Hi there,
i´m asking myself if it is possible to tell SGP to image just during Moonlight. This would be handy if i mix LRGB Sequences and Narrowband Sequences. So when the Moon is up, SGE just images Ha Frames for instance, and switches to LRGB Filters when the sky is dark enough.
CS Frank
What I do is just set an end time at moon set for the narrowband target and it will then move on to the LRGB target after moon set. Or the opposite if moon rise is the issue.
This is what I think of an observing assistant problem - one that’s best solved in the way that the professional observatories do, by employing an observing assistant to stay up and manage the observing session.
An alternative way to put this is to suggest that SGP is designed to make imaging control easy for the majority of people. Adding multiple additional options detracts from this because while there’s one person who wants the additional functionality everyone has to cope with managing it, even if only to avoid it.
ACP is probably the most functional application for observatory management but I’m not sure that even that handles the moon phase.
ACP does have a moon avoid algorithm which is a function of moon age and distance from target. it works pretty well.
Is this something that could be solvable via ascom scripts? Having SGP execute the script at the beginning of a sequence in the pre-event options is possible (and post-event options, and run at end of sequence in sequence settings)… But can a script tell SGP to move to another event (filter) or target using timers… This I am not sure.
On second thought, this is what the start and end timers are for haha I had to talk myself through that one
What I would do is use local moon rise and set times to schedule the imaging. Be sure to have your download times and that stuff filled in; and note of autofocus and slew plate solve times. Then create a bunch of targets with narrowband filters that would be timed in accordance with the moon. LRGB for dark time.
On third thought a simple button would be nice. I just don’t know how simple it would be to make.
OK, i get myself an assistant, something i dream about for a long time:-) I teach him how to focus, i don´t need autofocus then:-)
where can i find that?
This is a good workaround for that issue, i thought about that already.
just google ACP astronomy and you’ll see. alternately you will find it at the bottom of your empty wallet 