![]() I wanted to be able to drive my telescope directly from Mathematica running on any platform, and without any special set up. Although ASCOM is powerful and can drive many devices associated with astronomy, like domes and filter wheels, it is limited because it only works on PCs and needs to be pre-installed on your computer. Previously I’ve done some work interfacing with telescope mounts using an existing library of functions called ASCOM. In addition to this, Mathematica‘s image processing and data handling functionality are extremely useful when processing astronomical data. For example, Mathematica incorporates a vast amount of useful astronomical data, including the celestial coordinates of hundreds of thousands of stars, nebula, galaxies, asteroids, and planets. Mathematica is highly useful because it can perform many of these operations in a unified manner. However, it would be quite cool to automate all the different tasks associated with an observing session from one notebook. ![]() ![]() Software already exists for performing many of the tasks that astronomers engage in-locating objects, managing data, and performing image processing. There is precedent for this because some amateurs use their computerized telescopes to hunt down transient phenomena like supernovas. In particular, I’ve been curious about using the Wolfram Language as a way to drive my telescope mount, for the purpose of automating an observing session. However, I’d like to be able to control my astronomical hardware directly with the Wolfram Language. In earlier blog posts, I’ve written about how Mathematica can be used to process and improve images taken of planets and nebulae. As an amateur astronomer, I’m always interested in ways to use Mathematica in my hobby. ![]()
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