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ASTAP help please

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ASTAP help please was created by Paul Nixon

I would like to try ASTAP. I have it installed in /opt/astap. I have G16 and G17 installed. I can bring up the program from the command line ./astap once in the subdirectory, and Ekos invokes it when I have it checked. But it cannot solve. Obviously, something is setup wrong.

I am using "simulators" at present and am trying to solve a pic I took earlier this month using my C8 w/6.3 focal reducer. Telescope should be 203mm, fl=1260mm. Guide scope is 30mm, fl=120mm. Camera is a Nikon D5100, 4.78u pixels, 4,928 × 3,264. All these parameters are plugged into the simulator.

When I click "Load and Solve", ASTAP opens a small window upper left of the screen, goes through the motions, then times out after 180 seconds without solution. Something is amiss.

Have I included enough info, or do I need logs for ASTAP, too? If so, where would the ASTAP logs be?

Thanks.
3 years 9 months ago #55064

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Replied by AstroNerd on topic ASTAP help please

I have had the exact same issue ever since ASTAP was released, it’s never worked for me either, so went back to Astrometry and works every time, I think ASTAP is very fussy about the images it uses, and so not very useable....this is my experience anyway, otherwise will probably disagree... :)
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3 years 9 months ago #55066

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Replied by Paul Nixon on topic ASTAP help please

I use the astrometry.net solver, but I've heard so many good things about ASTAP being so quick I wanted to give it a try.
3 years 9 months ago #55072

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Replied by Kevin Ross on topic ASTAP help please

ASTAP in the default configuration will limit itself to a 30 degree search radius. This can be changed in the Ekos options. Does the image have the proper coordinates in the FITS header? I think it uses that as a hint as to where to start searching.

For debugging, try widening the search radius to the maximum.
3 years 9 months ago #55074

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Replied by Kevin Ross on topic ASTAP help please

I just tried this out, with my actual telescope, not the simulator. I clicked "Load and Slew", pointed it to a FITS file that I took previously. It solved in a couple seconds, and attempted to slew (nothing happened because I had it parked).
3 years 9 months ago #55075

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Replied by Paul Nixon on topic ASTAP help please

I copied over an old .NEF pic of M42 and it solved in 2.4 seconds! I tried the same with an old .NEF of M51 - failed. The difference I could see was the amount of vignetting - the M42 shot had none that I could see whereas the M51 shot was pretty apparent. I tried several other pics, all with substantial vignetting, and none of them solved. I can't help but wonder if that's the problem and if I were connected to my scope pointing at an object and able to capture much shorter image where vignetting would be far less pronounced if it would all suddenly work. Maybe? ;)
3 years 9 months ago #55078

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Replied by Clive Stachon on topic ASTAP help please

like ALL platesolving having the correct parameters help.

If you have trouble start ASTAP as stand alone and load the image.

Click the "stack" menu so the Stack window appears.

Choose Alignment tab is not already selected.

Set the correct FOV height - it should set this automatically after a sucessful solve - if not or its not working use Astrometry.net upload to get the correct value or set Auto (but this takes a long time first time)

Use the Down sampling and Max stars to maximise speed but setting a too small a value will cause Platesolving to fail on occasions. suggest default 500 stars and auto for first run - but it will change depending on the image - as with ALL Platesolving

Tick "calibrate prior solving" - this will help with "noisey" images

Obviously "blind solving" will take longer so for testing set the RA,dec of the object so that platesolving is "near" not "blind" - do this via the RA/Dec on the first Window by double clicking the mouse in either Dec or RA area. And yes I didn't know what the signs were - Come on Hans it should be for all not just experts in Greek :-)

As you can see times vary but it can vbe very fast 2.3 secs to 106+ for blind solving - on my example I used m81 via double click object name for M31 and it rook 106secs on images that were not great.

If all else fails post image to Hans he will help :-) after reading the manual - which of course we all read dont we LOL

ASTAP is the only Platesolver,I know of, to work across the board natively on Windows,Linux and MacOS and doesn't require index's to be loaded per FOV.

But I admit it can be "fussy" - but the latest version can do "slow" plateslving (tick box) for most images that it didm't solve before. :-)
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3 years 9 months ago #55083
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Replied by AstroNerd on topic ASTAP help please

Well that’s not really the issue, solving a previous image, try it live on the sky with an image you have just taken....then on mine it fails every time as the OP states above...I have all configured correctly with all correct scope and camera settings in place, But still no good... :(
3 years 9 months ago #55086

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Replied by AstroNerd on topic ASTAP help please

@Stash
Well all that is all a bit of a faff...I just want it to work out of the box, like Astrometry does, if not then no good to me...I aint got time to mess about with all those settings.....more lost imaging time.... :)
Last edit: 3 years 9 months ago by AstroNerd.
3 years 9 months ago #55087

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Replied by Paul Nixon on topic ASTAP help please

Hi Stash,

Thanks very much for the detailed reply! I am currently using it in stand alone mode and have already done what you suggest, except my search angle was only 20 degrees. I've changed it to 180 but it didn't help with this particular frame.

The "calibrate prior solving" generates a warning about flat █ █ █ █ █ █ Warning, could not find a suitable flat for ""! De-classify flat filter or add correct flat. █ █ █ █ █ █ . I did try adding a flat manually and doing a simple stack of that plus an image, but that generated an actual error (something to do with Simple empty???).

Over the course of the afternoon, I've been trying with a variety of images and have been surprised at times. A couple of shots from my QHY cam (which is pretty noisy for what I was doing) solved. A couple more didn't. No shots of M16, whether from the QHY, my Nikon, or my wife's Canon, solved.

Unfortunately, it is cloudy now and predicted all through the night. Rain tomorrow. Clear skies supposedly on Saturday night - we'll see. ;)
3 years 9 months ago #55099

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Replied by Clive Stachon on topic ASTAP help please

Never used the flats as part of platesolving so I just ignore the "warning" and use it normally.

I would suggest you send some of the images to Han and see what he makes of it - he is the expert as the author.

Once you have the basic settings correct ASATP works 95% of the time and very very fast. Luckily I use CCDCIEL which enables me to automatically switch to another platesolver during the platesolving phase. This I do in live mode and using the excellent Sequencer that CCDCIEL provides - so its simple ,quick ,effective and 99.99% fool proof - subject to sky quality of course. I hardly ever have to change anything except when I change harwdare, which is only to be expected.

In the end,rightly,you go with the process that you feel happiest with and suits you . :-)
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3 years 9 months ago #55113

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Replied by Kevin Ross on topic ASTAP help please

Wow, I must be one of the lucky ones. I installed ASTAP and catalogs, ticked the ASTAP checkbox in Ekos, and it has worked (nearly) flawlessly for me ever since, with just default settings and no fussing about.

I'm sure the experts here will get it all sussed for you.
3 years 9 months ago #55127

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