SBIG ST-I Autoguiding Kit

The SBIG ST-I Guiding Kit is a set of mechanical and optical parts that turn the ST-I camera into a compact, lightweight guiding system capable of arcsecond guiding accuracy. The kit consists of a set of mounting rings, universal base plate, c-mount adapter, 100mm lens and lens shade. The assembled kit will mount to virtually any telescopes piggyback bracket or other mounting plate having a standard tri-pod 1/4-20 threaded hole or bolt. When assembled, although compact in size, the ST-I in this configuration is capable of guiding to an accuracy of approximately one arc second.

Capable of guiding to subarcsecond accuracy on stars fainter than 7th magnitude using 1-second exposures. With its 2.7 x 2.0 degree field of view, this means that there will virtually always be a suitable guide star in the field of view no matter where the telescope is pointed in the sky. Eliminates need to hunt for guide stars. Since there is no need to adjust the pointing of the guide scope to find suitable guide stars, the guider can be more firmly mounted to avoid differential deflection.

Unlike mounting systems using rings with three point adjustment screws that can move or flex, the oversized rings of this Guiding Kit clamp firmly around the body of the ST-I camera and hold it firmly in place. Guide scopes that use adjustable mounting systems are almost always plagued with differential deflection.The ST-I guiding Kit is mechanically rock-solid.

In addition to making guiding a complete and easy task, this kit also makes the ST-I a very capable electronic finder scope. The ST-I, with its built-in shutter can take dark frames allowing the useful capture of relatively long exposures compared to other guiders.

The lens of our new Guider Kit has a fast focal ratio of f/2.8. This combined with the sensitivity and dark frame capability of the ST-I means that globular clusters and cores of galaxies are within easy reach of this compact system. In tests of the ST-I and Guider Kit from a typical backyard observatory with average light pollution, stars dimmer than 10th magnitude were detected in 1-second exposures. In 10 seconds, stars dimmer than 13th magnitude were recorded and stars as dim as 15th magnitude were captured in 30 seconds.

This kit does not include the ST-I.