Pi Solar Camera - Astronomy with the Raspberry Pi

День тому

Build a Raspberry Pi Solar Camera and get a close-up look at the 2024 Solar Eclipse! Learn to use any telescope to stream video with a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera.
Article with code: dronebotworkshop.com/pi-solar...
More articles and tutorials: dronebotworkshop.com
Join the conversation on the forum: forum.dronebotworkshop.com
Subscribe to the newsletter and stay in touch: dronebotworkshop.com/subscribe/
Today, we will integrate a Celestron EclipSmart Solar Telescope (or any telescope) with a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera. The result is an instrument that can stream images to web browsers and video players or interact with popular astronomy applications.
I’ll show you two applications that you can use to stream the data. One of them, RPI Cam ASCOM Alpaca, is used with professional astronomy software. The second, Picamera2 Web UI Lite, is a more general-purpose app. I’m using it in my implementation.
I’ll also show you Astroberry Server, a complete Raspberry Pi suite of astronomy applications.
I’m preparing for the April 2024 eclipse and am thrilled to report that the DroneBot Workshop is in the path of totality! As long as we have a clear day on April 8th, I’ll be able to watch and photograph the event of a lifetime from the comfort of my spare bedroom!
The solar telescope is one of the instruments I will be using, and it is a fascinating device, even without an eclipse. It lets you view sunspots and watch them evolve, a real treat if you are into astronomy (as I am).
I’ll also show you how to apply solar filters to a regular camera to obtain some great pictures of the Sun.
And, naturally, I’ll show off some of my photos.
Here is the Table of Contents for today's video:
00:00 - Introduction
01:35 - Raspberry Pi Astronomy
07:18 - Celestron Solar Telescope
10:02 - Raspberry Pi HQ Camera
11:43 - Other Bits & Pieces
14:50 - Telescope Assembly
15:58 - Pi and Case Assembly
18:17 - Image Software Introduction
19:24 - Astroberry Server
21:40 - RPI Cam ASCOM Alpaca
24:02 - Picamera2 Web UI Lite Installation
30:35 - Preparing for the Eclipse
35:42 - My "Observatory" & Sun Filters
37:30- DSLR Setup & Pictures
39:03 - Pi Camera Setup & Pictures
40:46 - Conclusion
I hope you enjoy the project and have time to assemble it before the eclipse. If I get some photos and/or videos on April 8th, I’ll share them on the forum!
Happy sungazing!
Bill

КОМЕНТАРІ: 75

@Dronebotworkshop Місяць тому

For those who have asked, I have considered streaming the eclipse if the weather is good for viewing. Biggest probem is that I don't have a sun-tracker, and the Sun only stays in the viewfinder for a couple of minutes at best. And I don't want to spend the entire eclipse adjusting cameras! If I can figure out a Sun tracker system then I will do it!

@SlinkyD Місяць тому

Stepper or servo motors script/program and a 3d printed motor mount and you fully remote. You could make a Barndoor with just one motor for either camera & track the moon. Happy Viewing

@davidkosewick5066 Місяць тому

Or, it has to the the "right" couple of minutes!😉

@christinewhybrow8813 Місяць тому

Bill, this was exactly what I was going to ask. I'm in Australia so will miss this entirely. Any live feed you can manage would be great for me!

@mikejones-vd3fg Місяць тому

hmm sounds like a problem a w801 can solve! Its gots 7 leds on it to blinky blink, can you do a video on it? Just kidding, but not really there isnt much about it and anyway any MCU should be able to make a sun tracker! a photodiode and some resistors can do it cant it? I thougth i seen a video of a simple sun tracker for solar that use this principle.

@timffoster Місяць тому

HA! Nice flyby on the tripod. (I despise shoddy tripods)

@MartynCole Місяць тому

Can I just say, as a veteran of 5 total solar eclipses, if you are lucky enough to see totality forget about the photography. Just use a pair of binoculars during totality and observe but be very careful if you do. Cameras are severely challenged taking pictures of totality because they lack the needed dynamic range and what you see visually will be so much better than any photograph. be prepared to drop the binoculars promptly when totality ends. Other things to look out for shortly before totality keep your eyes on the ground to see if shadow bands are produced. These are shimmering ribbons of darkness on the ground that are really impressive. I've only seen them once but they were amazing, I hope anyone who gets to be in the path of totality good luck with the weather and you have an amazing experience.

@drjmansplace5174 Місяць тому

Your wealth of knowledge never cease to amaze. Good work.

@robertwillemsen368 28 днів тому

Would love to see how things went today with the eclips

@mesample1705 Місяць тому

Video is the best approach for Lunar and Solar imaging. Process the video in PIPP followed by AutoStakkert and finally in Registax6. Good presentation as usual.

@whitneydesignlabs8738 Місяць тому

Very cool, Bill! Thanks for another very informative video.

@richleyden6839 Місяць тому

Great episode and very timely for me. I started an astro-pi project in 2022 using the Arducam IMX462. At the time, Raspberry Pi was in the process of switching the build in cameras to use /dev/video0 interface. Most streaming software used the old interface only. Combined with flaky driver from Arducam, Covid driven shortage of electronics, I put the the project on hold. By coincidence, I pulled out the pieces for another try last week. I look forward to trying picamera2-webui or ascom

@scotty3114 Місяць тому

Super video! I watch you quite often, but this one really captured my interest! Thanks for putting this all together! One teeny-tiny correction: We don't reach sunspot maximum until sometime in 2025. No biggie! Take care.

@user-mr3mf8lo7y Місяць тому

Thanks for sharing all the info and experiences.

@JulioSalim Місяць тому

Extraordinary content, thank you very much!!!

@prosmusic6846 Місяць тому

It would be nice if you can make a star tracker too. Humble request :) Really liked your video I found your channel an year ago and the videos helped me a lot Thank you

@Dronebotworkshop Місяць тому

I have considered trying the "barn door" approach, as it's the simplest and cheapest.

@prosmusic6846 Місяць тому

Thank you

@bw6378 Місяць тому

Great information as usual. Thanks for the video!

@sunhawk1104 Місяць тому

I put together a system in a very similar setup only I used a 130mm Newtonion that I already had. Works great and love it

@danielg1165 Місяць тому

Very cool project, thanks a lot!!

@geekgee Місяць тому

very cool... thanks, Bill

@ArkFen Місяць тому

Hi! So cool to learn that you are in Montreal ))) I watch your videos sometimes and never knew it. We are staying here for few months but 1st of April we move to Toronto. I plan to go to Niagra Falls area or something to observe eclipse there and I hope that it will not be cloudy day for you here in Montreal.

@anurasenarathna1703 Місяць тому

Very interesting. Thank you very much.

@calvinduneganjr8904 Місяць тому

Good to see you back making videos! Are you going to be streaming your video of eclipse on the web?

@paulramasco6769 Місяць тому

This was a very cool tutorial. I'm currently building a simple tracker for a cheap telescope I have for my granddaughter. It simply involves two steppers, some gears, an arduino as the motor control portion and a old laptop running pyephem to automatically point it to items of interest. The only thing I am debating on is using a compass and accelerometer for az/el of the mount, which may not be ideal even for simple astronomy, or using two potentiometers and calibrating the mount for better resolution.

@aghoribgmi4355 Місяць тому

Magnetometer calibration is tricky given surrounding ferromagnetic material and other things. Using the imu sensor won't provide an accurate azimuth angle. I am also stuck on this part. I am planning to use encoder.

@Dronebotworkshop Місяць тому

I'd love to see the design, do you have it posted anywhere? I'd really love to have a tracker for the eclipse.

@paulramasco6769 Місяць тому

@@Dronebotworkshop Not yet, still testing some sections out but once I have it complete I will make sure to give an update. I know the eclipse is less than a month away now so I'll see if I can have it up in two weeks.

@mazharahmadahmad5580 Місяць тому

Useful knowledge

@hoggif Місяць тому

A cool project. I've seen once a total eclipse and it was very impressive. Thee feeling of getting much cooler with all the singing birds getting quiet etc feels so odd. I think seeing and feeling all that around me was much more impressive than the nice videos everyone has seen. Hope you get a good weather to see it well!

@Dronebotworkshop Місяць тому

I envy you, I hope the weather permits me to have that experience as well.

@hoggif Місяць тому

@@Dronebotworkshop If you will get good weather, you may enjoy it more outside where you can observe effect for nature etc. I would definately more camera outside to enjoy it all. You'll not feel effects like wind or getting colder if you're inside.

@SlinkyD Місяць тому

Yeah, outside is best. Each time is like the first.

@gregorymccoy6797 Місяць тому

I wish you luck for good weather!!

@opalko67 Місяць тому

This was really cool, thanks. Have you done any nighttime observing with the Pi HQ?

@GiC7 Місяць тому

Master, thanks I love it

@TheJacov Місяць тому

Also, Cool workshop! I like high tech and science things that are accessible to us lesser mortals (non-scientists).😁😁😁

@user-yp1gj8xn8x Місяць тому

cool, I like this project, ❤

@peter.stimpel Місяць тому

Nice! I guess I will have to adapt the stuff to my 8" Newton, just for fun. Enjoy the solar eclipse, had the last partial one on March 20, 2015 here in Cental Europe - and an almost total one back in 1999.

@martincook9462 Місяць тому

As a solar observer one can't stress the importance of safe viewing of the sun. Only use dedicated solar filters. sunglasses, dark plastic film, smoked glass etc will damage your eyesight. Don't use un-filtered binoculars and finder scopes. It only takes a fraction of a second to ruin your eyesight so take care and enjoy the day.😀

@thomasleftwite Місяць тому

I'm looking forward to the observation results of the solar eclipse! How about broadcasting it live?

@dave00011 Місяць тому

here 's hoping for clear weather at your your location,Bill Unfortunately no solar eclipse visible where I am in South Africa

@leonmusk1040 Місяць тому

Tripod was that good aye :)

@EsotericArctos Місяць тому

Just as a note, 500mm is 50cm, but you can get Pi Camera cables at 1mtr length as well easily. I haven't look for longer, but I have purchased and used 1mtr length, with is 1000mm. Could you set it up so all your footage can be saved locally on the Pi and then uploaded to the tools at a later date?

@douglasosborn3378 Місяць тому

Nice T-shirt

@truthreigns7 Місяць тому

What and where can a person get a telescope like you used

@crazyoldpapy3966 Місяць тому

wow are you in Montreal?

@ChandrashekarCN Місяць тому

💖💖💖💖

@scbtripwire Місяць тому

Holy crap, I had no idea you lived so near! Hi!👋

@piconano Місяць тому

I tried to monitor the sky for unusual moving lights (UFOs) in a patch of the sky, using RPi-Cam-Web-Interface software. Neither Rpi cam V2 or Noir V2 saw much. I could see the stars with my naked eyes, but could see very little stars using these 2 cameras. I concluded they are not good enough in low lights and abandoned the project. If you know of a cheap camera (preferably with fish-eye lens) that I can use for this project, drop me a reply.

@SlinkyD Місяць тому

I've used old USB cameras to make astro telescopes over the years. You can take the IR filter off or not, and get an 1.25" adaprer for cheap. If you can find one that has manual exposure controls and RAW output, you're set. Some webcams from a few years ago have the Ingenic T31 that's running Linux you can access (over UART iirc) .

@razidan3293 Місяць тому

15:44 Focus with the eyepiece is not going to be the same as the focus with the camera. Focusing with the camera is done by looking at the image on the monitor and focusing.

@DesertVox Місяць тому

The stock tripod is that bad?

@digihz_data Місяць тому

Stream it live here on yt Bill.

@aliemlek Місяць тому

👍👍👏👏👌👌

@MrKA1961 Місяць тому

Now if you remove the star diagonal from that telescope the image will get better.

@MahBor Місяць тому

Something similar can be used on a microscope

@humbleguy9908 Місяць тому

Can you record the corona when you are filtering out 99.999% of all the light? You may want to check before the eclipse if your telescope can record stars with the filter installed.

@mesample1705 Місяць тому

No, you take the filter off when imaging the corona. Then get the filter back on once totality is over. You could capture Baily's Beads and the diamond ring with the filter in place.

@terrancevangemert7508 Місяць тому

Think of the MOON.... yeah finding Apollo landing sites etc. Thanks as there is lots that can be done with Raspberry pi Camera.

@sinchrotron Місяць тому

Unfortunately you won't find Apollo landing sites :/

@mikemercury3656 Місяць тому

A hydrogen alpha filter would be a interesting addition if you could afford it.

@mesample1705 Місяць тому

If you could afford that filter, you would not be using a $100 optical tube assembly.

@tubeDude48 Місяць тому

Wi-Fi is terrible idea, since it has "ALWAYS" had DROP-OUTS! So, ABSOLUTELY use ethernet! Using a longer ribbon cable can produce noise, therefore the quality of the picture may not be as good. Since ethernet cable can go up to 300 Ft. That's a better way to go. Or, if you have a spare router and power outside, then you can connect the Pi to the router, and Wi-Fi via that router to another router in the house. I have 4 Mesh-Routers in my house.

@mesample1705 Місяць тому

I use Wi-Fi expender rather than routers. TP-Link has one for less that $20 which I use to connect my SeeStar S50. You are absolutely correct about the advantages of Ethernet for astrophotography. I have Cat-7 running to my observatory.

@bertblankenstein3738 Місяць тому

Haha, so to say that the tripod was frustrating was far too kind..

@malcolmgibson6288 Місяць тому

I can see me spending more money soon.😂

@jotighe2 Місяць тому

I have been led to believe that if you are president, you can stare at the sun all day.

@TheJacov Місяць тому

OOOO! System Primary Bias! For shame! Dising all those poor aliens with lesser primaries to photograph. 😁😁😁

@bazzaar1869 Місяць тому

I just want to inject a dose of reality to this thread. Whilst an excellent article on how you get a RaspberryPi and a Picam to take images of a solar eclipse, its a stretch to call it an astronomy setup. It really is exclusively limited to solar observations. No other astronomy will be possible. From an astronomy perspective, rather than a Raspberry Pi perspective, there are much better ways to accomplish astro imaging.