New Feature Release (Version 0.88.2) of AstroDMx Capture for Linux, macOS and Windows

New Feature Release of AstroDMx Capture

Feature release of AstroDMx Capture for All platforms

Version 0.88.2

Mutatis Mutandis.

The new version can be downloaded from https://www.astrodmx-capture.org.uk

Nicola has made a feature release of AstroDMx Capture on all platforms: Version 0.88.2

The following have been added to AstroDMx Capture

Capture profiles (all camera parameters can be named and saved in a profile, except cooling and histogram configurations). The profiles can be reloaded by the user for re-use if required.

Font size function (Small (default), medium, large, largest).

Exposure cancellation button.

Option to show camera units (either percentages (default) or camera native). This is represented in the text box to the right of the sliders, in the capture log and metadata.

Start and end capture times in the capture log are now zero padded (example: previously, if the date was 3 January 2021 the date would have been written 2021/1/3, it is now written 2021/01/03. Times work in a similar way. Example, the time midnight is now written 00:00:00 instead of 0:0:0).

The following issues have been fixed

Off-by-one for capture time displayed in the log.

Atik binning bug.

The following components have been updated

QHY SDK

ZWO SDK

SVBONY SDK

libgphoto

Additional implemented cameras confirmed working:

Canon 7D, 6D and 5D models

QHY5P-II-C

QHY5P-II-M

Atik 314E (Colour and Greyscale)

The Scale of the AstroDMx Capture project

The code for AstroDMx Capture now exceeds 62 KLOCS (Thousands of lines of source code, not including internal documentation and camera SDKs). Some lines of code require more than one physical line to contain them. 

To put this in an understandable and realistic perspective: 

The book 'iWoz', the autobiography of Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, is a fairly typical book in terms of size, if not content. It has 30 lines of text per page and 342 pages.

Therefore, to contain all of the lines of source code in AstroDMx Capture would require a minimum of at least 6 volumes, each the size of 'iWoz'. If the lines of internal documentation are included, more than 7 volumes would be required.

Computer code, in this case mainly C++ is by no means easy to read (even by the person who has written it) sometimes it can be many months or even years before a given segment of code is re-visited. Internal documentation comprises comments within the code that explain how the code is working so that the programmer can more easily understand the code and how it works. Adequate internal documentation is, therefore essential for the maintenance of any long-term coding project, particularly when it grows to the size of AstroDMx Capture.

Today Fedora Linux has been upgraded to Version 34.

On some installations of Fedora 34, AstroDMx Capture fails to start. In order to fix this, simply remove libstdc++.so.6 from /usr/local/AstroDMx_Capture/lib  

Nicola will make a maintenance release to fix this problem in due course.

Multi-star pulse-guiding using a SVBONY SV165 Guide-scope and a SVBONY SV305 camera for pulse-guiding under Linux

Although there is a full implementation for the SV305 and SV305PRO in the PHD2 codebase; when compiling on Linux this code is not built. Nicola modified the PHD2 source to overcome this limitation and then compiled and linked against the SVBONY SDK.  This allowed PHD2 on Linux to fully control the SV305 camera via a direct implementation. That is to say, the camera was controlled directly via the SDK and not via an INDI interface. An INDI server was used only to control the mount, not to control the guide-camera.

Equipment used

Fedora Linux laptop running AstroDMx Capture for Linux for imaging.

Fedora Linux laptop running PHD2, multi-star pulse auto-guiding

Celestron AVX GOTO mount.

SVBONY SV165 Guide-scope D=30mm F=120mm.

SVBONY SV305 camera for pulse-guide.

Bresser Messier-AR-102-xs/460 ED, f/4.5 refractor modified for motor focus. 

ZWO ASI178MC CMOS OSC, USB3.0, 14-bit imaging camera.

JJC DHS-1 USB Lens Heater Strip Dew Remover on the imaging scope and the guide scope.

AstroDMx Capture for Linux was used to capture 14 x 3 minute exposures of M3 with matching dark frames. Bias frames were also captured.

Click on an image to get a closer view

Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Linux capturing data on M3

Screenshot of PHD2 multi-star pulse auto-guiding with the SV305 camera

The SVBONY functionality in PHD2 under Linux worked very well which proves all that is required for regular adoption of pulse-guiding with the SV305 and SV305PRO is for the developers of PHD2 to activate the SVBONY implementation by default under Linux. 

SV305 camera mounted as the pulse-guide camera on the SV165 guide-scope

The final image of M3

First light for an old Atik 320E OSC CCD camera with AstroDMx Capture.

Equipment used

Macbook Air laptop running AstroDMx Capture for macOS for all imaging.

Fedora Linux laptop running PHD2, multi-star pulse auto-guiding.

Celestron AVX GOTO mount.

SVBONY SV165 Guide-scope D=30mm F=120mm.

Bresser Messier-AR-102-xs/460 ED, f/4.5 refractor modified for motor focus. 

QHY 5L-II-M guide camera.

Atik 314E OSC, cooled 16-bit CCD imaging camera.

JJC DHS-1 USB Lens Heater Strip Dew Remover on the imaging scope and the guide scope.

Objects for imaging

Globular cluster M3

The hamburger galaxy NGC3628

Click on an image to get a closer view

The imaging equipment

An INDI server was run with PHD2 on the Fedora Linux laptop to do multi-star, pulse auto-guiding

Screenshot of PHD2 multi-star, pulse auto-guiding

Multi-star PHD2 auto-guiding was used during the capture of the M3 and NGC3628 data.

AstroDMx Capture for macOS was used to capture 10 x 2min FITS exposures of M3 with matching dark-frames using the Atik 314E OSC CCD camera. Bias frames and flat-fields were also used.

Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for macOS capturing images of M3

The images were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker using dark frames, bias frames and flat-fields, and post processed in Affinity Photo, The Gimp 2.10, Neat Image and Topaz Sharpen AI.

Click on the image to get a closer view.

Globular cluster M3

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Three 10 minute FITS exposures were captured of NGC3628, the Hamburger galaxy along with matching dark-frames and bias frames. Flat-fields were also used. The imaging session was plagued with clouds which is why only 30 minutes of exposures were captured.

Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for macOS capturing data on NGC3628

The images were stacked in Affinity Photo using dark frames, bias frames and flat-fields, and post processed in Affinity Photo, The Gimp 2.10, Neat Image and Topaz Sharpen AI.

Click on the image to get a closer view.

NGC3628, the Hamburger galaxy

The old Atik 314E OSC camera worked well with AstroDMx Capture and the Bresser Messier-AR-102-xs/460 ED, f/4.5 refractor. Future imaging sessions will use a UV/IR cut filter, as one is not fitted as standard to this camera.

Multi-star PHD2 auto-guiding, AstroDMx Capture for Linux; Atik 314L mono cooled CCD camera and M51

Equipment used

Xubuntu laptop running AstroDMx Capture for Linux.

Fedora Linux laptop running PHD2, multi-star pulse auto-guiding.

Skywatcher HEQ5 GOTO mount.

SVBONY SV165 Guide-scope D=30mm F=120mm.

Eklipse Ekinox ED F=440mm, 80mm, f/5.5 refractor. 

QHY 5L-II-M guide camera.

Atik 314L mono, cooled 16-bit CCD imaging camera.

JJC DHS-1 USB Lens Heater Strip Dew Remover.

Object for imaging

M51, the Whirlpool galaxy.

The imaging kit

The imaging kit, Fedora auto-guiding laptop and Xubuntu imaging laptop

An INDI server was run with PHD2 on the Fedora Linux laptop to do multi-star, pulse auto-guiding

Screenshot of PHD2 multi-star, pulse auto-guiding

Multi-star PHD2 auto-guiding was used during the capture of the M51 data.

AstroDMx Capture for Linux was used to capture 10 x 10min FITS exposures of M51 with matching dark-frames using the Atik 314L CCD camera. 

Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Linux capturing images of M51

The images were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker using dark frames and flat-fields, and post processed in Affinity Photo, The Gimp 2.10 and Neat Image.

M51

With the Skywatcher HEQ5 GOTO mount, PHD multi-star auto-guiding produced good results with no movement between or within images.

The use of flat-fields was very important because there is significant variation in the sensitivity of different regions of the CCD sensor in this old CCD camera.

The master-flat derived from 50 flat-fields

The dark regions are easily visible in this partially stretched master-flat. Using the flat-fields to calibrate the captured data eliminates the sensitivity variation in the stacked image.

Multi-star PHD2 pulse auto-guiding, AstroDMx Capture for macOS; ZWO ASI178MC 14-bit uncooled CMOS camera. Clusters and galaxies.

Equipment used

Macbook Air running AstroDMx Capture for macOS.

Fedora Linux laptop running PHD2, multi-star pulse auto-guiding, and also, when required, Stellarium.

Celestron AVX GOTO mount.

SVBONY SV165 Guide-scope D=30mm F=120mm.

Eklipse Ekinox ED F=440mm, 80mm, f/5.5 refractor. 

QHY 5L-II-M guide camera.

ZWO ASI178MC uncooled CMOS (USB3.0, 14 bit ADC) imaging camera.

JJC DHS-1 USB Lens Heater Strip Dew Remover.

Objects for imaging

M48 open cluster.

Part of Markarian’s chain of galaxies.

M3 globular cluster

The imaging kit

An INDI server was running on the Fedora Linux laptop to control the mount via the handset. Stellarium was used to select the objects to be imaged and to send the mount to the objects.

Screenshot of the Stellarium INDI server setup

Screenshot of Stellarium + INDI aquiring a target

The INDI server was then run with PHD2 on the Fedora Linux laptop to do multi-star, pulse auto-guiding

Screenshot of PHD2 multi-star, pulse auto-guiding

Multi-star PHD2 auto-guiding was used during the capture of all three objects in this imaging session.

AstroDMx Capture for macOS was used to capture 20 x 180s FITS exposures of the open cluster M48 with matching dark-frames using the ZWO ASI178MC camera. 

Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for macOS capturing images of M48

The images were stacked in Affinity Photo and the resulting image post processed in Affinity Photo and the Gimp 2.10.

M48

AstroDMx Capture for macOS was used to capture 12 x 5min FITS exposures with matching dark-frames, of part of Markarian’s chain of galaxies. 

Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for macOS capturing data on Markarian’s Chain

The images were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, and post processed in Affinity Photo, The Gimp 2.10 and Neat Image.

Part of Markarian’s Chain

AstroDMx Capture for macOS was used to capture 15 x 100s FITS exposures, with matching dark-frames of the globula cluster M3. 

Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for macOS capturing FITS images of M3

The images were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, and post processed in Affinity Photo, The Gimp 2.10 and Neat Image.

M3

With the Celestron AVX mount, PHD multi-star auto-guiding produced good results with no movement between or within images.

The ZWO ASI178MC colour camera performed well and AstroDMx Capture for macOS delivered good data.