How To Setup Astroberry On Your Raspberry PiAstroberry is a powerful tool for controlling your Raspberry Pi astronomy projects. Learn how to setup Astroberry on your Raspberry Pi!
Astroberry is an easy-to-use open-source tool designed to control and automate astronomy projects on the Raspberry Pi. With Astroberry, you can remotely control your telescope mount, camera, guider and more. Learn how to install Astroberry to make astronomy projects easier and more efficient.
Download the Astroberry Software to your Raspberry Pi
To set up Astroberry on your Raspberry Pi, the first step is to download the software package to your Raspberry Pi. Visit the official Astroberry website, download the 64-bit ARM file
Download Etcher from here, install and run. It allows you to select the image to flash, the destination SD card and a button to start the process. Simples.
Once complete, insert the micro SD card into the Raspberry Pi and turn the power on.
Configure the Connection Between Your Computer and Raspberry Pi
Before you can get started using Astroberry, you need to configure your setup properly. To do this, power on the Raspberry Pi and wait a few minutes. It will create its own Wi-Fi hotspot (ssid: astroberry / password: astroberry), which you need to connect to, and then you can use an internet browser to navigate to http://astroberry.local. When this loads, you will be given a short setup page, after which you can log on. The default password is astroberry for most, if not all, password requests.
Once the desktop has loaded, you can configure the Wi-Fi or network connection using the System tools. You can leave the Wi-Fi hotspot enabled if you wish, but the Raspberry Pi won't have any internet access for updates or looking at the web. To access your home Wi-Fi network, click the icon in the top left corner of the screen, choose "Preferences", and then "Advanced Network Configuration''. Click the plus icon to add a Wi-Fi Network, and then fill in the details from your router. These are usually on a card on the back of the router. Click on the General tab and ensure the priority is set to 0 or something positive. The default hotspot is set to -999 priority, so taking the Raspberry Pi remote without Wi-Fi will create the hotspot for you to connect to.
Using KStars Astronomy Software
KStars is a free, open-source, cross-platform Astronomy software application. It provides an accurate graphical simulation of the night sky from any location on Earth at any date and time. The display includes up to 100 million stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects, all eight planets, the Sun and Moon, and thousands of comets, asteroids, supernovae, and satellites.
KStars is the main software I use; I can browse the night sky and control my HEQ5 SynScan mount.
The basic window shows the standard planetarium view from your location. If you don't have a GPS-enabled device, it can be configured from Settings > Geographic.
Now, the fun stuff can start: connecting the HEQ5 SynScan mount to Ekos and controlling it with KStars!
Connecting Astroberry to a Mount with INDI Server
For this write, I am using simulated equipment as clear skies this time of year are few and far between. I will update the screenshots with real equipment views as and when I remember them while observing.
This part took a lot of trial and error for me, so this is how I set up my HEQ5 SynScan to work with KStars and Ekos. My HEQ5 was an original HEQ5 with a quartz drive, which I later upgraded to a SynScan controller. This may be why I had problems. The instructions for an HEQ5 Pro didn't work for me.
Anyway, in KStars, click on the observatory icon towards the right-hand side of the toolbar. The tooltip is "Toggle Ekos". From there, in the first section, click the + to add a new profile. From here, enter the connection name and select your mount connection type. For my HEQ5, the EQMOD mount worked since I connected directly using an EQMOD USB to a serial cable. Now set any extra devices you have connected, such as guiders, imaging cameras, etc.
You can then click the play button in panel 2, which will attempt to connect to the mount. If everything is well, you should get a green light. If there are connection problems, check the cables and power supply to the mount and ensure that the right mount type is selected.
Controlling HEQ5 SynScan using KStars and Ekos
Back in KStars, you should see an FOV marker shaped like a red Telrad style finder (the default, but you can change this) and a red marker with a label the same as the profile you just created. The FOV marker is where you look in the planetarium software; you can line an object up here. The other marker with your mount label is where the scope points and tracks.
You can slew to a target (assuming polar alignment - see below) by positioning the FOV marker over the target, right-clicking, selecting your mount from the menu and clicking Goto. There is a handset simulation window that you can toggle from the toolbar, and this has a Goto button, but that didn't work for me. There should also be a keyboard shortcut, but I couldn't find one in the documentation.
Connecting Imaging Cameras
I mainly use my Canon 80D for imaging. Sometimes, I connect via a Sigma 150-500mm lens; other times, I use a T-Mount adaptor on my scope. When you connect devices in Ekos for the first time, it will ask for the sensor resolution and pixel pitch. This information can usually be found on DigiCamDB. Pixel Pitch is calculated by dividing the physical sensor width (22.5mm on the 80d) by the actual sensor resolution (6026px) and multiplying by 1000. In this case (22.5 / 6026) * 1000 = 3.73. Do the same for the height. You should then be able to connect.
For planetary imaging and some DSO, I use a Bresser Full HD Deep-Sky Camera configured using the ToupCam driver. This was much less painful to get working than the DSLR. Just plug in and click connect, and it works.
Connecting Guidescopes
When I'm not using the Bresser Deep-Sky Camera for imaging, I use it as a guide. Calibration and guiding are straightforward using Ekos. Head to the guide section in Ekos, click capture to verify an available guide star, then click guide. The software will do the rest. If you get errors around "calibration rejected star drift too short", try increasing the pulse in the options. I had to increase mine to 2500 to get a calibration.
The screenshot above was created using the simulator, which cannot guide well since it's 100% accurate with no drift. Next time I have my scope out, I will capture a real guide configuration.
Polar Alignment using Astroberry KStars and Ekos
KStars has a Polar Alignment Assistant, which makes polar alignment simple. Before we begin, you must download the index files for plate solving in Ekos.
To get the latest index files or to download them the first time if you haven't already got them, click on the Options button in the bottom right of the Ekos window. In the config window, click on the index files tab. You can see the index files for each field of view. Go ahead and check each of the missing index files for the required and recommended FOV. Ekos will then download the files. If/when the files are downloaded, they will appear green.
In the Ekos window, click on the alignment tab on the toolbar. It's the concentric circle's icon. Set the mount position in the KStars window to the North Pole, unlock the clutches on the mount and point the telescope to the North Pole (home position) with the weights pointing down.
The defaults are good, so go ahead and click start to get going. I'm using the simulator in these screenshots because, at the time of writing in January, in Scotland, it will be a long time before I get any clear skies.
The alignment process is painless when it works and a pain when it doesn't. Most of the time, it works well, and it is certainly a lot easier than using the handset controller or the alignment reticle.
Put your EQ mount in the home position or point anywhere on the meridian. Select the mount direction and speed in the controls in the polar alignment tab, then click start. It will then connect to your imaging CCD to capture the region the telescope is pointing at and attempt to determine the location based on the stars it sees. It will then slew a little and capture again. Eventually, it will know where it is and where the telescope is pointing. The alignment is complete!
Taking First Astrophotogoraphy Images
Now that everything is configured, connected, aligned and guided, we can start taking photos! Head over to the camera tab in Ekos, where you can see all the camera-related info. The screen is the same regardless of whether you use a DSLR or a CCD imager. You have all the basic settings like exposures; count is the number of exposures. Delay is the delay between exposures, which you can use to allow the mount to settle. The file settings allow you to save locally (to the camera) or remotely transfer them to the Raspberry Pi, or you can save them to both.
There is an option to see the live view from the camera, which is useful if you want to use a Bahtinov focusing mask or to frame the image precisely.
You can take exposures using the buttons below the sequence queue. There is a test capture button, a continuous shoot button, and a live view button.
Once you are happy with the settings, add them to the sequence using the plus button. Automatic filter wheels let you automatically capture your light, darks, flats, and bias or change filters. The play button will start the sequence running.
