Astrophotography Camera Mount Using Image Analysis for Polar Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current astrophotography methods face challenges in accurately aligning the polar axis and locating celestial bodies, leading to errors in image acquisition and increased equipment costs, with existing methods requiring complex calculations and restrictive field of view limitations.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize a controlled rotatable component, such as an equatorial mount, to point and align the image acquisition device based on target right ascension and declination coordinates, with image analysis and processing techniques to synchronize and adjust the pointing, reducing errors and improving image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an optical polar-axis mirror is used for polar axis alignment, then alignment can be performed, but the equipment cost increases and the operation becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the polar axis alignment function from the traditional optical polar-axis mirror system. By using the main camera to capture images of the celestial pole area and performing software-based identification of Polaris and alignment calculations, the dedicated polar-axis mirror accessory is eliminated, simplifying the overall system while maintaining alignment capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical polar-axis mirror system with an electronic/image processing-based system. Instead of using optical components and manual adjustment mechanisms, the system uses digital image capture, coordinate calculation, and software-controlled motor adjustment to achieve polar axis alignment
2Device complexity
If an electronic polar-axis mirror is used for polar axis alignment, then calculation complexity is reduced, but the field of view must be near the celestial poles which restricts operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the main camera serve multiple functions: it is used for both general astrophotography and for polar axis alignment verification. The same camera that captures target objects is also used to capture the celestial pole area for alignment, eliminating the need for a separate polar-axis mirror camera and its restricted field of view requirements
3Productivity
If the equatorial mount is pre-positioned in the celestial coordinate system, then target photographing can be performed, but the target celestial body may not exist in the final image due to pointing deviation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism for mount pointing verification. After the equatorial mount positions the camera at the target coordinates, the system captures an image to verify whether the target celestial body is actually present in the field of view. If the target is not detected, the system provides feedback to adjust the mount positioning, ensuring accurate pointing before final photography
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are a method and an astrophotographic apparatus for acquiring images of targets in a sky area. The method includes: step 1, an image acquisition device is driven through a controlled rotatable component to point to the position near a target in a sky area, and images of the sky area are acquired through the image acquisition device; step 2, the images of the sky area are analyzed to obtain the right ascension coordinates and the declination coordinates of the center point of images for synchronizing the coordinates to the controlled rotatable component; step 3, the image acquisition device is driven by the controlled rotatable component to point to a target position of the target right ascension coordinates and the target declination coordinates corresponding to the target celestial body to acquire the images; and step 4, an image processing is performed on the images to obtain the processed images.