han59

The development continuous. The latest ASTAP version 0.9.92 has a blink routine (for FITS files) to detect minor planets or nova or just make a video of a comet moving: Youtube demonstration: https://youtu.be/7cheLI-3ggQ At the moment the blink sequence can't be exported , but you could capture it by a screen capture program. So ASTAP has become more a software suite. The main functionalities are: - FITS viewer and manipulator including annotation of deep sky objects and stars. - Stacking program, blinker - Plate solver with two types of command line interfaces, remote accessible. Feedback is welcome Han The new blink tab:

Manual is fine. I did till 2 years ago. So your program automates camera control. Fully automated imaging has the advantage you can sleep while it is happening, focus is updated regularly and with plate solving in place, imaging series can continue the next clear night. For me the auto focus to compensate for temperature drift and plate solving are the big improvements. I still stay awake to review and change target. My typical exposure time and cooling temperature are pretty constant. As long it is not too bright like M31 center where it should be equal or less then 50 seconds, I stick to 200 seconds. It is just a number but I could also have taken 100 seconds. It is a compromise of lost time by downloading each image, percentage lost images due to guiding problems, data size and have enough images to recover from the 12 bit A/D resolution to something close to 16 bit by stacking. Gain is always at unity gain. so I don't have to update my darks and flat-darks/bias all the time and keep them for a few months. I see no real practical advantage of playing with the camera gain.

No. it is to set the target object RA,DEC position in a sequence line. I can't see in the video how you set the target position (RA,DEC) but that would a basic feature of a sequence unless you want to do it all manual. A sequence line should contain camera settings (exposure, binning, temperature.....) and the object position for mount (RA, DEC), guiding settings (exposure, ditter...), auto focuser settings (every .. th image, focus focus method). This automated sequencing will only work if you have plate solver in place to home in to the specified target position unless you have superb mount.

- No, that serves no purpose. The idea is to fill the (StarQuew) sequence with info from the planetarium program, so name, RA, DEC and orientation of the object to be imaged. StarQuew is then the client to the planetarium program server at port xxxx. At the moment, I don't know if planetarium programs can be controlled via INDI. - I'm not aware of an PHD2 INDI driver to control PHD2. PHD2 can be controlled as client of the PHD2 internal server at TCP/IP address 127.0.0.1, port 4400. Why would you need a X-server? The Linux version of PHD2 can use INDI to control mount and guiding camera. https://github.com/OpenPHDGuiding/phd2/wiki/EventMonitoring

The link is useful for importing positions rather then typing them. If you want to image two objects, you will need a position in the middle or will need the position of a faint object, moving comet or just want to make an mosaic, the planetarium program can provide the positions. Have a look to interfacing of the acquisition programs as APT and CCDCIEL with CDC, HNSKY. APT can also talk with the C2A and SkytechX planetarium programs. Secondly a link to a plate-solved image or exporting the frame showing the dimensions and position can be exported to the planetarium program to see which fuzzies are on the image. PHD2 is pretty established. An Linux version is available. A link to this popular guiding program will be essential to many users. The planetarium program will most likely not use INDI as client but provided an own server interface. Same with PHD2. Planetarium server commands: https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/documentation/server_commands http://skytechx.eu/?page=skserver http://hnsky.org/help/uk/hnsky.htm#server An example of exporting an position:

Nice work. This looks promising. Now a server link to planetarium program(s), guide program and plate solver(s). Did I see a FITS preview function on the video? Han P.s. I lived a few years in Ealing as an expat. The Skies orange/red where not inviting to do astronomy. I unpacked my telescope only two times. http://www.hnsky.org

If your not in your normal environment it is always difficult. For me Windows user, Linux starts to work, but yesterday and today I spend most time on RDP and VNC. First I think Lubuntu or any flavour with LXDE is much faster then e.g. Ubuntu and Windows users will feel quicker at home. At the moment I use Lubuntu 18.04 For remote control from my house to garden shed, I went yesterday from xRDP to VNC, to Teamviewer, all failed! RDP worked but got a blank screen . Finally discovered that I had to give access to anybody in a config file . With RDP working, I noticed RDP opens a NEW session and I like to have the observatory screen and inside home the same, so I can walk outside control local the running programs. So RDP is not the solution. Finally I got Teamviewer working and that's for me the way to go. Then I was struggling with INDI drivers and found that USB-focus driver v0.9 works for me and not v1.0 It is an adventure, but I had similar problems of equal significance in Windows some time ago. If you have mastered the initial problems it will work reliable. Win10 behaviour and even Microsoft poking in Win7 makes me unhappy, so I'm slowly pushed to Linux. Han

If it is a desktop is it not easier to put a second hard disk inside for more disk space and copy/backup important files? Making backup internally via SATA goes faster then using USB.

The viewer of ASTAP 0.9.89 has now an experimental FITS only thumbnail preview menu (ctrl-T). The thumbnail size follows form size and can be any size. Available for Windows and Linux. The thumbnails have a pop-up for some actions.

The Dolphin image viewer (Windows) I found seems designed for dentist records and can't view FITS files. Gwenview seems only available for Linux. Gimp can't preview FITS images.

I assume there are several reasons why implementing is more cumbersome the ordinary images: 1) FITS file are uncompressed and could be 20 to 30 mbytes large. 2) Images are detailed and with many small stars/object which could be difficult to recognize if reduced to thumbnail size. 3) Applying the correct range brightness/contrast adjustments via histogram to make faint deepsky objects visible. 4) In most cases FITS files are a series of the same object and only the quality varies a little which will be invisible in a thumbnail image. For ASTAP viewer I have implemented as a scroll function while maintaining the selected image zoom factor and position. You can scroll through the images with the cursors keys. The image is then displayed in one or two seconds and you can observe the same tiny fraction of the image on pixel level and compare them on quality. To introduce thumbnails I would have to make reasonable large preview images in advance, similar as Windows does. Maybe GIMP can do it since it can read FITS files. Han

If your camera is ASCOM or INDI compatible, you could try a free alternative CCDCIEL.

That was my favorite but it doesn't work anymore in my Win10 64bit. Refuses to pop-up. Tried the latest and older versions. :(

Strange enough my long time favorite burn application started to fail in WIN10 64 bit a few month ago. It worked fine but I have the impression that Win10 is changing and they didn't catch up. Tried a few other free burning software but had similar problems. As an alternative burned a few times using Win10 explorer pop-up menu, but much not control of speed and other things. The only free application I found still working is "infrarecorder" Not much burning these days, but I had to made a disk of Ubuntu astronomy. Han

Okay we are making progress. Lets make it faster: 1) By limiting the maximum magnitude the speed will increase. Solve the image manually and read the image range in the log. E.g. 14-15 Then set the maximum magnitude at 15 or maybe one step higher ( is slower). Or just try empirical till is doesn't solve. 2) Un-check "convert to FITS" (with solution) See screen shot in my previous mail. 3) Un-check "produce deepsky annotated jpg" 4) Experiment with FITS binx2 or binx4. If this is all working, ASTAP will loose some time by making a FITS from the JPG received from APT but with increasing offset, ASTAP should find faster the solution. Try an offset of 5, 10 or even 20 degrees and see how it performs. (Set the maximum search range accordingly) There is a little ASTAP icon at the screen bottom, right side when it is running. The hint indicated how far it is in degrees from the start point. Using jpg as an input and the PlateSolve2 command is minor disadvantage. Using FITS or the dedicated command line , ASTAP knows the image exposure time so can set the settings automatic correctly. Maybe one day Ivo (of APT) will add a dedicated command line specific for ASTAP and this will be solved. I don't use APT or SGP so have only limited test experience with these. Feedback will be nice. My normal operation is with CCDCIEL and FITS files and it has never disappointed me. Again the JPG file input could be a disadvantage. I'm also sorry hijacking this topic. Han