Software Bisque Orchestrate

Software Bisque Orchestrate

Scripting Program For Use With Robotic Telescopes and CCD Cameras. FREE With TheSky6 Professional.

What is Orchestrate?

Orchestrate is a Windows application that works in conjunction with TheSky Astronomy Software and CCDSoft CCD Astronomy Software to allow unattended, scripted operation of robotic telescopes and CCD cameras. The entire nature of your observing system changes when these applications are combined using Orchestrate. To give you an idea of how powerful this suite of software is, note that before it was officially released, three Orchestrate users discovered ten super novae!

Orchestrate goes beyond unattended control of telescopes and CCD cameras. Your interactive sessions also benefit due to the flexibilty and ease with which you can repeat operations or creat custom observing scripts.

Scripts consist of simple commands and arguments. For example the command, SlewToObject NGC 7713 will instruct the telescope to slew to the coordinates of NGC 7713.

To make it even easier, TheSky Level IV features a data export utility that makes creating scripts a breeze. In a matter of seconds, you can create a script that will automatically image all galaxies with a desired magnitude limit in the area of sky that is available.

Additionally, operations that are taxing to humans, or simply difficult to acomplish rapidly, can be relegated to the computer. For example, slewing the telescope to a satellite, then quickly taking an exposure before the satellite has moved is difficult to acomplish interactively. Orchestrate makes it easy.

Super novae and minor planet searches are two examples of space surveillance that are greatly aided by automation. Using TheSky's built-in Orchestrate script generator, mosaic grids can be generated so that Orchestrate will systematically image a given area of the sky with a specified overlap. Your telescope and CCD camera can generate your own sky survey, while you sleep!

Compatible Devices: TheSky Astronomy Software is used to control many different robotic telescopes including the following (all suited for automation). These include the Paramount GT-1100 from Software Bisque, Celestron Ultima 2000 series, Meade LX-200 series, telescopes supporting ACL (Astronomical Command Language).

Supported CCD cameras include the complete line from Celestron (PixCel 237, PixCel 235), SBIG ST-4, ST-4X, ST-5, ST-6, ST-7, ST-8, and Apogee Instruments (AM and AP series). The SBIG line of colour filter wheels is also supported.

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