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syntheticminds / raspberrysky

A Python script for steering a Meade LX200 telescope with a Raspberry Pi and PS3 controller.
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Question about motor speed on LX200 #1

Open lucasbracher opened 3 months ago

lucasbracher commented 3 months ago

Hello, Matthew! How are you?

I know this is not the best way to reach, sorry about that.

I'd like to use your project in order to track ISS and some visible satellites, and I'd like first if LX200 has enough speed to track them. Do you know if this is possible?

Thanks in advance!

Lucas

syntheticminds commented 3 months ago

Hi Lucas. Thanks for getting in touch. It’s nice to know someone is taking an interest in the project. Since becoming a father, I unfortunately don’t have much tile to work on this project. Be sure to check out the dev branch where there’s a bit more progress.

Yes, I think it satellite tracking is feasible. The ISS can take as much as five minutes to cross the sky; the LX200 can slew 180 degrees much faster than that.

To get it to work, I suggest the following:

  1. Use GPS to find the telescope’s location.
  2. Use Skyfield to pick two or three bright stars for alignment.
  3. Use the Skyfield database to allow the scope to automatically slew to a stationary object and track it.

From here, you just need some vector maths to track a moving object. However, satellite data isn’t perfect so I suspect you may have to use the controller for fine tuning. More info on limitations here: https://rhodesmill.org/skyfield/earth-satellites.html

I hope this helps. I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Matthew