ModelCreator developed by AstroMi, along with the earlier software Model Maker developed by Per Frejvall, were pioneering projects for the automated creation of sky models for 10Micron mounts. Both applications played an important role in shaping and advancing the automated modeling solutions available today.
Please note that these programs are no longer actively developed and are therefore no longer available for download or support. Users are encouraged to use modern alternatives such as MountWizzard or N.I.N.A., which continue to be actively maintained and enhanced.
To achieve the best possible performance from your 10Micron mount, a sky model should be created. Both MountWizzard4 and the 10u plugin for N.I.N.A. are available free of charge and provide automated sky model creation.
MountWizzard is a modern software solution developed specifically for 10Micron mounts. It enables the automatic creation and management of sky models and offers numerous additional features to optimize the workflow with 10Micron mounts. The software is actively maintained and available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
N.I.N.A. is one of the world's most popular open-source platforms for astrophotography and observatory automation. With the available 10Micron plugins, sky models can be created and managed automatically directly from within N.I.N.A.
An internal sky model can be created and managed automatically from within N.I.N.A. Once created, the model can be reloaded to the mount automatically whenever a new session is started.
The automated sky model creation process uses a camera and plate solving to measure and map pointing errors across the sky:
As long as the mount is not moved (for example, by disassembly, relocation, or transport), the sky model remains valid and can continue to be used for future observing or imaging sessions.
Two programs are available for creating a Pointing Model:
A good model can be created with approx. 25-30 stars (maximum 100 stars) and significantly increases the tracking accuracy, which is particularly important for long focal lengths, narrowband images and long exposures. After creating the pointing model, individual “bad stars” can be removed using the Remove Worst Star option in order to specifically improve the RMS error of the mount.
Important: Don't forget to save the final Pointing Model!
Depending on the focal length used, an RMS error of less than 5 arc seconds is recommended. With a larger star model, however, values well below 1 arc second can also be achieved. In practice, with my current setup - a focal length between 380 and 530 mm - pointing models with 15 to 20 stars are perfectly sufficient.
The entire creation usually only takes about 10 minutes.
An additional advantage: the pointing model can already be taken in advanced twilight - so no valuable exposure time is lost.
300% view - 300 second exposure with 15 star model - Unguided!
For mount control, the official 10Micron ASCOM driver can be used. The latest version is available for download from the 10Micron Forum. A forum account may be required to access the download area.
