Electronic finderscope, astronomical telescope including the same, and electronic finderscope calculation device

Abstract

The present application discloses an electronic star finder for assisting the main telescope of an astronomical telescope to find target celestial bodies, which includes: an imaging unit, including an optical lens, for imaging a target sky area; an image sensor, which is arranged on the focal plane of the optical lens of the imaging unit, for sensing the image of the target sky area obtained by the imaging unit; and a calculation unit, which receives the image from the image sensor and is configured to perform the following processing based on the image: extracting star points in the image; and identifying the star points in the image by matching the star points with a star catalog database to obtain the names and / or equatorial coordinates of the star points. The present application also discloses an astronomical telescope including the above-mentioned electronic star finder, and an electronic star finding calculation device for use in cooperation with the electronic star finder. The electronic star finder of the present application is more convenient to operate and use compared with traditional optical star finders.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of astronomical telescopes. Specifically, it relates to an electronic star finder, an electronic star finding calculation device for assisting the main telescope of an astronomical telescope to find a target celestial body, and an astronomical telescope including the electronic star finder. Background Art

[0002] A traditional optical star finder is mounted on the main telescope. It is an independent small telescope composed of an objective lens and an eyepiece, and usually a crosshair is included in the eyepiece. Its main function is to guide the main telescope to point to the target to be observed. The principle is that the field of view of the optical star finder is relatively large, so it can be used by the user to find the observed target within a large range. Thus, it guides the main telescope to move to the observation target.

[0003] The crosshair is used to superimpose a central position indication on the scenery observed by the user. Before use, the user needs to finely adjust the pointing of the optical star finder relative to the main telescope so that the target pointed by the central position coincides with the target pointed by the main telescope. Thus, the optical coaxiality of the two is achieved. During use, when the target is seen through the optical star finder and the observation device is adjusted to move the target to the center of the crosshair, the main telescope also accurately points to the target.

[0004] Although the traditional optical star finder can produce a larger field of view and a central position indication, it cannot provide the detailed coordinates of the observed starry sky. It still requires the user to have basic astronomy knowledge to judge the observed target by himself.

[0005] In addition, the traditional optical star finder can only indicate a central position and needs to be calibrated before star finding to make its optical axis position coincide with the optical axis position of the main telescope, so it is not convenient to use. Especially for observers without astronomy foundation, the optical star finder cannot assist the observer to achieve the purpose of finding the target celestial body to be observed. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an electronic star finder, an astronomical telescope including the electronic star finder, and an electronic star finding calculation device used in cooperation with the electronic star finder, which at least partially solve the above problems of the traditional optical star finder.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic star finder for assisting a main telescope of an astronomical telescope to find a target celestial body, comprising: an imaging unit including an optical lens for imaging a target celestial region; an image sensor disposed on a focal plane of the optical lens of the imaging unit for sensing an image of the target celestial region obtained by the imaging unit; and a calculation unit receiving the image from the image sensor and configured to perform the following processing based on the image: extracting star points in the image; and identifying the star points in the image to obtain names and / or equatorial coordinates of the star points by matching the star points with a star catalog database.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic star finder for assisting a main telescope of an astronomical telescope to find a target celestial body, comprising: an imaging unit including an optical lens for imaging a target celestial region; an image sensor disposed on a focal plane of the optical lens of the imaging unit for sensing an image of the target celestial region obtained by the imaging unit; and a calculation unit receiving the image from the image sensor, as well as receiving a first input and a second input, wherein the first input indicates a position of a field center of the main telescope in the image, the second input indicates equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body, and the calculation unit calculates and outputs direction indication information based on the image and the first input and the second input, the direction indication information indicating a direction of adjustment that the main telescope should make to align with the target celestial body.

[0009] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic star finder for assisting a main telescope of an astronomical telescope to find a target celestial body, comprising: an imaging unit including an optical lens for imaging a target celestial region; an image sensor disposed on a focal plane of the optical lens of the imaging unit for sensing an image of the target celestial region obtained by the imaging unit; a first data interface connected to the image sensor for outputting the image obtained by the image sensor to an external electronic device; a second data interface for receiving direction indication information from the external electronic device, the direction indication information indicating a direction of adjustment that the main telescope should make to align with the target celestial body; and a direction indicator receiving the direction indication information via the second data interface and indicating the direction of the adjustment by at least one of a light indication, a voice prompt, and a screen display.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic star-finding computing device for use with an electronic finderscope to assist a main telescope of an astronomical telescope in finding a target celestial body. The electronic device comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor implements the following processing when executing the computer-readable instructions: acquiring an image from the electronic finderscope, the image being obtained by an imaging unit and an image sensor in the electronic finderscope; extracting star points in the image; and matching the star points with a star catalog database to identify the star points in the image.

[0011] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an astronomical telescope comprising a main telescope and any one of the electronic finderscopes described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the detailed description of non-limiting embodiments made with reference to the following drawings:

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an astronomical telescope including an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of an example of an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic finderscope shown;

[0016] Figure 4 A schematic flow chart of an example of processing performed by a computing unit of an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 A schematic flow chart of another example of processing performed by a computing unit of an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A schematic flow chart of a specific implementation of the process shown;

[0019] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of another example of an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 8 To include Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of an astronomical telescope with an electronic finderscope is shown;

[0021] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of another example of an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a telescope including Figure 9 the shown electronic star finder;

[0023] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic star finder and an electronic star finding calculation device used in combination according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0024] Figure 12 is Figure 11 a schematic structural diagram of the shown electronic star finder and the electronic star finding calculation device. Detailed implementation manners

[0025] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It can be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the related invention, rather than limiting the invention. Additionally, it should be noted that for the convenience of description, only the parts related to the invention are shown in the drawings.

[0026] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments.

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a telescope including an electronic star finder according to an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 1 shown, the electronic star finder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be mounted on the main telescope 2 of the telescope, for example, through a mounting bracket 1M, to assist the main telescope 2 of the telescope in finding a target celestial body. Generally, the main telescope 2 is mounted on a bracket 4 through an equatorial mount 3, so that by adjusting the right ascension axis and declination axis of the equatorial mount 3, the equatorial coordinates of the center of the field of view of the main telescope 2 can be adjusted, thereby aligning with the target celestial body.

[0028] Although the electronic star finder 1 and the main telescope 2 are shown in the figure as being generally parallel to each other, the electronic star finder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention does not require the optical axes to be parallel to each other with the main telescope 2 during use. This will be introduced in more detail below.

[0029] The following will be described in combination with Figure 2 and Figure 3 to introduce an example of the electronic star finder according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of this example of the electronic star finder 1. Figure 3 Exemplarily shown Figure 2 the structure of the shown electronic star finder 1.

[0030] As Figure 2As shown, the electronic finderscope 1 includes an imaging unit 10, an image sensor 20, and a computing unit 30. The imaging unit 10 includes, for example, an optical lens, for imaging the target sky area. The image sensor 20 includes, for example, a CCD or CMOS detector, which is usually arranged on the imaging focal plane of the imaging unit 10 and is used to sense the image formed by the imaging unit 10. The computing unit 30 receives the image sensed by the image sensor 20 (hereinafter also referred to as the "finderscope image") and processes the image (this will be combined with the following Figures 4 to 6 The electronic finderscope 1 may further include a driving circuit 40 for the image sensor 20 and a data interface 50 for data input / output. The image acquired by the image sensor 20 and / or the calculation result of the calculation unit 30 may be output through the data interface 50. In addition, the data interface 50 may receive input information (such as the first input and the second input to be described below) for the calculation of the calculation unit 30. Figure 3 As shown by way of example, the electronic finderscope 1 may include an electronic component 1A, in which a computing unit 30 , a driving circuit 40 and a data interface 50 may be integrated.

[0031] Figure 4 The flowchart is a schematic diagram of an example of processing performed by a computing unit of an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] exist Figure 4 In the illustrated example, the computing unit 30 receives a finderscope image from the image sensor 20 and is configured to extract star points from the image in process S110. For example, in process S110, the image may first be subjected to median filtering, then background subtraction, and finally, feature recognition to extract star points.

[0033] Next, in process S120, the computing unit 30 identifies the star points extracted from the image by matching the extracted star points with the star catalog database. For example, in process S120, the computing unit 30 may analyze the relative positional relationships of the extracted star points and compare them with the relative positional relationships of different stars recorded in the star catalog database. Star points whose relative positional relationships match the relative positional relationships of stars in the star catalog database are identified as corresponding to the stars in the star catalog database. Once the computing unit 30 identifies the star points, it can obtain the names and / or equatorial coordinates of the star points in the finderscope image by querying the star catalog database.

[0034] After identifying the star points in the finderscope image, the process proceeds to step S130, where the calculation unit 30 calculates the rotation angle of the image coordinate system of the finderscope image relative to the equatorial coordinate system based on the coordinates of the identified star points in the finderscope image and their equatorial coordinates. In some examples, the calculation unit 30 may select three identified star points for this calculation; in other examples, the calculation unit 30 may select more star points for this calculation to correct for errors or mistakes in the star point identification or coordinate calculation process.

[0035] Then, in process S140, the calculation unit 30 calculates the equatorial coordinates of the center of the finderscope image. In some examples, the equatorial coordinates of the center of the finderscope image can be directly calculated by interpolation based on the coordinates of at least three star points that are not in a straight line in the image and their equatorial coordinates; in other examples, the equatorial coordinates of the center of the finderscope image can be calculated based on the rotation angle of the image coordinate system of the finderscope image relative to the equatorial coordinate system, the position of the star point in the finderscope image relative to the image center, and the equatorial coordinates of the star point. Therefore, it can be understood that although Figure 4 In the above description, process S140 is shown and described as being arranged after process S130, but this is not required. In some examples, process S140 can be performed before process S130, and in other examples, the two can even be performed in parallel. In this regard, the present invention is not limited to the order of the two processes.

[0036] for Figure 4 In the example shown, the electronic finderscope 1 can output the equatorial coordinates of the finderscope image center via its data interface 50. This is particularly advantageous when the finderscope and the main telescope are aligned parallel to each other, thus aligning their fields of view. In this case, the output equatorial coordinates of the finderscope image center can be used directly to guide adjustments to the main telescope. For example, an observer can adjust the equatorial mount of an astronomical telescope based on the difference between the output equatorial coordinates of the finderscope image center and the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial object. During the star-finding process, the observer can use the electronic finderscope 1 to perform multiple such star-finding operations, gradually approaching the main telescope until it is aligned with the target celestial object.

[0037] The electronic finderscope 1 can also output the finderscope image sensed by the image sensor 20 and / or the names and / or equatorial coordinates of the star points identified by the computing unit 30 via its data interface 50. Such image information and star point information are helpful to users of the astronomical telescope, especially for observers who do not yet have a basic understanding of astronomy.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a schematic flow chart of another example of processing performed by a computing unit of an electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] exist Figure 5 In the example shown, the computing unit 30 receives a finderscope image and extracts star points in the image in process S210; then, in process S220, the star points in the image are identified by matching the extracted star points with a star catalog database. Process S210 and process S220 are similar to Figure 4 The processes S110 and S120 in the illustrated example are not described in detail here.

[0040] In process S230a, the computing unit 30 receives a first input indicating the position of the center of the field of view of the main telescope in the finderscope image. In some examples, the first input may be an offset value of the center of the field of view of the main telescope relative to the image center in the finderscope image. In other examples, the first input is a position selected in the finderscope image that corresponds to the center of the field of view of the main telescope. In these embodiments, for example, the finderscope image output by the electronic finderscope 1 may be displayed on a display, and a user may select a position corresponding to the center of the field of view of the main telescope on the displayed image using a mouse or a touch screen. Process S230a may be performed after process S220, or before process S220, or even before process S210, and the present invention is not limited in this respect.

[0041] Then, the process proceeds to step S230 , in which the calculation unit 30 calculates the equatorial coordinates of the center of the field of view of the main telescope.

[0042] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A schematic flow chart of a specific implementation of the process shown, wherein Figure 5 The process S230 shown is performed by Figure 6 Specifically, after the process S220 of identifying the star points in the finderscope image, the process enters process S231, wherein the calculation unit 30 calculates the rotation angle of the image coordinate system of the finderscope image relative to the equatorial coordinate system based on the positions of the identified star points in the finderscope image and their equatorial coordinates; next, in process S232, the equatorial coordinates of the center of the finderscope image are calculated based on the equatorial coordinates of the identified star points and the rotation angle. Processes S231 and S232 are similar to Figure 4 The processing S130 and S140 in the example shown are not described in detail here. Figure 6 As shown, after receiving the first input indicating the position of the center of the field of view of the main telescope in the finderscope image in process S230a, and after process S232 is completed, process S233 is entered, in which the equatorial coordinates of the center of the field of view of the main telescope are calculated based on the first input, the equatorial coordinates of the center of the finderscope image, and the rotation angle.

[0043] It should be understood that Figure 6 The example shown is just an example. Figure 5 Process S230 in the illustrated flow can also be implemented in other ways. For example, in some examples, in process S230, the coordinate position of the center of the field of view of the main telescope in the finderscope image can be first calculated based on the first input. Then, based on the relative relationship between the coordinate position of the center of the field of view of the main telescope and the coordinate position of the star point in the finderscope image, and the equatorial coordinate of the star point, the equatorial coordinate of the field of view center can be calculated, for example, by interpolation. In other words, the calculation unit 30 can calculate the equatorial coordinate of the center of the field of view of the main telescope based on the first input, the equatorial coordinate of the identified star point, and its position in the image. In short, the present invention is not limited to any specific implementation of process S230.

[0044] Continue to refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 In process S240a, the computing unit 30 receives a second input indicating the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial object that the primary telescope wishes to observe. In some examples, the second input may be the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial object. In other examples, the second input may be a star point corresponding to the target celestial object selected in the finderscope image. In such an example, the finderscope image output by the electronic finderscope 1 may be displayed on a monitor, and a user may select a position corresponding to the target celestial object on the displayed image using a mouse or touch screen. Process S240a may be performed earlier or later than any of processes S210 through S230, as long as it is performed before process S240. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" appearing in the first and second inputs serve only to distinguish the two inputs and do not indicate a contextual relationship between the two inputs. Therefore, the contextual relationship of process S240a relative to process S230a is not limited in the present invention.

[0045] Then, the process proceeds to step S240, in which the calculation unit 30 calculates the difference between the equatorial coordinates of the center of the main telescope's field of view and the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial object indicated by the second input. Based on this difference, the calculation unit 30 calculates and outputs direction indication information. The direction indication information indicates the direction in which the main telescope should be adjusted to align with the target celestial object. In some preferred examples, the direction indication information may also indicate the angular adjustment to which the main telescope should be adjusted to align with the target celestial object. For example, the direction indication information may indicate the direction and angular magnitude of rotation of the astronomical telescope's equatorial mount about its right ascension axis, as well as the direction and angular magnitude of rotation about its declination axis.

[0046] exist Figure 5 and Figure 6In the illustrated example, since the position offset of the center of the main telescope's field of view relative to the center of the finder telescope's field of view (corresponding to the center of the finder telescope's image) is considered through the first input, the electronic finder telescope with a computing unit configured to perform Figure 5 the processing shown does not need to ensure the coincidence of the optical axes of the electronic finder telescope and the main telescope during use. Instead, it only needs to know the offset of the current center of the main telescope in the electronic finder telescope's image to calculate the equatorial coordinates of the center of the main telescope's field of view.

[0047] Next, another example of an electronic finder telescope according to an embodiment of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with Figure 7 and Figure 8 . Figure 7 FIG. is a schematic block diagram of an electronic finder telescope 1' in this example, Figure 8 and FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of an astronomical telescope including such an electronic finder telescope 1'.

[0048] As Figure 7 shown, the electronic finder telescope 1' has substantially the same configuration as the electronic finder telescope 1 in the Figure 1 illustrated example, except that the electronic finder telescope 1' further includes a direction indicator 60. The direction indicator 60 receives direction indication information from the computing unit 30 and indicates the direction of the adjustment that the main telescope should make to align with the target celestial body by at least one of lighting indication, voice prompt, and screen display. In some preferred examples, the direction indicator 60 can also indicate the amount of adjustment.

[0049] In the Figure 8 illustrated schematic structural diagram, the direction indicator 60 is shown in the form of a direction indicator light, which can guide the user on how to adjust the telescope, such as how to adjust the right ascension axis and declination axis of the equatorial mount carrying the main telescope, through lighting indication. However, this is only an example, and the direction indicator 60 can take any suitable form as long as it can indicate the direction of adjustment to the user.

[0050] Figure 9 and Figure 10 show yet another example of an electronic finder telescope according to an embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 9 FIG. is a schematic block diagram of an electronic finder telescope 1'' in this example, Figure 10 and FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of an astronomical telescope including such an electronic finder telescope 1''.

[0051] As Figure 9 shown, the electronic finder telescope 1'' has the same configuration as Figure 1The electronic finderscope 1 in the illustrated example has substantially the same configuration, except that the electronic finderscope 1″ further includes a motor driver interface 70. The motor driver interface 70 receives direction indication information from the computing unit 30 and generates and outputs a motor driving signal based on the direction indication information. The motor driving signal is used to drive a motor for adjusting the direction of the main telescope. In some examples, the motor for adjusting the direction of the main telescope described herein may be a declination axis motor 3a and a right ascension axis motor 3b in an equatorial mount, such as Figure 10 In addition, although not shown, the motor drive interface 70 of the electronic finderscope 1 "can be integrated into, for example, Figure 3 In the electronic component 1A shown.

[0052] Reference above Figures 7 to 10 The computing unit 30 in the electronic finderscope described herein can be configured to Figures 1 to 3 The calculation unit 30 in the electronic finderscope performs the same processing, which will not be described in detail here.

[0053] Next, refer to Figure 11 and Figure 12 The electronic star-finding scope 100 and the electronic star-finding computing device 200 used in conjunction with each other according to another embodiment of the present invention are introduced. Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic finderscope 100 and an electronic finder computing device 200 according to this embodiment. Figure 12 A schematic diagram of their structure is shown below.

[0054] like Figure 11As shown, the electronic finderscope 100 includes an imaging unit 110 and an image sensor 120. The imaging unit 110, for example, includes an optical lens for imaging a target sky region. The image sensor 120, for example, includes a CCD or CMOS detector and is typically arranged at the imaging focal plane of the imaging unit 110 to sense the image formed by the imaging unit 110 (i.e., the finderscope image). The electronic finderscope 100 may also include a drive circuit 140 for the image sensor 120. The electronic finderscope 100 according to this embodiment is different from the electronic finderscopes 1, 1' and 1" described above in that the electronic finderscope 100 itself does not include a computing unit for processing the finderscope image to assist in searching for the target celestial body. Instead, the electronic finderscope 100 is used in conjunction with an electronic finder computing device 200 and is correspondingly provided with a first data interface 151 and a second data interface 152, wherein the first data interface 151 is connected to the image sensor 120 and is used to output the finderscope image obtained by the image sensor 120 to an external electronic device, and the second data interface is used to receive direction indication information from the external electronic device, the direction indication information indicating the direction in which the main telescope should be adjusted in order to align with the target celestial body, where the external electronic device is, for example, the electronic finder computing device 200. Figure 11 As shown, the electronic finderscope 100 further includes a direction indicator 160 , which receives direction indication information via the second data interface 152 and indicates the adjusted direction through at least one of light indication, voice prompt, and screen display.

[0055] like Figure 12 As shown, the electronic finderscope 100 may include an electronic component 100A, and the drive circuit 140, the first data interface 151, and the second data interface 152 may be integrated into the electronic component 100A. In some examples, the direction indicator 160 may also be integrated into the electronic component 100A. Such a direction indicator 160 may indicate the direction of telescope adjustment through voice prompts, for example; in other examples, the direction indicator 160 may be a component that communicates with the electronic component 100A by wire or wirelessly. Figure 12 not shown).

[0056] Return to reference Figure 11 The electronic star-finding computing device 200 may include a processor 210 and a memory 220, wherein the memory 220 stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor 210 performs certain processing when executing the computer-readable instructions. Here, the so-called "certain processing" includes but is not limited to the above reference Figures 4 - 6The various processes implemented by the computing unit of the electronic finderscope described herein. In other words, according to this embodiment, the computing unit of the electronic finderscope is separated from the electronic finderscope telescope itself and formed into or integrated into an external electronic device, thereby forming an electronic finder computing device. From a tangible structural perspective, the electronic finder computing device can be a device that exists independently of the electronic finderscope 100 itself and can be implemented based on dedicated or general-purpose electronic devices. For example, in some examples, the electronic finder computing device 200 can be implemented as a device dedicated to electronic findering, such as an independent computing box. In other examples, the electronic finder computing device 200 can be a non-dedicated device implemented based on a general-purpose device, such as a general-purpose computer, through the implantation of software. In such examples, the electronic finder computing device 200 can also include a display for displaying the finderscope image and outputting the results of the processor calculations. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to any specific form of the electronic finder computing device.

[0057] In summary, the electronic finderscope according to embodiments of the present invention overcomes the shortcomings of optical finders, capable of quickly and in real time providing the right ascension and declination coordinates of the telescope's pointing direction, as well as the names of the corresponding stars in the image. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the electronic finderscope can provide the right ascension and declination coordinates of any location based on an input offset (e.g., an offset value of the image coordinates X and Y). Therefore, there is no need to ensure that the optical axes of the electronic finderscope and the main telescope coincide. Simply knowing the offset of the current main telescope's center coordinates in the electronic finderscope allows the center coordinates of the main telescope to be output in any situation.

[0058] An electronic finderscope according to an embodiment of the present invention may also include a direction indicator, which accepts input of the coordinates of a target celestial body and outputs the direction the observer should move based on the current coordinates. This indicator may be presented as a direction indicator light, a data interface, a voice prompt, or a screen display. Alternatively or in addition, the electronic finderscope may also include a motor drive interface.

[0059] The electronic finderscope of the present invention can be used independently or as a component in an integrated automatic telescope system.

[0060] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present application and an illustration of the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention herein is not limited to the technical solutions formed by the specific combination of the above-mentioned technical features, but also encompasses other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above-mentioned technical features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, a technical solution formed by replacing the above-mentioned features with (but not limited to) technical features having similar functions disclosed in this application.

Claims

1. An electronic star finder for assisting a main telescope of an astronomical telescope to find a target celestial body, comprising: An imaging unit including an optical lens for imaging a target sky area; An image sensor arranged on a focal plane of the optical lens of the imaging unit for sensing an image of the target sky area obtained by the imaging unit; And A calculation unit that receives the image from the image sensor and is configured to perform the following processing based on the image: Extract more than three star points from the image; And Identify the star points in the image to obtain the names and / or equatorial coordinates of the star points by analyzing the relative position relationships of the star points and matching the relative position relationships with the relative position relationships of different stars in a star catalog database; Receive a first input that indicates the position of the field center of the main telescope in the image; and calculate the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope based on the first input, the equatorial coordinates of the identified star points, and their positions in the image; And Receive a second input that indicates the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body; and calculate the difference between the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope and the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body indicated by the second input, and based on the difference, calculate and output direction indication information that indicates the direction of adjustment that the main telescope should perform to align with the target celestial body.

2. The electronic star finder as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The calculating the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope includes: Calculating a rotation angle of the coordinate system of the image relative to the equatorial coordinate system based on the positions of the identified star points in the image and their equatorial coordinates; and Calculating the equatorial coordinates of the center of the image based on the equatorial coordinates of the star points and the rotation angle.

3. The electronic star finder according to claim 2, wherein, The calculating the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope further includes: calculating the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope based on the first input, the equatorial coordinates of the center of the image, and the rotation angle.

4. The electronic star finder as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The first input is an offset value of the field center of the main telescope in the image relative to the center of the image.

5. The electronic star finder according to claim 1, wherein The first input is a position selected in the image corresponding to the field center of the main telescope.

6. The electronic star finder according to claim 1, wherein, The second input is a value of the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body.

7. The electronic star finder according to claim 1, wherein, The second input is a star point selected in the image corresponding to the target celestial body.

8. The electronic star finder according to claim 1, wherein, The direction indication information further indicates the magnitude of the angle that the main telescope should adjust to align with the target celestial body.

9. The electronic star finder according to claim 1 or 8, further comprising a direction indicator that receives the direction indication information from the calculation unit and indicates the direction of the adjustment by at least one of a light indication, a voice prompt, and a screen display.

10. The electronic star finder according to claim 1 or 8, further comprising a motor driver interface that receives the direction indication information from the calculation unit and generates and outputs a motor drive signal based on the direction indication information, the motor drive signal being used to drive a motor for adjusting the direction of the main telescope.

11. The electronic star finder according to any one of claims 1-8 further includes a data interface connected to the calculation unit for outputting the calculation result of the calculation unit.

12. The electronic star finder according to claim 11, wherein, The data interface is also connected to the image sensor for outputting the image.

13. An electronic star finder for assisting a main telescope of an astronomical telescope to find a target celestial body, comprising: An imaging unit including an optical lens for imaging a target sky area; An image sensor arranged on the focal plane of the optical lens of the imaging unit for sensing an image of the target sky area obtained by the imaging unit; And A calculation unit that receives the image from the image sensor and is configured to perform the following processing based on the image: Extract more than three star points from the image; Identify the star points in the image to obtain the names and / or equatorial coordinates of the star points by analyzing the relative position relationship of the star points and matching the relative position relationship with the relative position relationship of different stars in the star catalog database; And Receive a first input and a second input, where the first input indicates the position of the field center of the main telescope in the image, the second input indicates the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body, and the calculation unit calculates and outputs direction indication information based on the equatorial coordinates of the identified star points and their positions in the image and the first input and the second input, and the direction indication information indicates the direction of adjustment that the main telescope should make to align with the target celestial body; where The calculating and outputting the direction indication information includes: Calculating the rotation angle of the coordinate system of the image relative to the equatorial coordinate system based on the positions of the identified star points in the image and the equatorial coordinates of the star points; Calculating the equatorial coordinates of the center of the image based on the equatorial coordinates of the star points near the center of the image and the rotation angle; Calculating the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope based on the first input, the equatorial coordinates of the star points, and the rotation angle; and Calculating the difference between the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope and the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body indicated by the second input, and outputting direction indication information based on the difference, where the direction indication information is used to guide the adjustment of the direction of the main telescope.

14. An electronic star-finding calculation device for use with an electronic star finder to assist the main telescope of an astronomical telescope in finding a target celestial body, the electronic star-finding calculation device includes a processor and a memory, wherein, The memory stores computer-readable instructions, and when the processor executes the computer-readable instructions, the following processing is implemented: Obtaining an image from an electronic star finder, where the image is obtained through an imaging unit and an image sensor in the electronic star finder; Extracting more than three star points from the image; And Analyzing the relative position relationship of the star points and matching the relative position relationship with the relative position relationship of different stars in the star catalog database to identify the star points in the image; Receiving a first input, where the first input indicates the position of the field center of the main telescope in the image; and calculating the equatorial coordinates of the field center of the main telescope based on the first input, the equatorial coordinates of the identified star points, and their positions in the image; And Obtain a second input, where the second input indicates the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body; and calculate the difference between the equatorial coordinates of the center of the field of view of the main telescope and the equatorial coordinates of the target celestial body indicated by the second input, and based on this difference, calculate and output direction indication information, where the direction indication information indicates the direction of adjustment that the main telescope should make to align with the target celestial body.

15. The electronic star-finding calculation device according to claim 14, wherein, The calculating of the equatorial coordinates of the center of the field of view of the main telescope includes: Based on the position of the star point in the image and the equatorial coordinates of the identified star point, calculate the rotation angle of the coordinate system of the image relative to the equatorial coordinate system; and Based on the equatorial coordinates of the star point and the rotation angle, calculate the equatorial coordinates of the center of the image.

16. The electronic star-finding calculation device according to claim 15, wherein, The calculating of the equatorial coordinates of the center of the field of view of the main telescope includes: Based on the first input, the equatorial coordinates of the center of the image, and the rotation angle, calculate the equatorial coordinates of the center of the field of view of the main telescope.

17. The electronic star-finding calculation device according to any one of claims 14-16, further comprising a display for displaying the image and outputting the calculation result of the processor.

18. An astronomical telescope, comprising: A main telescope and an electronic star finder according to any one of claims 1-13; Or A main telescope, an electronic star finder, and an electronic star-finding calculation device according to any one of claims 14-17.

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