impossible on the early non adjustable version. Later versions of Hyperstar have collimation screws which makes things relatively straightforward. So if you're thinking of buying a used Hyperstar, make sure you get one that has the collimation adjusters :)
best wishes
Paul

Hi Curtis,

Your video was excellent.? Newbie questions... Do you use an auto guider when you are using your Hyperstar or is F2 so fast you don't need to?? I'm guessing you can't use an off-axis guider with a Hyperstar set up?? If you have to auto guide, what do you use?

Thanks

I don't find it necessary to guide at F/2.? The field is so wide and I have a good mount (SB MyT or MX) that drift is not significant. If I am doing EAA with live stacking software like SharpCap, I don't usually stay on one object for more than 30min and not even that most of the time.? Stacking software adjusts frame by frame to keep the image clean.? If I am doing astrophotography I use NINA and I set it up so it plate solves from time to time and adjusts to keep the object centered if it drifts too much.? ?There is no reason one cannot use a separate guide scope if their situation produces more drift.

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