Pause imaging with clouds, Dark Filter

Sequence Generator Feature Requests
1

Hi,

Had an idea, instead of stopping images if a cloud rolls past. Can Read the guide star quality and if low level turn the filter wheel to dark blanked out so no light is collected. Pause the timer on the image. Once guide star quality back to normal. Move filter back to old colour and start counter again.

Simple idea, just need your thoughts on software update or problems that might happen.

many thanks Paul.

2

I don’t see the usefulness of this. The currently running exposure is ruined in any case, so stopping everything seems very logical.

3

Hi,

When time is wasted restarting 20min images when it could be paused for 2miins while the cloud moves.

But im testing the idea tonight and see if the pixels shift or get vibration from the filter wheel.

Could save hours of restarting images.

If i get results tonight i will let you know of the out come.

4

Here are a few things that make this difficult or unusable:

  1. When the guide star quality has deteriorated enough, the image is already contaminated with clouds.
  2. You mess up your dark current calibration, since you are effectively lengthening the exposure time arbitrarily.
  3. This does not work at all if you are shooting narrowband images and the filter wheel has to roll through wideband filters to get to the blank filter.
  4. I’m not sure if ASCOM supports making your exposure time longer during the exposure.
1 Like
5

Thank for the info.
Im just having ideas on saving time while imaging.

6

I changed the filter wheel and the image looked fine.

I stopped the image and guiding for 10 seconds and started again buy uncovering the scope and guide camera and the image looked fine.
But i tried covering the guide camera for 30 seconds and SGPro stopped so i could not test any longer.

Is there a guide over ride so i can test longer?