Contents - Index

Overview and Features

CCDAutoPilot Version 3 
Standard and Professional
Software and Documentation
© 2003-2007, John C. Smith, All rights reserved
Written by John Smith and Andrew Read,
and Richard Bennion.

Thanks to  Matt and Steve Bisque, Doug George, Stan Moore,
Ray Gralak, Tim Puckett and Dave Toth for invaluable assistance along the way.
Thanks to Frank Barnes, Bob Benamatti and Morgan Wilson for their tireless beta testing.

Dedication by John Smith

CCDAutoPilot is once again dedicated to my astro-wife, Diane, for putting up with my countless hours writing and testing this code. It would have been impossible without her continuous generous and loving support.


Continuing to add features while improving ease of use, this version of CCDAutoPilot represents the sixth generation of automated image acquisition software.  Originally intended to allow the computer to do the acquisition work while the operator was otherwise engaged (or asleep!), CCDAutoPilot has evolved into a tool to maximize your image acquisition quality by supporting a repeatable and reliable protocol.  With this version, greatly enhanced target framing and acquisition is supported. 

The user interface has been greatly advanced so that the user simply goes down the buttons on the left side to set up your unattended run literally from sunset to sunrise.  A new status window reports on all activities as they occur in an easy to understand report.  Of course, more detail is available if needed.

CCDAutoPilot comes in two versions - Standard and Professional.  The Professional version provides unlimited multitarget imaging with the same easy-to-understand point-and-click user interface that CCDAutoPilot users have come to expect.  The Standard version is limited to a single target but has all of the other capabilities of the Professional version. 

CCDAutoPilot is a multi-threaded application.  What this means is that instead of plodding from step to step, key events and activities can be monitored independently of the main session thread, allowing appropriate action such to be taken immediately instead of waiting to be asked. 

Key Features
  • Enhanced User Interface: Sporting a completely revised user interface, version 3 puts everything you need to easily set up your unattended run.  A set of major functions is accessed via the buttons from Settings to set up your equipment to Run Session to review and execute your run.  Reference links are provided that are germane to each function.  
  • Application Flexibility: Supports all popular camera control programs (CCDSoft and Maxim), telescope control programs (TheSky6 and ASCOM), focus control programs (FocusMax and @Focus2), rotators (RCOS PIR, Optec Pyxis and Astrodon TAKometer) and dome control programs (AutomaDome, ASCOM, Digital DomeWorks).  When AutomaDome is used, a separate, high performance thread is used to keep the dome slot aligned during long exposures, eliminating the need to resource-hogging scripts.  A required technology is plate solving and either PinPoint (full version), or the combination of CCDSoft and TheSky6 can be used.  Support for the  Cloud Sensor is seamlessly integrated into operations via a high performance separate monitoring thread.
  • One Step Setup: For a given equipment arrangement, hitting the Initialize button calibrates your entire system, including your guider. You can then slew all over the sky with high accuracy, select a target and begin guiding without guider calibration.  Just enter RA, Dec and PA and you will be right on the target.  If you use TheSky6 (recommended!) you can position TheSky6's FOV Indicator as desired and begin accurate guiding, thanks to CCDAutoPilot's powerful internal algorithms for guider calibration.
  • Enhanced Target Selection: After a one-time imager and guider initialization, you can point to literally any point in the sky and the telescope will accurately point there.  Additionally if there is a guide star in the FOV, your guider will be calibrated not based on a simple and somewhat inaccurate guider calibration routine, but instead based on an accurate algorithm for enhanced guiding.  CCDAutoPilot works entirely from RA, Dec. and PA (Position Angle) to point the scope and rotator (if installed) to the desired target.  There is no need to be aware or rotator position - it is handled "under the hood" by CCDAutoPilot.  Convenient reference information for sun, moon and target rise and set information is available.  A programmable target midpoint altitude is provided to define your preferred lower altitude limit and when it occurs.
  • MultiTarget Acquisition: Incorporating the ease-of-use CCDAutoPilot customers have come to expect, the Professional version provides a number of ways to acquire multiple targets.  One can simply select the target by placing the FOVI (Field Of View Indicator) in TheSky6 as desired and hit a single button to get the coordinates.  For mosaics, the user simply creates the Mosaic in TheSky6 and hits a single button to get the coordinates for all the mosaic sub-frames.  There are also a number of importers.  A plan from Starry Night Pro can be imported as well as the essentials of one from ACP.  A user can also import a CSV (Comma Spaced Variables) file.  Finally, target information can be entered manually via an edit window.  Multiple target data can be acquired either with a common set of light frame data for all targets or individual sets, called profiles, for each target.  The user has nearly unlimited flexibility.
  • Focusing: In addition to a generous selection of alternatives for focusing, filter offsets, starting focus exposure time and focusing using a user-specified filter (For those with parfocal filters) are provided.
  • Tracking and Guiding: Depending on whether your are doing guided or unguided imaging a number of options are provided.  You can dither to the desired amount with either technique.  You can image through the meridian, depending on your equipment capability to go through minimal atmosphere for those all-important clear or luminance frames.  A number of options and alternatives are provided to support your specific equipment complement.  If unguided, your scope will be realigned periodically to take out any cumulative drift.  If guided, you can program your guide exposure as a function of filter chosen and enable the Automatic Guide Star Recovery feature.  With AGRS, CCDAutoPilot will wait until the guide error is within a specified accuracy within a specified number of attempts.  If it isn't, AGRS will attempt to reacquire the guide star and change guide star exposures to continue guiding.
  • Guider Calibration: For the first time anywhere, CCDAutoPilot brings a new and powerful approach to guider calibration.  Instead of relying on a single guider calibration, and perhaps modifying that calibration result as the camera is rotated or the sky position changes as other products do, a completely new approach is used.  Based on a system calibration via CCDAutoPilot's new Initialize function, guiding is optimally determined by analytical prediction and replaces guider calibration in the camera control program by these optimal vectors.  No longer are multiple calibrations required to get good guider performance.  And once initialized, this optimum guider performance is achieved no matter where in the sky the system is pointed, no matter how the camera is rotated, manually or automatically.  
  • Light Frames: Using the same point-and-click user interface as prior versions of CCDAutoPilot, version 3 adds some editing aids to make data entry easier.  You can also elect to focus on the first exposure of a series or not.  From the same page, you can edit the target exposure settings (target profiles) for every target on your list.
  • Dark and Bias Frames: You can easily select specific dark and bias frames to be acquired either before the light frames while waiting for the target to rise, or afterward, when the light frames are complete, or both.  You can optionally flush the imager before any frames are acquired.
  • Flat Frames: As with the previous version, flat frames can be acquired from either TheSky or a light box.  Additionally, you can now specify a position angle for the flat to match key target data.  Automatic exposure dawn and dusk sky flats are supported with either tracking off or tracking on and dithered, depending on your preferences.
  • Session Tasks: More automation tasks are provided including opening your dome and starting your cooler at a specified time.  After your light frames you can park your scope and optionally close your dome.  If you elect dawn flats, you can leave the dome open and at the appropriate time, the telescope will unpark, take dawn flats, re park the scope and warm up the cooler.  At key points in the evening's activities, user developed applications or scripts can be run for maximum flexibility.  To aid in data management, folders for the evenings activities can be automatically generated if desired, giving a readily recognizable folder name as to date and target.
  • Run Session: Here the equipment setup can be reviewed as well as the session plan.  Warning messages are provided to make sure nothing has been overlooked.  Once satisfied, hitting the Run Session button minimizes the main window and opens the status window, enabling the user to track session progress to the degree desired.  Of course the ability to pause and resume a run, as well as abort one, is provided.
  • Professional Support: Stand FITS keywords, spectroscopy binning and inserting of World Coordinate System data in the FITS header is provided for professional users.
  • Smart Sub-framing: With the advent of larger imaging sensors, many optical systems prevent full illumination of the sensors.  Smart Sub-framing allows only useful data, as defined by the user, to be taken and downloaded.  Once the user has defined the sub-frame size to be used, it is applied equally to light, dark, bias and flat frames.  Any slew adjustments are then made to the center of the sub-frame.