MetaGuide 4.6

MetaGuide
Collimate on the Airy pattern even in mediocre seeing
Better guiding with a mid-range mount using low latency video and novel centroiding
Don't just guide easily - guide well
A very different way to guide with better results and tighter stars
NEW! Version 4.6.2, August 2010 Now works with all size video cameras! Many enhancements!
MetaGuide is a video-based tool for precise collimation using the in-focus diffraction pattern of a star. MetaGuide also autoguides and has several novel features that allow optimal guiding of mid-range mounts under typical seeing conditions. MetaGuide can provide insight into both the optics of your telescope, and the tracking behavior of your mount.
MetaGuide allows me to obtain sub-2" fwhm stars with a Celestron CGE and 11" SCT at 2800mm f.l. and 0.45" per pixel. The key is an accurate and low latency centroid that can be chased aggressively to overcome gearbox and bearing noise. This pushes autoguiding of a mid-range mount into a realm of performance that normally requires adaptive-optics.
MetaGuide is free, easy to use, works with any type of telescope, and most video cameras.
MetaGuide has many unique features, such as realtime measurement of flexure between two telescopes. This allows direct observation and measurement of flexure and mirror flop. MetaGuide also has a novel proactive guiding feature that locks onto specific high frequency gearbox or gear tooth terms that can be more of an issue than periodic error. MetaGuide also uses a novel form of "Lucky" centroiding to help determine a more accurate centroid that can be guided aggressively.