Automation and acquisition software allows you to connect and control your astrophotography equipment such as camera, focuser, dome or roll off, filter wheel or and mount etc from one platform. Most come with the ability to auto focus, polar align, automate a meridian flip, platesolve, slew to and set your exposure length, gain value and duration or number of frames. The features of most software of this nature come from other third party programs such as Ascom, Platesolver and Phd2 to name a few.
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Voyager
Voyager is an advanced (A.I) astrophotography integration and automation software. It has been developed by Starkeeper di Orazi Leonardo who offer a time based free trial. If you enjoy the trial version, you can buy the Voyager license for 129 Euro, which is renewed yearly for 29 Euro. With Voyager you can:
connect all your equipment, ie camera, mount, observatory
use the voyager web dashboard - anywhere
autofocus
platesolve
plan mosaics
image acquisition and sequencing
receive alerts
suspend and resume imaging based on weather.
Voyager can be integrated with most third party software and supports QHY and ZWO native drivers.
N.I.N.A
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A), is a highly popular image acquisition and automation software within the community. It is jammed packed with features. N.I.N.A has been developed by Stefan Berg is open source and free. Some of N.I.N.A's features include :
polar alignment
platesolving
full equipment control
sky atlas
custom interfaces
image acquisition and sequencing
framing assistance
flats wizard
weather data
plug in support
Astrophotography Tools
Astrophotography Tools (APT) is a simple to use image capturing software. It has a free demo version and a licensed version.
Astrophotography Tools interface is easy to navigate and you are able to have multiple profiles for different situations (cameras, locations etc).
In addition to its image capture capabilities, APT also includes:
focusing aids
flat aids
automated meridian flips and a meridian clock
histogram
equipment control
platesolving
equipment control
target list including customer targets/coordinates
polar alignment
weather alerts via Good Night System
Sharpcap
Sharpcap is an image capture software, great for planetary imaging. It has a free demo version and a paid version that will cost 12 pounds and is renewed annually. There is a discount if you renew before your license expires. The paid version has a polar alignment routine.
Other features include:
flats Aid
focusing aid
live stacking
sensor analysis
live stacking.
The creators of Sharpcap have a comprehensive guide on their website under the 'Features' tab.
Sequence Generator Pro/Lite
Sequence Generator Pro (SGPro) has been developed by Ken and Molly Pendlebury and Jarred William, who have provided a free version (lite) and a paid license. Licensing starts from $149 depending on the number of devices you are installing it on. The license is renewed yearly from $59 (I assume pricing is in USD).
Some of SGPro's features are:
mosaics
auto focus
multi target sequencing
automated meridian flip
equipment control
image acquisition
customisable interface
*Disclosure: Mentioned features are not a full and comprehensive list. Astrogirl.au has no affiliation with any mentioned software developer and cannot be held liable for loss or damage. The aim of this page is to assist astrophotographer's in knowing what software options are available.
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