PHD2 is a telescope autoguiding software that automates the process of tracking a guide star. This is an important aspect of deep sky astrophotography because it allows you to focus on capturing successful long exposure images and get the most out of your telescope mount .
PHD2 is easy enough for a beginner to use right away, yet also includes sophisticated guiding analysis tools that experienced users will appreciate. The software is available for Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems. The built-in help file inside PHD2 contains a wealth of information, or you can download the instruction manual here .
My autoguiding graph in PHD2 using the Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro telescope mount
I have found PHD2 Guiding to be an incredible tool for my backyard deep sky astrophotography. I have been using this software for a long time, starting with the original PHD “1” verion. The latest version of the software (PHD2) has been totally overhauled by a team of passionate developers that aim to make autoguiding even better.
Download the latest version of PHD2 Guiding
The guys over at the Astro Imaging Channel released an informative video featuring one of the team members of PHD who worked on the software. Andy Galasso quickly reveals just how passionate he is about the project, and how knowledgeable he is with the PHD guiding software.
The video is quite long, but contains a wealth of information about autoguiding with PHD:
The intelligent folks over at PHD can explain the full power of PHD2 guiding better than I can, but I thought I would share what I personally took away from this enlightening presentation. Before adjusting the settings in PHD2 Guiding, it is important to make sure that your equipment is prepared for imaging. This includes accurate Polar Alignment and balancing the weight of your payload.
How to use PHD2 Drift Alignment
Here are the top 5 tips I gathered from watching Andy explain exactly how to use PHD2 guiding for best results:
Find this feature under Tools > Guiding Assistant
As Andy puts it, you’ll want to observe an unguided star motion to see what you are up against. This gives you a window into the amplitude of the RA (Right Ascension) periodic error. Again, explore this tool for a more detailed insight into your particular mount’s characteristics.
The Right Ascension Max Drift rate displayed in the guiding assistant will display a recommended guide exposure length. Very handy!
The built-in equipment profile wizard in PHD2 guiding allows you to tell PHD exactly which hardware you are using. Here you can set all of the specific details of your gear. This includes entering in your guide scope focal length and autoguiding camera pixel size.
At this point it will also prompt you to build a dark frame library. You’ll want to make sure that PHD2 Guiding is making the necessary corrections relevant to your unique setup.
PHD 2 Guiding has an advanced feature that calculates the best possible star in your field of view to use for guiding. It will select a star based on algorithms to avoid over saturated or poorly sized stars. Why not let PHD choose the best possible star, rather than guessing yourself!
In the past, I would try to select a star that was “medium-sized” and near the center of the frame. This guessing game no longer takes place thanks to the auto star select feature within PHD2 Guiding.
In the video, Andy explains that his tests show that using longer guide exposures results in fewer pulse corrections needed. This was a big eye-opener for me, as I had never given much thought to the guide exposure length I would use. Generally, my guide exposures were about 1 to 1.5 seconds. The diagram below illustrates how longer guide exposures can provide a smoother graph:
He recommends using longer guide exposures for improved performance. Earlier, I mentioned using the guiding assistant to give you a recommended guide exposure length. In the example used for Andy’s equipment, that was an exposure of 2.7 seconds. As a rule of thumb, do not expose so long that the stars begin to over saturate, or PHD will not be able to provide an accurate pulse correction.
When looking at the graph in PHD, remember that blue is RA , and red is DEC . If your graph displays a zigzag pattern like the one below, it is a good sign that you are over-correcting. Toggle the “corrections” check box to get a visual reference for exactly what PHD is doing.
If you are over correcting, the solution is to decrease the aggressiveness and increase your RA minimum motion. On the other side of the coin, if you are under-correcting, your graph will look like the image below:
For more information about autoguiding with PHD2 Guiding, please visit the Open PHD Guiding Google Group Forum or the Stark Labs Astronomy Software Forum on Yahoo . These forums offer answers to many of the troubleshooting issues you may experience while using PHD for astrophotography.
Clearly, I am still learning the ins and outs of this software myself. I hope to improve my knowledge of PHD2 this year to get the most out of this amazing free resource for astrophotographers.
In October 2017, I tested out a new astrophotography mount, the iOptron CEM60 . One of my main goals was to see if this mount could outperform my Sky-Watcher HEQ-5 Pro in terms of autoguiding, and overall tracking performance.
Have a look at the PHD2 graph I was able to achieve while imaging early on in my testing. The total RMS error was less than 1 second, and noticeably better than anything I had seen using the HEQ-5 Pro.
However, the fact that I was now pulse guiding via ASCOM to the mount directly may have made a difference as well. (This can be done on the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 as well)
A new telescope mount presents an opportunity to compare guiding performance. The Sky-Watcher EQ6-R was very impressive in terms of autoguiding performance right out of the gate. Using the default settings with PHD and the generic ST-4 mount connection, I was able to achieve an impressive guiding graph.
In the screenshot below, you’ll notice that the total RMS error is 0.16 (0.63″). This resulted in an incredibly sharp image with round, pinpoint stars in each frame. Autoguiding with a telescope mount like this means that you will never have to discard image exposures due to bad guiding, and elongated stars.
My PHD guiding graph using the Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount
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By Steve Ward March 3 in Discussions - Software
I've just seen over on FB a new extension to PHD2 that facilitates both Solar and Lunar autoguiding.
I know some folk are scared of FB but it's the only place I've seen mention of it thus far , and it's a Private group so it's not full of the usual FB types.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1320781201963513.
Share on other sites.
I've been following this too and intend to try it when the sun gets higher and clears the house. I tried a few time lapse captures last summer and despite having decent PA (fixed pier) I was getting some drift over a couple of hours.
I tried Sharpcap's solar guiding several times and gave up, I couldn't even get a consistent calibration. I considered a dedicated solar guider but they cost a ridiculous amount of money for what they are.
I'm excited to see the results people are getting with this and I'm looking forward to getting some multi-hour captures with no drift.
Thanks to @Starflyer for bringing this new thread to my attention. For beginners, I highly recommend familiarizing yourselves with the basics and accumulating experience using the standard and well-regarded PHD2. I have developed an extension for the open-source PHD2 project to enable Solar and Lunar guiding, which I've named the Planetary Tracking tool. The aim of this new tool is to enhance PHD2's capabilities, allowing it to lock onto larger celestial objects with circular edges by identifying their center and using it as a "virtual star." This enables PHD2 to maintain its position locked on not only full round disks but also any crescent shape, such as the Moon in its various phases or the Sun during an eclipse.
The tool is in the advanced stages of development and has so far received positive feedback from a few beta testers (including my own limited testing). I have created some initial documentation; however, due to numerous developments and changes to the UI, I've fallen behind in updating the user manual. Instead, I've been issuing periodic updates on the FB forum with instructions for the proper workflow and tuning some of the detection parameters. Currently, the tool is maintained in a separate branch within the forked GitHub repository, and, as of now, binaries are available only for the Windows platform. I'll share more useful information later, but for now, here is the download link for the latest beta
https://github.com/Eyeke2/phd2.planetary/releases/tag/v2.6.13-planet.dev6.rc3
For the folks who don't have access or don't want to use FB, I'm reposting the text of my recent report about my own hands-on experience with the tool to create a timelapse of the solar surface:
I hope the following post will be beneficial to this community and clarify the recommended workflow. Yesterday, I managed to test the PHD2 planetary module for solar imaging with my rig, which includes an APM107/700 APO, Rainbow RST135-E mount, DayStar Quark Chromosphere, and a Player One Apollo-M Max camera for imaging. I also used a 162mm guide scope with a Player One Mars II Mono camera for guiding. The main imaging scope is equipped with a Baader ERF rejection filter, and in front of the guiding camera, I have a stack of Player One 1.25" ERF with a couple of ND1000 filters mounted.
Without the ability to perform precise polar alignment during the daytime, I made a rough alignment using a compass and manually adjusting the mount's altitude. Setting the proper guiding camera gain and exposure times was crucial before starting PHD2 calibration with the planetary guiding module; for me, this was 5 msec and a gain of 35. Finding focus in bright light is challenging—it requires being able to see the computer display and reach the focusing knob. Initially, the Sun's images in PHD2 were blurry with a bright spot in the center and a diffuse glow around it. By adjusting the camera's position inside the focuser, I found the approximate position where sunspots became visible. It's important that your camera settings are not overexposed to assist in achieving optimal focus, which is crucial for the performance of the planetary detection algorithm.
After roughly focusing, I tuned the planetary detection parameters by setting the min/max radii to closely match the solar disk's size, setting the min radius about 10 pixels less and the max radius about 10 pixels more than the actual solar radius. I used the Eclipse mode for detection, which will soon be the sole option in my software for full planetary disk detection (surface feature detection will remain unaffected). Tuning the Edge Detection Threshold is a two-step process: I start with a value that allows the disk to be detected and show the green circle - a good starting point is a middle value. When PHD2 finds the solar disk, it displays its radius, and with the correct guide scope focal length setting, the radius in arcsec should be around 900-1000 (shown next to the radius in the star profile window).
To fine-tune focusing, I toggle from radius display to 'SHARPNESS' in the star profile window by clicking the 'RADIUS' label. I adjusted the focuser knob in small increments and observed the sharpness value peak in the Star Profile window. At this point, the sunspots were distinctly visible. Once the focus was set, I went back to fine-tuning the 'Edge Detection Threshold' by enabling the 'Display internal edges/features' checkbox, which shows the internal contour edges used by the detection algorithm. When set correctly, the red contour should closely follow the solar limb and remain stable without showing random artifacts or jumping 'hairs.' It's best to set this value close to its maximum and ensure that detection remains stable. Lower values may be necessary when the signal is weakened by clouds or when the object becomes thin due to an eclipse or crescent phases.
After achieving focus and stable detection, I ran a PHD2 calibration using the same workflow as for nighttime astrophotography. The choice of guiding algorithms is up to personal preference and experience; some may prove more suitable for solar photography, which will be determined experimentally. My rudimentary polar alignment resulted in a 10.7-degree orthogonality error in PHD2 calibration results. Nonetheless, I started guiding and ran a 1-hour and 40-minute capture session using SharpCap. PHD2 maintained the Sun's center with a total RMS of 0.7 pixels or 2.6". Despite poor seeing and potential tuning needs for my Quark, the session served as proof of concept. I'm sharing the resulting video, which has been stabilized and processed for contrast.
After capturing the movie, I attempted to improve polar alignment by using PHD2's Guiding Assistant tool and manually adjusting my mount's azimuth/altitude. In about 10-15 minutes, I significantly improved the polar alignment (see attached image in the comments). If time allows, I recommend trying to improve polar alignment before your imaging session. A few iterations with the Guiding Assistant, minimizing both RA and DEC drift rates with small mount adjustments, can make a difference. I hope sharing my experience proves useful to you. Happy imaging and clear skies!
A sample timelapse created using PHD2 Planetary Tracking
Attached below are few screenshots showing PHD2 guiding in action, a screenshot of SharpCap and two different PHD2 calibration results - the worse one was actually used to create the timelapse, and the improved one - after using Guiding Assistant and attempt to tweak the Alt/Az of the mount.
Thanks for sharing this here Leo.
Quick questions; if I use the Guiding Assistant to improve PA do I need to recalibrate after each tweak to the Alt / Az position?
Is it possible to use PHD2's drift alignment feature to help tweak the PA?
Recalibration is not required during the tuning - the GA will turn off the guiding anyways. Just watch the slopes and trends to minimize the drift. Before adjusting the knobs, exit GA and stop guiding. Turning the knobs too far may push the Sun away from the frame, so be careful. This is an iterative procedure but with some patience it will be rewarding. But, at the end, when you reach low drift rates in both axes, you'll definitely need to recalibrate.
I wanted to share a quick heads-up about an issue I encountered during my last test session – field rotation. My initial polar alignment wasn’t as precise as it needed to be, leading to noticeable field rotation in the footage. Fortunately, since my total recording time wasn’t extensive, I managed to correct it in post-processing. This experience was a reminder of the importance of thorough polar alignment, especially for long-duration recordings. Field rotation can subtly affect the quality of our captures, making post-processing more challenging. I strongly advise dedicating extra time to ensure your polar alignment is as accurate as possible, as I've suggested previously (using Guiding Assistant, or GA in short). A little extra effort upfront can save a lot of time later and significantly improve the quality of our recordings. Stay sharp, and clear skies!
Here, I've shared a few screenshots demonstrating the algorithm's ability to accurately locate the Sun as it approaches totality or when the sky becomes a bit hazy. However, don't just take my word for it. You might need to manually adjust the Edge Detection Threshold for increased sensitivity, fine-tune the minimum/maximum radii, or alter the camera's exposure time—all of which can be done through the Planetary Tracking tool. In challenging situations, where detection starts to behave erratically, it's best to stop the guiding (while continuing with the exposures) until the sky and scene conditions improve. Another crucial piece of advice: practice before the eclipse. I've implemented significant updates to the Camera Simulator in this version of PHD2. These allow you to upload any image (JPG/PNG/FIT/TIF) and fine-tune or test the planetary detection parameters from the comfort of your armchair. Images are courtesy of Bill Glynn.
I'm pleased to announce the release of a new custom version of PHD2 with Solar/Lunar/Planetary tracking.
https://github.com/Eyeke2/phd2.planetary/releases/tag/v2.6.13-planet.dev6
I hope this new software release will simplify the interface, making it more user-friendly.
On 09/03/2024 at 10:48, Leo Shatz said: I'm pleased to announce the release of a new custom version of PHD2 with Solar/Lunar/Planetary tracking. https://github.com/.../releases/tag/v2.6.13-planet.dev6 I hope this new software release will simplify the interface, making it more user-friendly.
@Leo Shatz I think your github link is missing the user and repo bits
21 hours ago, yopero said: @Leo Shatz I think your github link is missing the user and repo bits
Sorry, could be some technical issue in my previous post, try this link https://github.com/Eyeke2/phd2.planetary/releases/tag/v2.6.13-planet.dev6
On 14/03/2024 at 16:14, Leo Shatz said: Sorry, could be some technical issue in my previous post, try this link https://github.com/Eyeke2/phd2.planetary/releases/tag/v2.6.13-planet.dev6
That link works. Thanks a lot!
I'm pleased to announce the new software version release v2.6.13-planet.dev7.rc1. The important changes are:
* Add pause/resume planetary detection button to enable handling brief periods of cloud cover and totality during eclipse. Still, if for any reason the object will drift away from field of view, PHD2 won't be able to locate and bring it back to center when resuming. The button is enabled only while guiding is active. * Integrated UI controls for reviewing and setting the mount's tracking state and selecting tracking modes. Tracking rate should be select as the beginning of PHD2 session - before calibration and guiding. * Implement logarithmic scaling for the Detection Sensitivity parameter in the Surface Features Detection algorithm. This modification provides a more intuitive and practical control over the algorithm's sensitivity.
Download it here:
https://github.com/Eyeke2/phd2.planetary/releases/tag/v2.6.13-planet.dev7.rc1
I've added Wiki pages for the project starting with basic information and adding Quick Start Guide for Solar Autoguiding.
PHD2 Planetary Guiding Extension Wiki
I am unable to access the Wiki. It takes me back to the source page. Is there another link?
Never mind I found it.
In any case, here is the correct link. I'm not sure what happened to the original post with the broken link.
https://github.com/Eyeke2/phd2.planetary/wiki
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PHD2 is the next generation of guiding software for amateurs of all experience levels
News & Resources
December 22, 2023 - PHD2 v2.6.13 Released
December 21, 2019 - PHD2 Best Practices
December 7, 2019 - macOS Catalina
April 26, 2018 - Polar Alignment tool video tutorials
June 12, 2016 - PHD2_Broker package available
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
PHD2 is guiding software inspired by Stark Labs PHD Guiding. PHD2 is free of cost, open source, and community-developed and supported. Download v2.6.13 macOS Sonoma+ Download v2.6.13 for Windows. ... Just download and run the installer. There is no need to uninstall the older version first. If you do uninstall the older version, you will remove ...
PHD2 is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you concentrate on other aspects of deep-sky imaging or spectroscopy. Easy-to-use, "push here dummy" guiding for beginners. Sophisticated guiding and analysis tools for experienced users. Extensive support for commonly-used equipment.
Zum Autoguiding benötigt man einen Computer mit einer Autoguiding-Software. In aller Munde ist die kostenlose Software " PHD2 Guiding ", die ursprünglich Craig Stark entwickelt hatte. Es gibt aber auch sog. "Stand Alone Lösungen" (d.h. ohne Computer) zum Autoguiding z.B. Lacerta M-GEN, StarAid u.a.
PHD2 v2.6.12 Released - PHD2 Guiding. PHD2 is guiding software inspired by Stark Labs PHD Guiding. PHD2 is free of cost, open source, and community-developed and supported. Download v2.6.12. macOS 64-bit Download v2.6.12. for Windows.
Aktives Mitglied. 22. April 2018. Hallo alle zusammen! Ich habe mir in den letzten Wochen mal die Mühe gemacht, das englischsprachige Handbuch von PHD (aktuelle Version 2.6.4) relativ frei ins Deutsche zu übersetzen. Herausgekommen sind 24 Seiten komprimierte Info zum kostenlosen Download (hoffe, mein Link funktioniert).
In diesem Video zeige ich euch, wie ich erfolgreich mit PHD2 guide. Alle Einstellungen, meine Praxis Erfahrung und noch einiges mehr.🎦 Auto Guiding Teil 1: ...
Lots of improvements to the Guiding Assistant. Updated camera support: Altair, QHY, SBIG, SSAG (Mac), ZWO ASI. New ToupTek camera support for Windows. New MallinCam SkyRaider camera support for Mac. INDI SBIG AO support. Better detection of problems like runaway guiding, excessive backlash, and calibration problems. Improved backlash compensation.
Download here. ASCOMPAD. ASCOMPAD is a free, open source application that provides the ability to control ASCOM compatible Telescope Mounts and Focusers using a standard gamepad. Download here. PHD Guiding 2 Autoguiding software used to correct tracking errors with an autoguider camera. PHD Guiding 2 is the most popular.
In diesem Video beschreibe ich euch grundlegend die Software PHD2 ,und wie ihr mit einer geeigneten Kamera, und der Software PHD2 erfolgreich ins Autoguiding...
Produktbeschreibung. PHD Guiding 1.14.2 konnte von der Webseite des Entwicklers heruntergeladen werden, als wir das letzte Mal gecheckt haben. Wir können nicht garantieren, dass der kostenlose Download verfügbar ist. Die Installationsdateien dieses Programms sind generell als PHD.exe oder phd2.exe usw. bekannt.
PHD2 is guiding software inspired by Stark Labs PHD Guiding. PHD2 is free of cost, open source, and community-developed and supported. Download v2.6.13 macOS Sonoma+ Download v2.6.13 for Windows. Home; Learn More; News; Changelog; Download; Documentation; Getting Help; About; PHD2 v2.6.13 Released.
PHD2 Guiding. Contribute to OpenPHDGuiding/phd2 development by creating an account on GitHub. Skip to content. Navigation Menu Toggle navigation. Sign in ... PHD2 is the enhanced, second generation version of the popular PHD guiding software from Stark Labs. PHD2 is free and open source. Development and support forum: https: ...
Download the software, install it on your computer and connect the camera you choose as guider. Now follow these steps to get started easily in autoguiding: 1) Start PHD Guiding, the following window will open. PHD Guiding, step 1. 2) Click the first button on the bottom left, it will open the window "Camera connection" with a list of cameras.
being displayed in the main window. If guiding is subsequently started, clicking on the 'loop' icon again will pause guiding while continuing to take guide exposures. 3. The PHD2/Guide icon - used to start calibration, if needed, and then to start guiding on the selected star. 4. The Stop icon - used to stop both guiding and looping
Guiding is an indispensable aid to getting very long exposures that are a must for deep sky photography. For most average, backyard astrophotographers, anything longer than 2 minutes is pushing the limits of scopes and mounts - perhaps even pushing 1 minute is a challenge. This is where auto guiding comes in, and for this we can use the ...
28 Aug 2014 PHD Guiding. A more responsive user interface, with a new multi-threaded design. Improved visualization tools for observing guiding performance in units of arc-seconds or pixels. Declination-compensated guiding, eliminating the need for recalibrating when switching targets. Support for guiding with Adaptive Optics units.
Documentation - PHD2 Guiding. PHD2 is guiding software inspired by Stark Labs PHD Guiding. PHD2 is free of cost, open source, and community-developed and supported. Download v2.6.13. macOS Sonoma+ Download v2.6.13. for Windows.
PHD Guiding. PHD Guiding is designed to be "Push Here Dummy" simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent auto-guiding of your telescope. Connect your mount, your camera, select a star, and start guiding. That's it! Despite actually having a Ph.D., I've always had a tough time figuring out which way North is in the guide frame, whether an axis is ...
Download the latest version of PHD2 Guiding. The guys over at the Astro Imaging Channel released an informative video featuring one of the team members of PHD who worked on the software. Andy Galasso quickly reveals just how passionate he is about the project, and how knowledgeable he is with the PHD guiding software.
PHD2 is an open source guiding program for beginners or advanced users. This program can be used in conjunction with many atrophotography programs, such as Sequence Generator Pro. ... To start you can download PHD2 Free from: PHD2. When you install PHD2 you should have a window similar to this: ... Once the Backlash measurement if complete PHD ...
Manual - PHD2 Guiding. PHD2 is guiding software inspired by Stark Labs PHD Guiding. PHD2 is free of cost, open source, and community-developed and supported. Download v2.6.13. macOS Sonoma+ Download v2.6.13. for Windows.
Tracking rate should be select as the beginning of PHD2 session - before calibration and guiding. * Implement logarithmic scaling for the Detection Sensitivity parameter in the Surface Features Detection algorithm. This modification provides a more intuitive and practical control over the algorithm's sensitivity. Download it here:
About PHD2. PHD2 is the next generation of guiding software for amateurs of all experience levels. For beginning imagers. Setup wizard to get guiding started with just a few mouse-clicks. Extensive support for commonly-used equipment. Smart calibration with automatic adjustment for side-of-pier and pointing location.