Constellation drawings V6
 

Panoramic Horizon
Digital Photographs
 

The photographs below are animated GIF images...please be patient while they load.

Mt. Wilson Horizon

Image courtesy Sean Hoss

Download the Horizon files into the My Documents\Software Bisque\TheSky6\Horizons folder. Once the .Horizon file and the Alpha Channel TIFF file are "unzipped", you can add the horizon to TheSky6 using View | Real Mode Options as shown below.

Click Horizon image

Then Browse the files on your system

Click Apply and Save. That is it. The new horizon will take effect. Often it is easiest to use one of the horizon buttons N, S, E, or W to set the display properly to see the horizon. Use Orientation | Look | then choose a direction. Or use the Orientation tool bar.

 

NOTE: If you do not see the horizon file by name listed make certain you are "Browsing" the appropriate folder!  It is quite possible the folder is NOT where you have placed the files.

Orientation Tool Bar

Choose N-S-E-or W

Beaumont Hills horizon looking South

 Note use of Horizon Glow located on the Real Mode Options
 (courtesy Barry Gerdes)

How do I stitch the horizon together?

Manually stitching the individual images together by hand is problematic at best.  In fact, it can take many many hours and even then getting each image properly aligned and balanced doesn't do the image justice. However, there is finally an onslaught of programs now available that will do the job for you automatically. These programs will actually do a "BETTER" job and even take out camera lens distortion!

 

In house we  have used ULead 360, (~$40.00 U.S.) PhotoShop Elements, PhotoShop CS2, and recently I have purchased The Panorama Factory ($59.95 U.S.) which has a 30 day trial period and comes HIGHLY recommended. At $59.95 it may seem pricey compared to other programs I have used it is a bargain. I guarantee if your time is worth ANYTHING it will more than pay for itself even after only one use. The program also has support for pretty much every digital camera/lens combo. out there. These programs are absolutely amazing at what they do provided your images are taken correctly (i.e. enough percentage overlap in the images 20% to 80% and level tripod is always best if possible but not necessary with extra software work. TheSky6 manual has details on how to take the individual images.

 

Once you have the individual pieces of the horizon taken the program will literally do the rest (in regard to stitching and color balancing). The only work still left to be done is creating the Alpha Channel TIFF that is needed to mask the background sky (getting rid of clouds, etc.). Again, please refer to TheSky6 manual on-line with complete details on how to create the Alpha Channel TIFF. By downloading any of the examples above you can see exactly how this is done. Keep in mind NOT ALL graphic programs have support for Alpha Channel TIFFS. Adobe PhotoShop is my personal favorite for this kind of work, again pricey but worth it.

How do I align the Azimuth and Altitude?

In order to properly place your horizon you will need to know where one object in the image is located relative to azimuth. The height of the image is more difficult to accurately determine. However, if you really want to do it right just get the azimuth setting correct first then on a given night wait for an object like the moon to be placed near a known object in the image like a tree then note the altitude of the moon (or star) at that time and then adjust the altitude values accordingly. Got it?

 

With the Mt. Wilson example horizon I was told by Shawn that the large pole in the image was directly due NORTH making the adjustment for azimuth very simple. I enabled the Meridian line (goes directly north and south) then simply entered different values for the Azimuth offset (degs) in the Real Mode Options for the "Horizon". I also enabled the Local Horizon as well so the North/South/East and West indicators show in TheSky display!

Enable the Meridian/Local Horizon

View | Reference Lines

Now in TheSky choose the option to "look North" for our example. Use the Orientation tool bar and select "N" or use Orientation | Look | North.

Look Due North in our example

Choose a direction

Note Meridian line relative to our known object!

Use a "ZERO" offset value for azimuth
convenient in this case!

NOTE: If the horizon disappears you may have to move in/our or up/down slightly for it to appear!  Note the discrepancy using the wrong azimuth offset value.
 

The trick now is to find the value for the Azimuth offset that shifts the image to match the reference object. Simple enough!  By trial and error you can enter new values and APPLY them to see the affect they have on the images position relative to the horizon line.

Enter new value

Press Apply and Save!

NOTE: YOU MUST USE "APPLY AND SAVE" on the Real Mode Options dialog for the changes to take affect!  If you only press ENTER the changes will be ignored. Once the change is entered and applied you will see the change take affect in the display.

-1.5 Azimuth offset is perfect!

 Azimuth is now set correctly

Again, trial and error is the best method here. Just keep trying until you get it right.

Antares next to the 100 foot solar tower
Use a star or planet as a reference

By changing the Alt. ascend (degs) you can accurately position the height of the image using the background stars or planets/moon. And again you should have the Azimuth position set accurately first!  See the below image changes when the values 10, 12 and 15 are used!

Note changes caused by changing the Alt Ascend (degs)

Keep trying till you get it right!

Using the Telescope to report and accurate alt/az position

Can I just use the telescope to report an accurate altitude and azimuth position?  Surely!
 

First TURN OFF telescope tracking in TheSky or the telescope will be moving relative to the horizon. Use Telescope | More settings and remove the check mark next to Tracking. Now by placing an object on terra firma planet Earth in the  field of view of the telescope or finder just click on the telescope cross hair position in TheSky and note the "Cursor" position reported.
 

Do not use a stars position or other non-stellar object but rather the "Cursor" horizon position by clicking on the telescope cross hair. You need not be too concerned about accuracy here.

Use a an Earth Based object!

Note telescope tracking is disabled - turned OFF!!

In addition to disabling the tracking of the telescope also turn off the stars and other non-stellar objects to avoid clicking on something other than the telescope's position. Or just make sure you have used the DOWN ARROW found on the Object Information dialog to access Cursor Position in the list!  See below. Now note the Altitude and Azimuth coordinates reported by TheSky (Horizon) found in the Object Information dialog. This becomes a very accurate reference assuming your telescope has been properly initialized!

Note the Cursor Horizon coordinates

Now you know exactly what direction to align on!