I have the ProED 80mm Telescope Mounted on a SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro Mount (it's 100 lbs is very stable) and I use SharpCap Pro Software to Control the Camera and the Mount together. I use this setup to AUTOMATE 6.75-Second-Exposures SCANNING the NIGHT-SKY for Hazy-Looking-Comets within the Orbit-of-Saturn ... and at a rate of 121 images in less that one hour ... (or about 50 minutes).
A recent SKY SCAN sample can be seen at the following YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2NPGJADU54
Here is my Main-Code (after my Variable Declarations and Values) that I have assembled and currently used for my process:
Code: Select all
RA = RA1b # RA1a, RA1b, RA2a, RA2b, RA3a, or RA3b
DF = Dec1b # Dec1a, Dec1b, Dec2a, Dec2b, Dec3a, or Dec3b
BegLoop = 0 # 0 to 23 NOTE: BegLoop + Loops <= 24
Loops = 11 # 1 to 24 NOTE: BegLoop + Loops <= 24
RunTotal = 0
# Initialize Settings
SharpCap.SelectedCamera.Controls.Exposure.Value = (0.675 ) # = 675ms
SharpCap.SelectedCamera.Controls.Gain.Value = 300
SharpCap.SelectedCamera.Controls.OutputFormat.Value = "PNG files (*.png)"
SharpCap.Transforms.SelectTransform("Frame Stack (10)")
time.sleep(1.000) # Wait for 1 Second
LastDecFloat = 1000.00
print("GO !!!")
for X in range(BegLoop, BegLoop + Loops):
DecFloat = DF - ( (X * 1.0) / 2.0 ) # For Mount SlewTo Dec Parameter
for RA_Idx in range(len(RA)):
RAFloat = RA[RA_Idx][0] + ( RA[RA_Idx][1] / 60.0 ) # For Mount SlewTo RA Parameter
# SharpCap Control BEGINS HERE !!!!\
SharpCap.Mounts.SelectedMount.SlewTo(RAFloat, DecFloat)
print("Slewing To:", RAFloat, DecFloat),
while SharpCap.Mounts.SelectedMount.Slewing == True:
print("."),
time.sleep(0.100) # Wait 1/10th of a Second
if DecFloat != LastDecFloat: # Wait Additional 22 Seconds when starting the next Declination Angle
print("Wait 22.0"),
time.sleep(22.000)
print("Wait 19.00"),
time.sleep( 12.0 + 7.000 ) #Wait 12.000 Seconds for the Mount to Settle PLUS 7.000 Seconds for 10 0.500 Second (500ms) Images to be Stacked.
print(".")
# SharpCap Control ENDS HERE !!!!
DateMTN_Str = datetime.datetime.today()
DateUTC_Str = datetime.datetime.utcnow()
DecStr = "{:7.2f}".format(DecFloat)
FileDecStr = "{:+07.2f}".format(DecFloat)
FileDecStr = FileDecStr.replace(".", "-")
FileStr = "D:\Sky_SCAN\Sky__{}__{:02d}h{:02d}m__{:%Y-%m-%d__%H_%M_%S}_.png".format(FileDecStr, RA[RA_Idx][0], RA[RA_Idx][1], DateUTC_Str )
PhotoStr = "{:02d}h{:02d}m {} {:%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S} {:%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S} UTC".format(RA[RA_Idx][0], RA[RA_Idx][1], DecStr, DateMTN_Str, DateUTC_Str)
RunTotal = RunTotal + 1
# SharpCap Control BEGINS HERE !!!!
# Save Image
SharpCap.SelectedCamera.SaveAsViewedAsync()
time.sleep(1.2500)
CurFile = SharpCap.GetLastCaptureFilename()
# print "Captured ", CurFile)
bm = System.Drawing.Bitmap(CurFile)
g = System.Drawing.Graphics.FromImage(bm)
f = System.Drawing.Font("Arial", 28)
g.DrawString(PhotoStr, f, System.Drawing.Brushes.White, System.Drawing.Point(0,6))
g.Dispose()
f.Dispose()
bm.Save(FileStr)
bm.Dispose()
os.remove(CurFile)
# SharpCap Control ENDS HERE !!!!
print "Captured:", FileStr, "-", PhotoStr, "-", "{:+08.3f}".format(RAFloat), "-", "{:+08.3f}".format(DecFloat), "- RunTotal", RunTotal
LastDecFloat = DecFloat
print "DONE.\n"
The reason is so that I am sure that I don't/won't have any overlapping of frames from the previous mount movement and/or to help in determining that I have a full 10-Frame-Stack.
NOTE: For my purposes, a "Frame Stack (Custom Value)" ... (i.e. 12, 15, 20, 25, 30) ... would be of Extraordinary-Benefit to me.
I have been unable to utilize Live Stacking since I don;t think it is offering any enhancements for faint images.
Thank You,
Farley
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