Big news for Seestar users! ZWO has rolled out a significant update for their Seestar Smart Telescopes, bringing a game-changing feature: EQ Mode. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced astrophotographer, this feature will open up new possibilities for tracking and capturing the night sky with greater precision. In this blog, we’re going to dive into what EQ Mode is, show you how to set it up, share my first tests using EQ Mode, and talk about the pros and cons of this update. Let’s get started!
ZWO’s Seestar March 2025 Update: What’s New?
If you’re a Seestar owner, you’ve likely received the update. if not, Just open the app and you should see a firmware update instruction for your seestar s30 or s50. Once the update is installed, you can click the seestar telesoscope photo in the app, and you will find EQ mode in Advanced Features when tapping on mount mode, which gives you the ability to switch from Alt-Az to EQ Mode.
What is EQ Mode?
So, what exactly is EQ Mode, and how is it different from Alt-Az mode? Simply put, EQ Mode uses an equatorial mount setup, which is a more accurate way of tracking objects in the night sky compared to the standard Alt-Az mode. In EQ Mode, the telescope is aligned with the celestial pole of the Earth, allowing for more precise tracking and reduced field rotation during long-exposure astrophotography.In its original Alt-Az mode, the Seestar telescope moves up/down (Altitude) and side-to-side (Azimuth) but isn’t tilted to the celestial pole to account for Earth’s rotation. This affects astrophotography in two key ways. Let me demonstrate using Stellarium, a free virtual planetarium.
Here, we have Markarian’s Chain—a stunning collection of galaxies visible in spring. You can see these galaxies in the northern hemisphere rising in the east evening sky. Note that when they reach their highest point in the southern sky, they begin to rotate and eventually point down towards the western horizon. This creates two problems when tracking objects in Alt-Az mode.
First, since alt-az mode only tracks movement in up-down and left-right directions, it cannot follow the curved motion of celestial objects precisely. This is why the Seestar app restricts exposures to 10 seconds. Second, as an object moves across the sky from east to south to west, it undergoes rotation, causing certain areas of the sky to drift out of the telescope’s field of view over time—a phenomenon known as field rotation.
To compensate, you can track in EQ mode after aligning your telescope with the north celestial pole (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere) or the south celestial pole (if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere). This allows the Seestar to track the sky more accurately, following the natural motion of celestial objects. As a result, you can take exposures up to 30 seconds, capturing more light per image and reducing noise, since the camera sensor gathers more light as compared to 10-second exposures.
Setting Up EQ Mode on Your Seestar Telescope
Now, let me show you how to actually set up your Seestar telescope in EQ Mode. To get started, you’ll need to align your Seestar with the celestial pole by putting it in the latitude for your location. For this, you’ll need an equatorial wedge or a tripod capable of angling the telescope horizontally. I highly recommend using an equatorial wedge like the Sky Watcher Sky Adventurer—which is a solid choice that costs under $100 and is much sturdier than using a photo tripod setup.
| # | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Level your tripod and point one leg towards the north when you’re in the Northern Hemisphere. |  |
| 2 | Attach the equatorial wedge to the tripod. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, point the wedge towards the south. |  |
| 3 | Use the altitude knobs on the equatorial wedge to set the correct latitude for your location. |  |
| 4 | Place your Seestar on the wedge with the power button facing up and the telescope pointing north. |  |
| 5 | At night, switch to EQ Mode in the Seestar app and tap “Get Polar Align Deviation” to guide your alignment. |  |
| 6 | The Seestar will show your deviation from the celestial pole. Adjust the altitude and azimuth bolts until readings turn green. |  |
| 7 | Once aligned, you’re ready to use EQ Mode for precise tracking of celestial objects! |  |
My First Tests with EQ Mode
When aligned, I set my exposures to 30 seconds, which you can find under Advanced Features in the Seestar App. I tested both my Seestar S30 and Seestar S50 using EQ mode over two relatively clear nights. As we are currently in galaxy season, I decided to point my S30 at Markarian’s Chain, a remarkable group of galaxies located about 50 to 60 million light-years from Earth.
I selected the object in the Virtual Sky Atlas and used Framing Mode to capture all of the galaxies in the chain. After calibration and autofocusing, the Seestar S30 started stacking 30-second exposures, and the stars appeared round, which was a good sign that the telescope was tracking the object accurately. After tracking the object for about 2.5 hours, the Seestar S30 had taken 1.5 hours of usable data, indicating that some frames were dropped during the capturing process.
The skies weren’t perfect, with some high clouds, and I was imaging from a light-polluted city sky under Bortle 7 conditions, so this isn’t the ideal way to photograph galaxies as you should really be under much darker skies. But for an EQ mode test, I figured it was fine. In the unedited stacked image, I did notivc esome elongation in the stars, which suggests that my EQ mode tracking wasn’t perfect. Here’s the stacked image I processed, with the light-polluted city sky background dialed back as much as I could and the stars corrected as round using RC-astro’s blur exterminator in Pixinsight.
Next, I put the Seestar S50 into EQ mode, checked the polar alignment deviation, and adjusted the bolts of the telescope wedge until I got a green checkmark. Then, I started photographing two objects using the maximum 30-second exposures.
First, I decided to capture the Leo Triplet, three interacting spiral galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. I tracked the Leo Triplet for about 2 hours and ended up with 1.5 hours of data. Again, my tracking wasn’t perfect, and I ended up with some elongation in the stars in the unedited stacked image, indicating that my alignment wasn’t perfect that night. Here’s the processed image of the Leo Triplet, which I was happy with considering the city light pollution and the 250mm focal length.
Finally, I also decided to track M51, the famous Whirlpool Galaxy, about 27 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. It’s actually a pair of interacting galaxies—M51a (the larger spiral) and M51b (the smaller companion)—which are in the process of merging. I took about 2 hours of data, resulting in 1.5 hours of stacked images. Here’s the unedited stacked image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, which showed much better round stars. This could be because M51 is much closer to the north celestial pole and higher in the night sky compared to the other two objects, which requires a bit less precision from the smart telescope in terms of tracking. Its apparent motion is slower, covering a smaller arc per hour.
Anyway, here’s the edited picture, and once again, considering the 250mm focal length and city skies, I was happy with the result. Let’s move on to discuss the pros and cons of this new EQ mode feature.
Pros and Cons of EQ Mode
Let’s sum up the advantages and potential drawbacks of using this new EQ Mode.
Pros:
- Longer Exposure Times: Up to 30 seconds, improving signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by capturing more light.
- Less Field Rotation: Tracks the sky more precisely than Alt-Az mode.
- Fewer Light Frames Needed: Longer exposures mean fewer frames, saving storage and speeding up stacking.
Cons:
- Polar Alignment Required: Needs an equatorial wedge and takes extra setup time.
- Tracking Imperfections: Some drift may still occur, causing elongated stars.
- Frame Dropping Possible: Tracking issues can lead to dropped frames, reducing integration time.
- Not for Everyone: Casual users may prefer Alt-Az mode for simplicity and quick observations.
Final Thoughts: Is EQ Mode Worth It?
If you’re serious about astrophotography and want better tracking for longer exposures, EQ Mode is a great upgrade—reducing field rotation and improving light gathering for sharper deep-sky images. But if you prefer casual stargazing or minimal setup, Alt-Az mode still works well with less hassle.
Keep in mind that budget smart telescopes like the Seestar S30, S50, and Dwarf 3 are entry-level options. The Dwarf 3 already offers 2-minute exposures, so we’ll likely see similar upgrades for Seestar soon. For a detailed comparison, check out my Dwarf 3 vs. Seestar S30/S50 review!
Current max exposures (as of March 2025):
- Seestar: 30 sec
- Dwarf 3: 120 sec
While EQ Mode is a nice improvement, for top-tier astrophotography, you’ll eventually need a high-end setup with guiding and a cooled camera. Still, these smart telescopes are fantastic for beginners, casual observers, or remote imaging—and I’m excited to see how they evolve!
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Clear skies!
Wido Oerlemans