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X-Y Orthogonal Centering Plate (Solar Sweet Spot & Planetary Edition)
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  • X-Y Orthogonal Centering Plate (Solar Sweet Spot & Planetary Edition)
  • X-Y Orthogonal Centering Plate (Solar Sweet Spot & Planetary Edition)
  • X-Y Orthogonal Centering Plate (Solar Sweet Spot & Planetary Edition)

X-Y Orthogonal Centering Plate (Solar Sweet Spot & Planetary Edition)

€79.00
Tax included

Tame the elusive Sweet Spot of your H-alpha solar filters and optimize high-resolution framing.

  • ☀️ H-Alpha Tuning: Slide your sensor to capture peak contrast and uniformity (DayStar Quark, HelioStar, Lunt).
  • ⚡ Slim 30.5mm Profile: Ultra-low backfocus (M/F) to easily reach focus behind diagonals or wedges.
  • ⚙️ Metal Threads: Epoxy-bonded M42 aluminum inserts (5mm depth), fully wear-free.
  • 🎯 Fine Centering: Pixel-perfect targeting in tiny ROIs and easy SCT mirror shift correction.
⚠️ Select your M42 thread pattern (M/F, M/M, F/F) from the dropdown menu.
Configuration option: Option C: M42 Male Input / M42 Female Output
Quantity
Impression sur commande (prévoir un délais supplémentaire de traitement d'environ 5 jours)

X-Y Orthogonal Centering Plate

Special Solar H-Alpha Sweet Spot Tuning & High-Resolution Planetary Framing Stage

Whether in solar photography or high-resolution planetary imaging, achieving perfect mechanical alignment between your camera sensor and the optimal optical axis is a constant challenge. Our hybrid metal-polymer orthogonal X-Y centering plate provides a highly precise, robust, and affordable hardware response to overcome the optical limitations of your telescope setup.

☀️ Solar Imaging Revolution: Tame the H-Alpha Etalon "Sweet Spot"

Narrowband solar filters (such as the Sky-Watcher HelioStar hélioscope, DayStar Quark H-alpha eyepieces, or Lunt systems) inherently suffer from bandpass shift across the field of view. The maximum contrast zone—the famous "Sweet Spot" where chromospheric details pop—is a tiny, restricted area. Unfortunately, due to manufacturing tolerances, this sweet spot is almost never perfectly aligned with your camera sensor's mechanical center.

The Solution: Instead of off-centering your equatorial mount (which throws your target off-frame) or tilting the optical train (which introduces focal plane tilt and astigmatism), our X-Y plate lets you mechanically slide your sensor to pinpoint the exact transmission peak of your filter. You instantly unlock the full contrast of the chromosphere, capturing pristine solar prominences, filaments, and active regions with breathtaking contrast.

🌟 Additional High-Resolution Field Applications

1. Backlash-Free Centering in Small ROIs

At long focal lengths (using Barlow lenses, extensive extensions, or native SCT setups), positioning a planet or a lunar crater dead center on a tiny sensor is incredibly tedious using a mount hand controller. This plate lets you manually and smoothly tweak X/Y positioning directly at the camera, making it incredibly easy to utilize small ROI (Region of Interest) modes to maximize your software FPS.

2. SCT Primary Mirror Shift Compensation

During meridian flips or tracking tracking, Schmidt-Cassegrain primary mirrors (C8, C9.25, C11, C14...) inevitably tilt under gravity (mirror shift), displacing the optimal collimation sweet spot off your sensor. Our X-Y plate lets you slide your camera back into the peak optical axis in seconds, saving you from doing a stressful secondary mirror collimation in the middle of the night.

Pragmatic Mechanics Built for Real Payloads

Let's be completely transparent: this is not a laboratory-grade metrology stage costing hundreds of dollars. Unloaded, the system displays minor structural tolerances. However, its magic shows under real imaging loads: once your optical train is fully attached (tested and field-proven under the payload weight of cooled cameras, filter wheels, or ADCs), this micro-play is naturally countered by gravity. Axis translation then runs perfectly steady, linear, and free of differential flexure during adjustments.

Metal-Hybrid Wear-Free Engineering

To confidently support heavy imaging trains without a hint of sagging, we completely eliminated printed plastic threads:

• Epoxy-Bonded Aluminum Inserts: Precision-machined M42 aluminum rings (5mm thread depth) are structurally bonded with heavy-duty dual-component epoxy into the high-density PETG chassis. You get a wear-free, professional metal interface that stands up to constant setup changes on the field.
• Ultra-Slim 30.5mm Profile: This low-profile hybrid integration keeps the physical thickness down to just 30.5 mm (in Male/Female configuration). This preserves your precious backfocus, ensuring you reach focus easily behind diagonal mirrors or solar hélioscopes (such as the Sky-Watcher HelioStar).

Modular Configuration Options

To slip cleanly into your imaging stack without stacking unnecessary metal adapters, the plate features standard M42 (42mm x0.75, 5mm thread height) threads and comes in three clear patterns:
• Male / Female Option (Slim 30.5 mm optical thickness)
• Male / Male Option
• Female / Female Option

💡 The Astronomer's Advice: "Solar astrophotographers often spend hours trying to figure out why their H-alpha images lack uniform contrast. Once the camera is shifted just a few millimeters using our micrometric X-Y knobs to intersect the peak bandpass of the etalon, the leap in contrast is spectacular. While slight mechanical play exists when unloaded, gravity fully stabilizes the stage the second it holds your camera and imaging accessories."

— Vincent, Founder of Azur3dprint

Technical Specifications & Materials

  • Frame Structure: Printed in ultra-dense Premium PETG, textured matte black for stray light absorption.
  • Optical Thickness (M/F): 30.5 mm.
  • Optical Interfaces: Embedded M42 threaded aluminum rings (5mm thread depth) bonded with structural epoxy.
  • Movement Drive: 0.7mm micrometric pitch stainless steel lead screw coupled with a smooth aluminum guide rod.
  • Hardware fasteners: Marine-grade rustproof stainless steel.
  • Control Knobs: Deeply knurled oversized stainless and anodized aluminum thumb wheels (excellent grip, even with gloves).
  • Craftsmanship: Proudly designed, hand-assembled, and quality-tested in our workshop in Cannes, France.
AT-001

Data sheet

Type de filament
Petg
Colour
Black