has anyone tried the Celestron star sense auto align? any success? is it worth using?
has anyone tried the Celestron star sense auto align? any success? is it worth using?
Barry Ziober · Dec 4, 2025, 06:33 PM
has anyone tried the Celestron star sense auto align? any success? is it worth using?
First, what are you looking to do with it and what are your goals? Are you wanting to do visual astronomy or astrophotography?
If you are referring to the original Celestron StarSense Auto Align (not the alignment/autoguider combo), I do have a lot of experience with using it for visual use. The original worked very well for basically getting a “model” of the night sky so that GOTOs would be acceptable for viewing and was more accurate than using the All-Star alignment (or whatever it’s called). However, I would never recommend using it for astrophotography. The other model that is a combo autoguider, I can see possibly using it in conjunction with other imaging software/equipment, but I would not rely solely on it.
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What is your goal, visual observing or imaging?
i saw this and was wondering what’s it used for and if it works, seems like a guide scope but just for sky alignment
Barry Ziober · Dec 4, 2025, 08:21 PM
i saw this and was wondering what’s it used for and if it works, seems like a guide scope but just for sky alignment
I see, well there are two different versions of the the StarSense product. They work (though I haven’t used the combo guider version), but I would have reservations in using them due to common software conflicts between Celestron CPWI and photo capturing/photo management software like NINA.
There is the classic StarSense that is used for sky alignment (which you are correct about) and there is a “V2/Version 2” that is a combo unit for alignment and guiding.
The former (the classic StarSense) just creates a sky model for alignment and then doesn’t do anything else—the Celestron mount’s GOTO function takes over. The classic version will only work with Celestron mounts. As previously mentioned, I would only use this for visual purposes.
The latter version will do alignment and guiding, but is fairly expensive (in my view) at $799 USD and will require an additional “conversion box” to work with Skywatcher mounts. There are some “pain points” with setting this version of StarSense up and you can look those up on various astrophotography sites for more details.
For a fraction of the price and not having to deal with the Celestron CPWI interface, you could use a mini guide scope, a mini monochrome camera, and PHD2 (open sourced) to guide with. Likewise, if you use EKOS, you can use the internal virtual GPS guider and skip the guide scope/guide camera set-up.
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bigCatAstro · Dec 4, 2025, 06:49 PM
The other model that is a combo autoguider
I started off with the StarSense AutoGuider (SSAG) in combo with the C8 on a AVX mount. AutoAlign does speed up my setup time quite a bit compared to the other alignment methods available via the handcontroller or CPWI (the Celestron Software). For visual use it works fine and in combination with NINA for imaging it improves time needed for an inital slew¢er, too.
Used in combination with CPWI my model allows for custom alignment routines: 4 or more pre-defined points to plate-solve (away from roofs, trees and other obstructions) - the normal routine just tries to solve certaine points and continues until it has solved enough points, which can take ages if you have a restricted horizon…
bigCatAstro · Dec 4, 2025, 06:49 PM
is a combo autoguider, I can see possibly using it in conjunction with other imaging software/equipment,
well, I now just use it for a quick initial alignment and easy polar-alignment, and the switch it off and use PHD2 with a ZWO mini guidecam. Though it is possible to use the SSAG with NINA as direct guider, it doesn’t always play nice and I do get much better results with the dedicated solution.
Generally: AutoAlign: nice to have.
Clear skies!
thanks much
Robin Bosshard · Dec 4, 2025, 09:01 PM
I started off with the StarSense AutoGuider (SSAG) in combo with the C8 on a AVX mount. AutoAlign does speed up my setup time quite a bit compared to the other alignment methods available via the handcontroller or CPWI (the Celestron Software). For visual use it works fine and in combination with NINA for imaging it improves time needed for an inital slew¢er, too.
Used in combination with CPWI my model allows for custom alignment routines: 4 or more pre-defined points to plate-solve (away from roofs, trees and other obstructions) - the normal routine just tries to solve certaine points and continues until it has solved enough points, which can take ages if you have a restricted horizon…
This makes sense and I can totally see the use-case for it. Personally, I try to limit the number of fail points during my imaging sessions, so I’d rather plate solve in a portion of the sky that I know is clear in NINA than add an additional interface layer to go through. However, this is a very good use-case for switching between the systems.
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