Very Small Array (VSA) using Smart Telescopes

The Very Small Array is a group of cooperating amateur astronomers that use SeeStar 50s or Dwarf 3 smart telescopes. Their FITS files are pooled and used to collect more data than any one astro-imager could gather. The primary digital clubhouse for the VSA is on facebook and Discord.

Clubs that are part of the VSA

St. Petersburg Astronomy Club (SPAC)
Tampa Bay, Florida

Alachua Astronomy Club
North Central, Florida

Chiefland Astronomy
Chiefland, Florida

Howard Astronomical League (HAL)
Howard County, Maryland

The VSA October-November 2025 Targets

SeeStar S50 Targets

NGC 7635 Bubble Nebula
EQ Mode, Exp: 20s, Filter: Dual Band
An emission nebula in a giant molecular cloud in the constellation Cassiopeia.

NGC 7380 Wizard Nebula
EQ Mode, Exp: 20s, Filter: Dual Band
Emission nebula in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus. Apparent magnitude: 7.2, Apparent dimensions: 25'

Dwarf 3 Targets

M33 - Triangulum Galaxy
EQ Mode, Exp: 60s, Gain: 60, Filter: Dual Band
Beautiful galaxy with interesting structure. Apparent magnitude: 5.72, Apparent dimensions: 70.8 × 41.7

M45 - Pleiades/Merope Nebula
EQ Mode, Exp: 60s, Gain: 60, Filter: Dual Band.
Use the IC number for search. The nearest Messier object. This is a reflection nebula in Taurus.

In all cases if you are in a truly dark location you do not need the dual band light pollution filter.

Future targets for December-February:
Orion (M42), Horsehead (B33), Rosette (C49) and California (NGC1499) Nebulae

SPAC VSA T-Shirts

SPAC/VSA apparel may be ordered from the manufacturer:
apparel

Order VSA and OBS Apparel

SeeStar S50 External Battery Holder

This project requires access to a 3D printer

An external battery holder allows the S50 to add hours to its usable time. This version has been used by many of the SPAC members: Mike Steffek's S50 Power bank holder. The small holder handles power banks up to 20mm thick and the larger one up to 32mm. This fits on the S50 nicely and works well. I use a couple of 10,000mAh battery packs (one at a time) with the smaller holder. The battery pack drains before the internal battery starts to drop so they may be swapped out. This allows you to monitor the S50's battery power in the SeeStar app and you'll know when the external pack is empty when the S50's battery starts to go down.

In the new equatorial mode the external battery slides around a bit. Adding a couple of #10 x 32 nylon thumb screws through the outer shell and dense foam rubber pads inside solves the problem. Almost any reasonably sized thumb screws will work as long as you have a matching drill and tap to drill and thread the case. This will allow the battery pack to be lightly pressed against the foam pads by the nylon screws and should stop any motion of the external battery pack. The small battery holder is shown in these photos.

The second photo shows the nylon clamping screws and stick-on rubber pads that prevent the battery pack from sliding around in equatorial mode.

SeeStar S50 Dew Shield

This project requires access to a 3D printer

Exposed glass will usually want to dew over, at least here in Florida. The S50 has a built-in dew heater and it works well. Dew heaters suck power and I wanted the battery to last as long as possible. Dew shields greatly delay the lens dewing up and draw no power. So it was time to make a dew shield. Attaching it to the s50 uses a standard compression fitting inside the micro built-in mini lens shield. As a bonus this also blocks some stray light.
The short dew shield is about 32mm long and about 1/2 the length of the regular dew shield. Below are the STL files to 3D print the dew shields.

Regular Dew Shield
Short Dew Shield