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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Ekos Planetary Imaging

  • Posts: 8
  • Thank you received: 3
I just completed a set of planetary imaging sessions (Mars, Neptune, Uranus) with KStars / Indi, but I used AstroDMx Capture to control an SVBony SV305. To be honest, I really liked AstroDMx Capture because I found many tools helpful with the (somewhat specialized) needs of very high magnification planetary imaging (lucky imaging) -- for both super bright targets (Mars) and relatively dim targets (Neptune). It would not be a bad tool to study in this regard.

Using a combination of KStars / Indi (with a carefully aligned guide camera) along with AstroDMx was helpful... because I could quickly slew (and plate solve) with the guide camera... and then launch AstroDMx Capture ... and (critically) use the mount controls in Indi to make fine adjustments to center the planet.

Key features:

1) The ability to define a region of interest and then slide the ROI around across the full frame (at high magnification, planet can drift)
2) The ability to easily adjust exposure time / frame rate -- and move easily between a few categories (tens of seconds, seconds and ms). I found myself at times using very long exposures (tens of seconds) to get the "glow" of the planet... which helped me find the planet when off by just a bit at very high magnification. Once the planet is in view, I'd quickly move to a typical video frame rate.
3) Ability to adjust gain quickly / easily.
4) The ability to easily import resulting SER files into the usual cast of post-processing software (pipp, autostakkert, registax). Please test this. The files from the current video recording capability in Indi today (I found) were a bit hit or miss (some worked, some had issues... no clear reason why).
5) The ability to put a reticle on the field of view (centered)
6) The ability to configure viewing (brightness / contrast) separate from capture (because viewing the planet for capture may need different settings than desirable for capture...depends on screen brightness, etc.).
7) Information display wrt current frame rate (frames per second)
8) Maybe a button to launch the Xplanet solar system viewer with the current field of view? I'm weird, but I discovered this tool _after_ my planetary imaging session... and it is really very cool in aiding with understanding where the moons are at the moment... how the planet should appear at that moment, etc.

By the way... getting my guide camera lined up just so with the main planetary camera (with a 3X Barlow on an LX200 ... effectively 6000mm focal length at F30) is a pain. Life might be easier if Kstars / Indi could develop a mount model that could take into account the relative differences in pointing between a guide camera (guide telescope) and the main camera / telescope (assuming it were possible to do plate solving with both... would likely do an initial plate solve with the main camera at prime focus 'cause that's not happening at 6000mm at F30 w/ the Barlow installed). In that scenario... when plate solving with the guide telescope, Indi would know the difference in pointing between it and the main telescope and correct for that when slewing the mount into position. How cool would that be?!??

My alternative hardware solution that I'm considering is simply a flip mirror... with the guide camera at prime (for plate solving, slewing) and the main camera behind the Barlow after the mirror).
The following user(s) said Thank You: Andres Rossi, Eli Ron
3 years 3 months ago #63780

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Replied by Andres Rossi on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

Hi Jasem, maybe it would be helpful to add filters and filter wheel controls.
BTW, do you have a date to launch this planetary module?

Andres
2 years 4 months ago #78083

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Replied by Jasem Mutlaq on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

There is no launch date, I didn't even start on it. Maybe this would make a good GSoC project.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Andres Rossi
2 years 4 months ago #78087

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Please put in a histogram and some way to stretch it manually. I am doing solar work and the histogram is the most important tool
The following user(s) said Thank You: Eli Ron
2 years 3 months ago #78204

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Replied by AstroMuni on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

+1 to histogram. Its essential to judge the right exposure levels.
I particularly like the planet profiles that Firecapture allows you to setup. Thats a nice one to have too.
2 years 3 months ago #78258

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Guess this is a dead duck now? I tried to install FireCapture but it did not want to run. The Java included probably was 32bit? Would it not be possible to recompile FireCapture for 64bit and include it as an optional package in StellarMate, with optimized default settings for the RPi environment? I guess that with 8Gb version of RPi, using large fast memory over USB3, the RPi would cope with it.
11 months 2 weeks ago #91852

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Replied by Axel on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

Indeed, it IS 32 bit! We need to import the 32bit architecture.

I tried to get it working on stellarmate: groups.io/g/firecapture/message/2885
The FC screen opens, but a weird java popup with no content blocks me from going further. Very disappointing. Nevertheless, I think the Pi is not strong enough (even the Pi4 with lots of RAM) to handle planetary capturen (but I do not know, because, I can not test).

Cheers, Axel
9 months 3 weeks ago #93173

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Replied by Axel on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

Got got it run again with the installation procedure showed in the link above :-)
Deleted the Firecapture folder in the home directory and restartet FC, so the settings had been newly recreated.

Cheers Ael.
Last edit: 9 months 3 weeks ago by Axel .
9 months 3 weeks ago #93177

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Replied by Marc on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

One thing to keep in mind :

in DS photography, all the tools used to make your images, run natively under Linux. (Kstars/Ekos/INDI, Siril, Gimp ...)
In Planetary imaging, the best tools used, run natively (and only) under Windows (AS!3, Registax, Astrosurface ... )

Wine isn't really an option as it cripples literally the performances of the programs. (slower, incomplete functions, impossibility to use the output of a program as an input to another... )

So a planetary tab in Ekos will have to work at its best under WINDOWS ...

- Marc
Last edit: 9 months 3 weeks ago by Marc.
9 months 3 weeks ago #93217

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Replied by Marc on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

Some thoughts ...

In planetary imaging, like in sports photography, speed is the key.
A typical planetary camera like an ASI290mm at full frame (1936x1096) delivers 130fps.
That means roughly 2x130x8 = 2Gb/s

Do you think a Raspberry Pi will be able to grab & write a SD card at such a speed without losing frames ?
Of course, you can use ROIs for planets, but for the moon, you'll need full frame.

- Marc
9 months 3 weeks ago #93218

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Replied by Axel on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

Marc post=93217 userid=5122
One thing to keep in mind :
So a planetary tab in Ekos will have to work at its best under WINDOWS ...

How would this work with INDI?
Last edit: 9 months 2 weeks ago by Axel .
9 months 3 weeks ago #93260

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Replied by Axel on topic Ekos Planetary Imaging

Marc post=93218 userid=5122
Some thoughts ...
Do you think a Raspberry Pi will be able to grab & write a SD card at such a speed without losing frames ?


My Pi 4 has an M.2 NVME disc and does not run from SD card anymore (1 TB!) :-) This is just a simple add-on board with a USB3 connector. Switching is easy. Either use the imager (which is included in EKOS - but this did not work for me. Or simply use Raspberry Pi imager. You can do all this directly on the Pi. With raspi-config you can simply choose to start from USB (Pi4) So speed is not an issue, nor is disk space.
Last edit: 9 months 2 weeks ago by Axel .
9 months 3 weeks ago #93267

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