At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope. We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. If you have never used an equatorial mount for astrophotography before, the first thing you need to know is that polar alignment is critical.

The base of the mount and the connection to the tripod are solid and secure. I ran into a small issue with a stiff right Azimuth knob out of the box, but I took it all the way out, re-threaded it in straight and it’s working flawlessly now. In the same way, the same app can tell you the current right ascension and declination for the Heart Nebula: 02h 35m 09s and +61º 31’ 02”, respectively.To use a ball head (not included with the mount) on the Star Adventurer, you can use the green 3/8″ ball head adapter. This attaches to the mounting platform, and then you can thread the base of your ball head to it. The tripod that comes with the GTi is much smaller and lighter than the one you would find on a full-blown equatorial mount. It’s not much to look at, but it actually feels surprisingly solid. There are some nice grippy, rubber feet on it. With its 5kg payload capacity, the Star Adventurer GTi is well-equipped to handle your DLSR or mirrorless camera sporting a wide-angle or telephoto lens plus accessories, a small aperture astrograph with a dedicated astronomy camera, or simply an OTA for visual use via its 45mm dovetail saddle. When you are sure you have Polaris in the field of view of the Polar Scope, increase the brightness of the Polar Scope Illuminator until you can only see a few of the brightest stars, the brightest of which will be Polaris. If you do that, remember to mount the cover on the polar scope, to avoid having the battery cover, and your precious phone with it, fall off the mount 😉

To frame your target, look through the star finder and move the payload so that the red dot superposes to your target (or the region where this is). How To Frame Invisible Target By Taking Advantage Of The Date & Time Graduation Circles I ran the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi at the Cherry Springs Star Party in 2023, and captured one of my favorite deep-sky images of all time. Polar alignment is vital and the Star Adventurer 2i has a built-in polarscope, which can be used for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and we found it worked without any extra calibration. The external polarscope illuminator does its job well, but it does need to be removed before adding the camera equipment for wide-field imaging. Vital stats This is the proper way to proceed to ensure the best results if you are after deep sky astrophotography (nebulae, galaxies, etc.).

Quick Setup Guide

Note that the Time Graduation Circle is fixed on the body of the Star Adventurer, while the Date Graduation Circle (and the Time Zone Scale with it) can rotate with the Polar Scope.

Combining performance and portability, the Star Adventurer GTi is the ultimate choice for astrophotographers seeking exceptional imaging results on the go. Unleash your creativity and explore the wonders of the universe with this remarkable equatorial mount. To polar align with the laser, hold it at the polar scope, or shine the beam through it, and move the Star Adventurer so that the laser beam goes on Polaris.The SAM is really designed to be used with lenses of 55mm or shorter focal length, due to its payload capacity of 3kg. This means you only need a rough polar alignment as at such a wide focal length you won’t see star trails until you reach much longer exposures, perfect for beginners. If your interests lie in wide-angle nightscapes or Milky Way photography, chances are a ball head is your best option. A DSLR or mirrorless camera and wide-angle lens are relatively lightweight when compared to a telephoto lens or telescope. In this scenario, a ball head will easily support your camera and lens, and you’ll have the freedom to point the camera in whichever direction you like. The payload capacity for this mount is 8kg, which should be more than you’ll ever need as the Star Adventurer payload capacity is 5kg. Earth revolves once every 24hrs (give or take), thus every 15° of longitude from the Standard Meridian of Greenwich (London) there is a LSTM for a time zone: this defines the Universal Time (UT) or Standard Time. This world map shows the different LSTM each 15° of longitude from the meridian of Greenwich and how this is correlated to the Universal Time. (Image credit: Journeynorth) Of course, it’s fine being cheap but does it actually work? Yes! With an accurate polar alignment, I have achieved 2-minute exposures without auto-guiding at 200mm, and I know others have achieved more than this.