The Astro Raspberry Pi Camera System 4

Rob Pettengill - TSP 2015

The Astro Raspberry Pi Camera System 4Rob Pettengill ([email protected]) Rob Pettengill Rob Pettengill Texas Star Party Texas Star Party 16 May 2015

1Pie image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/rexroof/3802694376/

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported


AGENDA• Why Build Your Own Why Build Your Own

Camera?

• How I Built Mine

• What I Learned

• What ’s Next?

• Build Your Camera Not Mine

Christos Vasilas of Dash One

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1st afocal RPi Cam astro images


Internet Of Things And Astronomy

• Remote Observing downsized & updated.

• GoTo telescope control

• PushTo instrumentation and link to planetarium software

• Automatic focusing.

• Guiding

• Camera control and enhancement.

• Plate solving.

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http://vaticanobservatory.org

http://simonbox.info/index.php/astronomy

http://www.recantha.co.uk/blog/?p=3615

http://astrobeano.blogspot.com/2014/01/instrumented-telescope-with-raspberry.html

Rob Pettengill - AASRob Pettengill - AAS 4http://www.raspberrypi.org

http://beagleboard.org/Products/BeagleBone+Black

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/do-it-yourself/edison.html

Rob Pettengill - AAS

W h a t Wa s I m p o r t a n t To M e ?

I wanted to combine my interests in small electronics & Astronomy in a project.

• Saw potential in credit card sized computers.

• Replace the laptop with a small low power wireless computer. ARM based IOT computers are powerful yet small and low power.

• Replace the laptop display with a wirelessly connected cell phone or iPad. Better displays than many laptops and far better than camera displays.

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Terry Belia Terry Belia astrotex.com

Rob Pettengill - AAS

Why Build Your Own Camera?• Sensor

• Customize to your scope and target

• Functions

• Enhanced Focusing

• Region of Interest Crop

• Packaging

• Size & Weight

• Cooling

• Cost

• Fun

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R P i + C a m e r a M o d u l e + Q u e s t a r C a m e r a A d a p t e r

C a n I t Wo r k ?

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/robpettengill/sets/72157635483690850/


Hang Me ’Til I’m DoneAstro RPi 2.0

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Screw Me Up TightAstro RPi 3.0 Uses a T-ring as a nut to bolt mounting plate for camera to the Uses a T-ring as a nut to bolt mounting plate for extension tubes

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A System PlatformAstro RPi 4.0 Uses simple metal cage for sensor board with a T-ring as a nut to Uses simple metal cage for sensor board with a T-ring as a nut to bolt Uses simple metal cage for sensor board with a T-ring as a nut to

mounting plate to the telescope adapter.

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Sensor Board Mount Parts11


Assembled Sensor Cage & Telescope Adapter

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Assembled Sensor Cage & Telescope Adapter

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Acquisition Software Stack

IOT based model - smart devices, using web based interfaces on the network, to talk to personal devices.

• On the Raspberry Pi

• Camera Interface (raspicam)

• Web Server - translate camera control from Web requests to raspicam, serve up images for aiming and focusing

• Image storage on local SD card

• Wireless ad hoc WiFi network for communication

• On a smartphone or tablet

• Web browser / Berrycam with camera control interface

• Last still image

• Streaming video

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Rob Pettengill - TSP 2015 15

72 image Astro Raspberry Pi Lunar Panorama made with Hugin

Rob Pettengill - TSP 2015Rob Pettengill - TSP 2015


BerryCam ready for Jupiter imaging


Jupiter Io & Europa 240 of 500 images stacked & sharpened


Lessons Learned

• To ease switching from visual to sensor views, Prime focus sensor should be located as close to parfocal with the eyepiece as possible.

• Wireless connection speeds limit ease of aiming and focussing. Important features include:

• high speed wireless networks

• focus peaking

• region of interest cropping

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What's Next?

• Investigate larger sensors - Lack of Linux ARM drivers for high quality imaging chips is a barrier for now. A few already provide Intel Linux drivers and some ARM Linux (Point Grey).

• Improve ad hoc network speeds via faster wireless adapter or feathered operation.

• Add region of interest cropping to focussing mode and image capture mode.

• Add adjustable focus peaking display fo focussing mode.

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Extra Slides On Image Extra Slides On Image Evaluation

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Quick Resolution Check

• Calculate angular pixel size

• Down-sample image to reference resolutions

• Up-sample reference images to original size

• Compare original to reference images

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• Down-sample a reference image to the desired resolution

• Up-sample reference images match your own image

• Compare your original to reference images

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Comparative Resolution Check

• Find HQ Reference

• Calculate angular pixel resolution sizes

The Astro Raspberry Pi Camera System 4

Science

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t wo r

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camera displays

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guiding camera control