ACP Utilities
John
Winfield ’s ACP
Applications
In
December 2006 I tried out the trial version of ACP,
an observatory automation package from DC3 Dreams.
This
was a milestone in my imaging process, I could now image multiple
targets per night at their optimum times, with automatic guiding and
focus control.
In
addition, the open nature of the ACP architecture allows a developer to
use the automation interface to easily build complex applications using
the features exposed from ACP.
Below is the list of currently available applications.
Sky Survey Application:
This
sky survey application uses ACP for control of the imaging setup.
It can
be used for data capture for a Supernova survey, Minor Planet survey or
gathering data for stellar lightcurve generation.
The initial testing phase is complete, so the app is now available for
general download although there are still enhancements to be made.
Target Selector Application:
This
target selector application allows the user to
supply a list of targets and imaging parameters and then selects the
target which is best positioned in the sky to image.
Thus
the user can input all the targets they are currently wanting to
capture more data for and the selector will acquire the data in the
optimum order over multiple nights, rather than the user manually
having to generate a plan which switches targets as the night
progresses.
The initial testing phase is complete, so the app is now available for
general download although there are still enhancements to be made.
SmartTrack ACP:
This addon utility for ACP uses the pointing model generated for your mount to enhance its tracking accuracy as well as its pointing accuracy, allowing longer unguided exposures to be achieved, useful for imaging in the field where setting up an extra guide scope is troublesome.