Admirable app and adaptor

The StarSense adaptor/phone dock lies on the other side of the mounting arm to the telescope, and this lines up perfectly with the direction the telescope is pointing. Simply download the StarSense Explorer app from Google Play or the Apple app store and insert your smartphone in the holder. When the app starts up you can align the smartphone with the telescope, which is best done in the daytime on a distant target for accurate alignment. The adaptor positions your smartphone over a mirror, allowing its camera to ‘see’ the night sky.

The app is very effective and is at the core of the StarSense system; it platesolves the view of the sky the phone camera sees and works out where it is pointing. This allows the planetarium aspect of the app to show you the way via onscreen arrows to a target (below, right). Move the scope manually until you are almost on target, leave the scope to refine its position, then you can fine tune the position so the indicator box turns green when you’re on target. There is also a red light night mode (below, left).