Stellarium is the slickest skywatching program I've seen thus far - and I've tried several.
I'm driving a completely manual dob, so this request doesn't do me any good at the moment, but it seems a natural add-on when you get around to it:
When the user selects an object to look at in Stellarium and centers on it (space bar), have the program output the RA and Declination or Azimuth and Elevation via UDP message to a listener process that controls a motorized telescope. The idea is to allow the listener to be local or remote over a network.
You don't have to write the listener process - that may well be custom for each user's telescope. Just publish the interface details in the documentation. Someone will figure it out.
Then there's the opposite direction: If the user has a camera (or cameras) attached and a piece of software that can output a .png file via a TCP or UDP link, display the camera output, live, in the correct location and orientation.
Again, you don't write the camera software, but you do publish the interface for what data has to come from the camera and how it must be identified.
You have a fantastic program here. It has the potential to put all the 'pro' and 'amateur' sky programs to shame. The first time I ran it, it was obvious to me that it was the Macintosh of sky programs - easy to use, intuitive, and great looking.
Keep up the good work!
Don McCorvey
League City, Tx
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Stellarium is the slickest skywatching program I've seen thus far - and I've tried several.
I'm driving a completely manual dob, so this request doesn't do me any good at the moment, but it seems a natural add-on when you get around to it:
When the user selects an object to look at in Stellarium and centers on it (space bar), have the program output the RA and Declination or Azimuth and Elevation via UDP message to a listener process that controls a motorized telescope. The idea is to allow the listener to be local or remote over a network.
You don't have to write the listener process - that may well be custom for each user's telescope. Just publish the interface details in the documentation. Someone will figure it out.
Then there's the opposite direction: If the user has a camera (or cameras) attached and a piece of software that can output a .png file via a TCP or UDP link, display the camera output, live, in the correct location and orientation.
Again, you don't write the camera software, but you do publish the interface for what data has to come from the camera and how it must be identified.
You have a fantastic program here. It has the potential to put all the 'pro' and 'amateur' sky programs to shame. The first time I ran it, it was obvious to me that it was the Macintosh of sky programs - easy to use, intuitive, and great looking.
Keep up the good work!
Don McCorvey
League City, Tx