What each alert means

Every alert is sent once when it starts and once when it clears. You can change the numbers on this page, or turn a rule off, under Alerts.

Is the rig alive

Agent offline

Nothing has arrived from the rig for 15 minutes. The PC is off, offline, or the agent isn’t running. See My rig isn’t reporting.

Program crashed

NINA, PHD2, Voyager, APCC or Pegasus Unity crashed, or stopped responding for two minutes. The alert names the program and the error that crashed it, and says whether a sequence was running at the time. It comes from Windows’ own crash record, so a program closed on purpose, such as PHD2 being shut down at the end of the night, does not trigger it.

Disk filling up

The drive is more than 80% full. Clear space before the next night, or imaging will stop when the drive fills.

Is it imaging

These only fire while the rig is imaging or should be, so a rig that is parked for the day stays quiet.

Not imaging on a clear night

It is fully dark and the roof is open, but no sequence is running. Check that the sequence was started and hasn’t ended early.

No exposures starting

A sequence is running, but it has started no exposure for 30 minutes. It is usually stuck on a step before the exposure, such as slewing, centring, autofocus or waiting for guiding to settle.

Images not arriving

An exposure finished, but no image file was saved. Check the camera connection and that the save folder still exists and has space.

Imaging under a closed roof

The roof closed and the sequence kept taking exposures. The frames since then are of the inside of the roof. Stop the sequence, then check why it didn’t react to the safety monitor.

A roof that closes while the sequence parks and waits is normal and sends no alert.

Instruction stuck

One step of the sequence that commands equipment, such as closing a flat panel cover or changing a filter, has been running for more than 5 minutes. The device probably isn’t answering. This alert needs NINA.

Scheduler thrashing

Target Scheduler has started 5 targets in a row with no frame saved from any of them. Something is making each target fail right after it starts, often a slew, centring or guiding problem.

Rotator turning back and forth

The rotator keeps moving but isn’t getting closer to its target angle. The usual cause is the rotator’s reverse setting being wrong. Fix the setting and restart the sequence.

Is the data good

Drifting from normal

The rig’s recent frames, guiding or autofocus runs are worse than its own normal. The alert says what changed over the last three nights, for example “FWHM in L: 3.4″ over the last 3 nights, normally 2.3″”, then the likely cause and what to check, such as focus, guiding, flexure or tilt. Star size alerts only fire when seeing looks fine, so one soft night under poor seeing is not reported. For focus drifting between autofocus runs, it gives the autofocus trigger that would keep the subs in focus. It is checked once a day and needs a few nights of frames first.

Guiding poor

Guiding error is above the limit you set, in arcseconds. This rule is not on by default because the right limit depends on your image scale.

Guider not settling

At least one guider settle in ten timed out over your last three guided nights, on most of those nights. Each one waits out the full settle timeout before the next exposure. Loosen the settle tolerance (pixels) or lengthen the settle timeout in your dither settings. Settles that timed out after the guide star was lost to cloud are not counted. It is checked once a day.

Cooler not holding

The camera reached its set temperature and then drifted more than 2°C away from it. The cooler is at its limit or failing. A warmer set temperature may hold.

Cooler never reached setpoint

The camera has been more than 2°C above its set temperature for 45 minutes and isn’t getting closer. The set temperature is too cold for the current conditions.

Is the equipment healthy

Device fault

A device reported a fault that keeps coming back, such as a mount’s encoders not responding. You are told once, and again only if a different fault appears. It clears after the fault has been quiet for 24 hours.

Device misbehaving

One source sent the same event 60 or more times in 15 minutes, or a device keeps disconnecting and reconnecting. Check that device’s cable and driver.

Error logged

One of your programs wrote an error to its log in the last 15 minutes. The alert includes the program and the message. A lost guide star is not reported here, because it is almost always cloud, and neither is a single settle timeout: those count toward Guider not settling instead. Two routine NINA messages about PHD2 are left out too: one NINA logs while it is still connecting to PHD2, and one it logs when a sequence ends during a dither.