Target and Mosaic Planning using Telescopius.com and ASIAIR

ASIAIR based workflow	Target and Mosaic Planning using Telescopius.com and ASIAIR	updated: 2025-07-17
Purpose	Capturing mosaic images of a target that is too large to fit in a single frame.
Previous Step	ASIAR Preparation Steps
Next Step	Processing Mosaic Images
See also	Target and Mosaic Planning on Telescopius.com Setting the correct Camera Orientation
IMPORTANT	Make sure you have activated AutoFocus in the EAF settings before Autorun or each Target Start, or the plate solve for your first target may fail! Set the ZWO EAF close to the expected focus point, which depends on your optical configuration. To autofocus before going to your main target, first go to a favorite target (e.g., the home position; the scope won't move and will autofocus). Then, move on to the next target.

Telescopius.com provides a very valuable online preparation tool for your astro session, you should register at Telescopius,com and also enter your equipment to get the most out of this tool.

TIP: If you plan to take pictures with an ASIAIR, be sure to plan your targets on the same cell phone (or better yet, tablet) that you will be using with the ASIAIR app during the photo session, so that you can easily transfer the target plans to your ASIAIR device!

Telescopius Target Planning Process

Telescopius provides an easy to use 2-step planning process

Procedure	click on the images to open in higher resolution
Telescopius Observatory Settings Once your observation site has been defined, Telescopius calculates all visible targets for your location. Start by selecting the planned date. Telescopius also brings up some moon and weather information:
Filter Target Object Settings
Select your telescope
Select your Camera This panel also allows you to preset the camera rotation to get an optimal target fit for your instruments using the lower "Position Angle" section. UNRESOLVED ISSUE: How to adjust the real camera rotation according to the plan.
Display Target and View Frame An image of the target is displayed with the frame that your instrument will see:

Framing / Mosaicing with Telescopius.com

Procedure	click on the images to open in higher resolution
Telescopius Observatory Settings Follow the steps above If the target is too large to be captured in a single frame, as in this case, you will need to take multiple frames with some overlap. TIP: When using the ASIAIR, the overlap should be at least 15%! .
Set Mosaic Settings You can easily define a set of overlapping frames by clicking on the Mosaic icon on the menu sidebar: For example, if you want an image of the whole nebula, you need a 2x3 mosaic.
Display of Target and Mosaic View Frame
Transfer To transfer the session plan to an ASIAIR device connected to your mobile device, just click on Copy CSV and you will get a list like this, that can be pasted into the session plans of ASIAIR: Pane, RA, DEC, Position Angle (East), Pane width (arcmins), Pane height (arcmins), Overlap, Row, Column Pane 1, 21hr 46' 08", 58º 29' 44", 0.00, 109.20, 74.40, 20%, 1, 1 Pane 2, 21hr 34' 59", 58º 29' 44", 0.00, 109.20, 74.40, 20%, 1, 2 Pane 3, 21hr 45' 59", 57º 30' 13", 0.00, 109.20, 74.40, 20%, 2, 1 Pane 4, 21hr 35' 09", 57º 30' 13", 0.00, 109.20, 74.40, 20%, 2, 2 Pane 5, 21hr 45' 50", 56º 30' 43", 0.00, 109.20, 74.40, 20%, 3, 1 Pane 6, 21hr 35' 17", 56º 30' 43", 0.00, 109.20, 74.40, 20%, 3, 2 Watch this YouTube Video for more details.
If you have prepared your plans on your tablet or mobile phone that also runs the ASIAIR app, you can easily paste the target plan from Telescopius.com into the ASIAIR plans:
Click on copy CSV, go to the Plan Mode of ASIAIR and click on the import symbol. This will add 4 plans each with it's own R.A. and DEC coordinates.	Plan Mode
Check that Autofocus is enabled for each GoTo Open the EAF settings on the focuser. In the EAF settings, open Auto Focus. Enable the "Auto Focus Autorun/Each Target Star" option.
Add the default home position as a first target and let's shoot 1 light frame with 60s exposure. This ensures the success to the plate solve after a GoTo with the correct focus.
Camera Orientation: How you handle the camera orientation depends on whether you have an electronic camera rotator for automatic operation, such as the ZWO CAA, or if you need to rotate the camera manually. Automatic Camera Rotation: The ZWO ASIAIR will automatically rotate your camera as required by the imported mosaic plan. Manual Camera Rotation: The correct camera orientation can be obtained by a simple calculation and depends on the position angle returned by Telescopius,com and the initial camera orientation: Position angle between 0° and 180° if camera orientation is upside up: ASIAIR Rotation = Position Angle or if the initial camera orientation is upside down: ASIAIR Rotation = 360° - Position Angle Position angle between 180° and 360° if camera orientation is upside up: ASIAIR Rotation = 360° - Position Angle or if the initial camera orientation is upside down:ASIAIR Rotation = 360°+ 180° - Position Angle or: 540° - Position Angle as in the above case. Planned rotation position = 540° - 247° = 293°
Please refer to the Processing Mosaic Images chapter for the next steps.