Telescope Control with Python

pyscope is a pure-Python package for robotic scheduling, operation, and control of small optical telescopes.

Important

If you use pyscope for data collection or work presented in a publication or talk, please help the project by properly acknowledging or citing the package.

pyscope is an open-source project that provides a set of tools to rapidly and easily control astronomical instrumentation. It is designed to be modular and extensible, allowing users to easily add support for new devices and observatories. pyscope is built on top of the ASCOM standard, but also provides support for non-ASCOM devices. Users may also access their devices through third-party applications such as MaxIm DL.

Observatories who use pyscope can take advantage of the telrun module, which provides a simple interface for fully-robotic observatory control.

pyscope is aiming to become an Astropy-affiliated package.

Features

• Control observatory hardware with Python

• Support for both ASCOM and non-ASCOM devices

• Observatory convenience methods like autofocus and recenter

• telrun module for fully-robotic operation of an observatory

• Basic data reduction tools like avg_fits and ccd_calib

• Simple analysis scripts like calc_zmag

• Powered by Astropy, Astropy-affiliated packages, and ASCOM

Getting Started

• Installation
  • Development Installation
• User Guide
  • Examples
  • Header
  • How to configure logging
  • Configuration files
  • Get Help
• API Reference
  • observatory Module
  • telrun Module
  • reduction Module
  • analysis Module
  • utils Module
• Development
  • Setting up your development environment
  • Contribution workflow
  • Contributing scripts
• Citing pyscope
• Report an Issue
• License

Authors

• Walter Golay

  • Graduate Student at Harvard University, Department of Astronomy

  • Former Undergraduate at University of Iowa, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Acknowledgements

• Robert Mutel, Professor Emeritus at University of Iowa, Department of Physics and Astronomy

• The former students and contributors to the Iowa Robotic Telescope Facility (RTF), the Van Allen Observatory (VAO), and the Iowa Robotic Observatory (IRO), including the Rigel Telescope and the Gemini Telescope, now known as the Robert L. Mutel Telescope (RLMT).

• The Macalester-Augustana Coe Robotic Observatory (MACRO) Consortium for providing unrestricted access to the Robert L. Mutel Telescope for testing the early iterations of this software.

  • John Cannon, Professor at Macalester College, Department of Physics and Astronomy

  • William Peterson, Professor at Augustana College, Department of Physics and Astronomy

  • James Wetzel, Professor at Coe College, Department of Physics

• Mark and Pat Trueblood, Directors of the Winer Observatory where the Robert L. Mutel Telescope is located

• Kevin Ivarsen

• The astronomy faculty and staff at the University of Iowa, Department of Physics and Astronomy