CCD Inspector, FWHM Monitor and CCDIS Plug-in · evaluation of images to determine collimation,...
Transcript of CCD Inspector, FWHM Monitor and CCDIS Plug-in · evaluation of images to determine collimation,...
CCDInspector,FWHMMonitorandCCDISPlug-in
Copyright©2005-2011byPaulKanevskyAllRightsReserved.PublishedbyCCDWareunderanexclusivelicense.
http://pk.darkhorizons.org
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CCDInspector
DramaticallyImprovequalityofyourimages:
increasesharpnessandresolution
Automaticallysortmanyimagesatoncebyevaluatingstar
sharpnessandtrackingquality
Pickthebestsub-framesforstacking,orfordecidingwhichtokeepCompareimagesbymanyobjectivecriteria,plottheresultsforabettervisualimpactMeasureand
plotfocusvariationsduetotiltorfieldcurvature
Determinehowflattheimageplaneis.CompareperformanceoffieldflattenersandfocalreducersCollimateyourtelescopein-focuswithyourCCDcameraorDSLR!EvaluateopticalsystemvignettingcharacteristicsEstimatehowwellthecurrentopticalsystemwillperformonalarger
sensorbeforeyoubuythatexpensivenewCCDorDSLR!
WorkswithCCDSoft,MaxImDL,andallothercameracontrolsoftwarein
real-timemode
FocusandcollimateyourtelescopeusingyourfavoriteDSLRandDSLR
controlsoftware!
Createrunningchartstomonitorseeingconditions,focusshift,trackingproblemswithyourCCDorDSLRinreal-timeIfyouuseCCDStacksoftware,CCDInspectornowshipswithanamazingnewplug-in,CCDIS.CCDIScompletelyautomatesCCDStackregistrationprocess,improves
registrationaccuracy,anddoessoatblazingspeeds
Astrophotograpers,CCDanddigitalcamerausersoftentakemanyshorter
imagestolaterprocessandstacktosimulateonelongexposure.Toproducethehighestqualityimage,itisimportanttoeliminatefromthestacksub-framesthatareoflowerqualitythantherest.Sub-framescanbeinferior
duetochangingfocus,dew,trackingerrors,flexure,mirrorflop,wind,vibration,clouds,andmanyotherthings.
WithCCDInspector,you'llbeabletoquicklyselectthebestframesofthebatchbymeasuringthequalityofeachoftheimages.Thechosenimagescanbequicklymovedorcopiedtoasubfolderforstackingorfurtherprocessing.
CCDInspectorworkswithyourcameraacquisitionsoftwaretoallowreal-timeevaluationofimagestodeterminecollimation,imagetilt,focus,etc.
CCDInspectorcanalsobeusedindependentlyofanycapturingorprocessingsoftwarewithallSBIG,FITS,TIFF,orDSLRRawformattedimagesonyourcomputer.Ifyourimagesarerecordedwithfocallengthinformationintheheader,thenmultipleimages,evenacquiredwithdifferentfocallengthandaperture,canbecomparedbycomputingtheFWHMvalueinarcseconds.
ReleaseHistory
Version2.5.1
IncreasedtheexpirationofCCDAP5imageassessmentfeatureforanother60daysAddedadelaywhendoingauto-opentoaddressareportedissueofMaxImDLunable
tosaveimagesonoccasion.ThedelaygivesMaxImDLenoughtimetofinishwriting
theimagebeforeCCDInspectorattemptstoreadit.
Version2.5.0
AddedpreviewofintegrationwithCCDAutoPilot5forautomaticimageassessment.AddedsupportfornewrawDSLRformats
Version2.2.1
FixtoacrashinDefocusedStarCollimationViewerwhennostarisfound,orthe
starisdim
Version2.2.0
Addedsupportformanymorerawimagefileformats,includingCanon5DMkII,
50D,500D,1000D,NikonD90,D700,D5000,etc.
Addedthemenuoptiontoselectimagesthatpassedthelimitalerttest,andto
invertimageselection
Improvedthebehavioroferrormessagesinreal-timedisplays,changedthelookImprovedSingleDefocusedStarCollimationtobetterdetectrealstarsandto
ignoreotherobjectsinthefieldofview
ImprovedFWHMmonitorsinglestardetectionwhenusingafocusroutineto
deliveramuchmorestable,accuratedisplayofFWHMvalues,evenwhenthestar
iscompletelydefocused
Addedtransparencyoptionandauto-fadeoptiontoFWHMmonitordisplaytoallow
ittostayontopandnotinterferewithapplicationsbelow
FixedafewsmallissuesinbackgroundcalculationinCCDISpluginthatshould
nothaveamajoreffectonfunctionality
Version2.1.6
FixforFWHMMonitorcrashduetosomeinadvertentchangesintroducedinv2.1.5Fixforaproblemwhileenteringlicensekeyundercertaininternational
settings/languagesinboth,CCDInspectorandCCDIS/p
Version2.1.52.1.5
Addedsupportfor8-bitimagefiles(JPEG,BMP,GIF,PNG)to:CCDInspector:
Cananalyze8-bitfilesforFWHM,Collimation,Curvature,Aspectratio,
etc.
Canuse8-bitfileswiththedefocused-starcollimationtoolCanusewithGenericCameradriver
FWHMMonitor:Canuse8-bitfileswithGenericCameradrivertoanalyzeimagesfrom
webcamsorDSLRs
CCDISandCCDIS/pCCDStackplug-ins:CanregisterJPEG/BMP/GIF/PNGfilestoFITS,TIFF,ortoeachother
ImprovedspeedandoverallperformanceofCCDISplug-inAddedsupportforsensorswithnon-squarepixelsinDefaultImage
Propertiesdialog
FixedacrashcausedbytooltipsintheAnalysisChartstool
Version2.1.0
AddedSingleStarCollimationmethodandviewerFixedanissuewithFlatAnalysistoolwhenprocessingBayer-matriximagesAddedsupportforupgradingfromCCDIS/pplugin
Version2.0.6
FixedCCDISS/Ncalculationroutinetoignorewildlyout-of-rangepixels
thatcanbegeneratedbyCCDStackcalibrationroutines.Thisshouldimprovesuccessrateoffindingregistrationsolutionsto,
especially,narrow-bandcalibratedimages.
Version2.0.5
FixedCCDIScrashon64-bitsystemswhenprocessingimageswithmostly
transparent(rejected)pixelsattheedgeoftheimage
ChangedFileOpendialogtoberesizableFixedCCDInspector"hanging"problemwhenencounteringcertainrare
combinationsofFITSkeywords
Version2.0.4
ImprovedCCDISbehaviorwhenrunninginlow-memoryconditions,i.e.,when
handlingalargestackona32-bitWindows-CCDISwillscale-downitsownmemoryrequirementswhenmemoryconditionsare
tight-Bettererrormessagesreportedwhenout-of-memoryconditionsoccur
FixedCCDInspectorRAWDSLRimagedatehandler:itusedtoapplyDaylight
Savingstimecorrectiontwice
Version2.0.3
ImprovedCCDISregistrationalgorithmto:-Betterhandlesaturatedstarsandverybrightareasoftheimage,suchas
densenebulaorgalacticcore-Betterhandle8-bitimages,suchasJPEGs-Findregistrationsolutionmoreconsistentlyamongsimilarimages-Producebetteraccuracybyusingmorestarsinasolution-Optimizedforevenmorespeed!
ImprovedCCDInspectorscreenpaintingbehaviorwhilemeasuringimagesto
reducetheappearanceof'hanging'
FixedaproblemwithcertainTIFFandRAWimagesthatwouldresultinhuge
curvature,FWHM,andtiltnumbersduetotheuseofinvalidimagescale
Fixedaproblemwithreal-timeFWHMmonitorupdate(affectedonlycertain
registeredusers)
Addedreal-timesimpleimageviewertoRealTimemenu
Version2.0.2
InternaltestreleaseofnewCCDISfunctionality.Notanofficialrelease.
Version2.0.1
FixedNext/PreviousmenuitemswhenusingImageViewerwithFlatAnalysis
andAspectRatiomaps
Fixedabugthatwouldcauseacrashwithsomeimagescontainingstars
verycloseoroverlappingimageframe
Addeddefaultsensorpixelsizesettingtouseforimageswithoutthis
informationintheheader
Version2.0.0
Majornewrelease,manynewfeatures,bug
fixes,andenhancements.
Version1.3.4
FixedbugsintheAuto-updatemechanismthatresultedinfailuresto
updatewithsomeDSLandcablemodems
MadechangestoallowforaneasierupgradetotheupcomingCCDInspector2
Version1.3.2
AddressesvariabilityinmeasurementresultsduetotheuseofDirectX3D.
DirectX3Dsetsfloatingpointcalculationaccuracytolowforbetterperformance,butthisresultsinlessprecisioninallcalculations
byCCDInspector.Thishasbeenfixed.
Version1.3.1
Fixedcurvaturedisplayonthe3-DplotAddedautomaticsoftwareupdatewithperiodicchecks
Version1.3.0
FullsupportofWindowsVistaConvertedto.NET2.0RewriteoftheFWHMmeasurementalgorithmtoimproveaccuracyfor
undersampledimages
AddedIgnorebuttontowarningmessagesAddedsupportfordrag-and-dropofimageliststoandfromCCDStackAddedsupportforsingle-shotBayermatrixCCDsensorsAddedsupportforsettingacustomsaturationvalueFixforcurvature%display:wasincorrectlyadjustedbyimagescalewhen
displayedinarcseconds
FixforXandYtiltvaluesintheChartsdialog(onlyYwasshown)FixedOKbuttonplacementinwarningmessages
Version1.2.0
Fixedstarselectionalgorithmthatsometimescausednoisetobetreated
asstars
AddedthreeNoiseThresholdsettingstoimprovestarselectionwith
noisysensors(e.g.,CMOS).Thedefault,Lowsettingshouldworkwellformost
cooledCCDsensors.
Added"Measureselectedimagesonly"feature:ifoneormoreimagesare
selectedinthelist,onlythesewillbemeasuredwhenMeasurebuttonis
pressed.Ifnoneareselected,onlynewimagesinthelistthathavenotbeen
measuredyetwillbemeasured.
AddedExposure,BinMode,andTemperaturecolumnstothemainimage
displayandcharts
FilesthatareloadedviaAutoOpenoptionthatarenotinarecognizable
formatwillnowbequietlyskippedandnotmeasured:noerrormessagewillbe
displayed
Version1.1.10
FixedTIFFfileprocessinginFWHMMonitorImprovedfilteredRGBimageprocessingwhenmostoftheinformationis
containedinoneofthethreechannels
Addedimagedate/timedisplayforimagesthatdon'tcontainthis
informationintheheader(filecreationdate/timeisnowshown)
FixedtheMeasureAllfunctionbugthatonoccasionwouldstill
processsomeimagesthathavealreadybeenmeasured
Version1.1.9
AddedsupportforImagesPluscolorFITSformat(16-bit)MeasureAllnowmeasuresonlyimagesthathaven'tbeenmeasuredyetAddedAutoOpenfeaturetoautomaticallymeasureanynewimagesavedinto
specifiedfolder
Version1.1.7
Fixed:variouserrorsandfailurestomeasurewithcertainsizeimagesFixed:charttiltX/Ywereshownasthesamevalue,andonlyinarcsecondsImprovedstarextractionalgorithm:morestarsaredetectedresultingin
moreaccuratemeasurement
Improvedalgorithmformeasuringundersampledstars:givesaccurateresult
downtoapproximately1.5pixelFWHM
Version1.1.3
Fixedfailuretomeasurealargeimageoranimagewithalargenumberof
stars
CollimationViewerdisplaynolongershowsrecommendedcorrectiontoavoid
setupconfusion
FixedtheCurvaturedisplayinthemainCCDInspectorwindowcolumn:the
valueoriginallydisplayedwasincorrectlyadjustedbytheimagescale,and
resultedinanumberdifferentfromtheoneontheCurvatureMapdisplay
Version1.1.1
AddeduseradjustableTopofChipdisplaytotheCollimationViewerto
accommodateallcamerapositionsonthebackofthetelescope
ChangedCollimationViewerdisplaytoselectonlytwoofthethreeknobs
forcollimationtoreduceriskoflooseningthesecondary
FixedtheproblemwithreadingTIFFfilesthatwasintroducedwiththe
additionoftheRAWfilesupport
Version1.1.0
IntuitiveCollimationVieweraddedforfast
andprecisereal-timecollimation
Genericsupportforallimagecapturesoftware,includingAstroArt,MaxDSLR,
etc.,capableofwritingFITS,TIFF,SBIG,ormostnativeDSLRRawfileformats:-Forreal-timecurvaturedisplayandcollimation,and-ForFWHMMonitorforfocusing,focusmonitoring,and
runningcharts
Nativesupportforover100DSLRRAWfileformats
-noconversionisneededintoanyotherformat
Supportforcolor(RGB)FITSfilesin16-and8-bitformatsascreatedby
MaxImDL
AddedFITSheaderviewerAirMassindexaddedtothecalculatedvaluesStarsUsedisnowdisplayedinthe2-DmapviewerFixedabugthatcausedproblemscopyinganddisplayinglargeimagesStarextractionalgorithmtunedtofindandusemanymorestarsSignificantlyimprovedcollimationerrorcomputationimprovesstability
andaccuracy
ImagelistnowshowsCollimationandTiltvaluesinarcsecondsorpixels,
basedonuserselection
SupportforOBJCTALTkeywordforimagescapturedinMaxImDLMaxImDLimageselectionwasimprovedforusewithFWHMmonitor:clicking
onanimagenowactivatesit
AddedMovingAverageandReal-TimenumericdisplayoptionstoFWHMmonitor
todisplaythevaluesfromthecurrentrunningchart
Addedthelistofmost-recentlyloadedimagestothefilemenu
Version1.0.0
Initialpublicrelease
NewFeaturesinCCDInspector2
1.LimitAlerts:Setlimitsonimageparameters,suchasFWHM,aspectratio,background,etc.Allimagesexceedingthelimitswillbeflaggedinredonthedisplayforeasyidentification.
2.Automaticdarkframescaling:younolongerhavetopickanotherdarkframejusttochangetheexposure,ortakeauto-darks.Allyou'llneedisasinglemasterdarkframe(andabias)
3.Newcameraextrapolationtool:allowscurvature,staraspectratio,andvignettingtobeprojectedtoadifferentsizechip.Easilyfindoutifyou’llneedafieldflattenerwiththatlargersensor,orwhetheryou’llneedalargersecondaryduetoseverevignetting,orifthenewcamerawillproduceacceptableimageswithyourcurrentoptics.
4.ImprovedimageTiltindicatorthatshowsthedirectionandtheabsolutemagnitudeofthetilt.
5.NewAspectRatioMaptool.Similartocurvaturemap,aspectratiomapshowshowstarsshapesvaryacrossthefieldofview,forexampleduetocomaortoopticaltilt.
6.NewFlatFrameAnalysistooltohelpmeasuredegreeofvignettingfromastarfieldimageoraflatframe.
7.NewSingleStarCollimationtooltoallowcollimationonasingledefocusedstar(v2.1.0)
8CCDISplug-inisincludedwithCCDInspector2.0.Thisplug-inworksinconjunctionwithCCDStacktoprovideamuchfasterandextremelyaccurateimageregistrationusingCCDInspectoradvancedstardetectionalgorithm.ThisworksseamlesslywithCCDStack1.3.2andlater,andregistersimagescompletelyautomatically.CCDIShandlesrotation,differencesinscale,imageflip,andlinearshiftwithease.ForalltheCCDStackusers,you’llloveit,Iguaranteeit!Andit'sfast!
9.Over100newRAWDSLRimageformatsadded,includingsomeofthemorepopular:
Canon40D,1DIIandIII,400D/XTi,450D/XSi,DNGNikonD3,D300,D40,D60FujiE900,S100FS,S5200/S5600,S5Pro,S6000,S9100/S9600
ClickhereforthefulllistofsupportedRAWformats
10.SupportfordisplayingandsortingallFITSheaderkeywordsintheCCDInspectorimagelist.
11.Supportforcommand-lineargumentssothatCCDInspectorcannowbelaunchedviascript.
12.Improvementsinnoiserejectionalgorithmallowimageswithfewerstarstoproducestablemeasurementsofcurvatureandcollimation.
13.Mostotherfeaturesandbugfixesrequestedbytheusers.
UsingCCDInspector
StartCCDInspectorbydouble-clickingontheCCDInspectorPanelicononthedesktop:
CCDInspector
CCDInspectorwindowwillcomeup.Thewindowisresizable,soyoucanexpanditorcollapseittoseemoreorlessoftheimagedata:
Thedisplayisdesignedtobeassimpletouseaspossible.Here'satypicalsessionwithCCDInspector:
1.ClickontheOpen...button.Awindowsexplorerwillcomeupgivingyoutheabilitytoselectoneormoreimagesyou'dliketomeasure:
NotethatonlyfileswithExtensionsofFIT,FTS,FITS,.S*,and.TIF*willbelisted,astheseareallthesupportedimagetypes
2.SelectanynumberoftheimagesfromtheSelectImageswindow,andclickOpen.You'llseetheimagesyoupickedaddedtothelistofimagesintheCCDInspectorwindow:
3.Iftherearemoreimagesyou'dliketosortthrough,simplyclickontheOpen...buttonagain,andselectmoreimages.Theimageslistcanbeassembledfromanynumberoffolders.
4.Tomeasureraw,unprocessedimagesmoreaccurately,youmaychosetosubtractadarkframefromeach.Thisisparticularlyrecommendedwithveryfaintorlongexposurerawimages.Tochosethedarkframereduction,clickontheReducecheckbox.You'llseethefollowingwindowdisplayed:
ClickontheDarkFramebuttontobrowsefortheappropriatedarkframefile.Notethatifyouaremeasuringmultipleexposuresthatofdifferentexposurelength,asingledarkframewillnotworkonallofthem.Inthiscase,itisbettertonotuseimagereduction.
Also,iftheimagesyouaremeasuringhavealreadybeendark-subtractedinanothersoftwarepackage,unchecktheReducecheckbox,asaseconddark-subtractionwillbecounter-productive.
5.Onceyoupickalltheimages,clickonMeasureAllbuttonandCCDInspectorwillgothroughthelistofnewlyaddedimagesandmeasureeachinturn.Whendone,you'llseetheresultsofthemeasurementnexttoeachimagename.
Anyimagesthatdonotcontainenoughstars(oraretoonoisytomeasure)willbelistedwith"N/A"intheFWHMandAspectratiocolumns.AllotherimageswillhaveanumberassignedtothemrepresentingtheiraverageFWHMandAspectRatio.Iftheimagescontainfocallengthinformationintheirheader,youcanclicktheInArcsecondscheckboxon,andtheFWHMvalueswillbeshowninarcseconds,otherwiseFWHMwillbegiveninpixels.
6.Oncemeasured,youcansorttheimagesbyanyofthecolumnsintheCCDInspectorwindow,includingFWHMandAspectratio,bysimplyclickingonthelabelintheappropriatecolumn.Anupordownarrowwillindicatewhatcolumnisbeingsorted,andthedirectionofthesort(upmeansincreasingvaluesfromtoptobottom,downmeansdecreasing).
Note:therearemanyvaluesthatCCDInspectorcollectsandmeasuresforeachimage.Youcanchosetodisplayallofthem,oronlytheonesofinteresttoyoubygoingtotheFile/Settings/DisplayColumnsmenu,andthenpickingthecolumnsyou'dliketosee.
7.Atthispointitiseasytoseewhatimagesarebetter(forexample,theoneswithlowerFWHMvalues,lowerAspectRatio,andhighestContrastRatio).Youcanselectanumberofimagestopreviewthembeforedecidingtousethemor
nottousethem.Simplyhighlightmultipleimagesyouwanttosee,andclickontheOpenSelectedbutton.ThechosenimageswillcomeupinanumberofImageViewerwindowsfloatingaboveCCDInspector.
Youcanscrollaroundtheimage,andzoominorzoomoutbyclickinganywhereintheimageandpickingthezoomlevel.Asashortcut,youcansimplydouble-clickonanyoftheimagenamesintheCCDInspectorwindowtoopenitintheImageViewer.
ItisveryeasytoseetheFWHMandAspectRatiovaluesforanyofthestarsintheimage:simplymovethemousepointertopointtothedesiredstar,andatool-tipwindowwillpop-upwiththemeasuredstatisticsforthisstar.Ifthere'snostarorthestarcannotbeproperlymeasured(forexampleifit'stoodimor
oversaturated,orbloomed),thetool-tipwilldisplay"N/A".NotethatImageViewerdoesnotfilterouthotpixels,asisdoneintheoverallimageMeasurementstep.ThismayresultinsomehotpixelsdisplayinganFWHMandAspectvalue--youshouldbeabletotellwheretherealstarsare.Hotpixelsareignoredwhendeterminingtheoverallimagestatistics.
8.Whenyoudecideonthesetofimagesyou'dliketouseforstacking,youcanselectthemintheCCDInspectorwindow,andthenclickonMoveToFolderorCopytoFolderfromtheImagesmenu.
MoveToFolderwillphysicallymovetheimagesfromtheiroriginalfoldertothefolderofyourchoice.CopyToFolderwillcreateacopyofallthechosenimages,keepingtheoriginalsintact.
9.Youcanalsodrag-and-dropfilesbetweenCCDInspectorandWindowsExplorerorotherapplications.FilescanbeaddedbydraggingthemintoCCDInspector.Oncemeasuredandsorted,filescanbemovedorcopiedtothefolderopeninWindowsExplorerbyselectinganddraggingthemfromCCDInspectortotheExplorerorotherapplicationwindow.Notethatifyouusejustthemousebuttontodragimages,theywillbemoved(equivalenttoMoveSelected).Ifyou'dliketocopythefiles,leavingoriginalimagesintheoriginalfolder,holddowntheCtrlkeyonthekeyboardasyoustarthedrag.Thisisthesamewaydrag-and-dropworksinWindowsExplorertomovefilesbetweenfolders.
HINT:Sometimes,youmaywanttomoveseveralfilesatonce.Ifthisisthecase,holddownCTRLwhenyouclickonthefilenames.Eachnamewillstayhighlightedasyouselectthenextfile.Ifallthefilesyouwishtomovearelistedsequentiallyinagroup,youcanclickonthefirstfile,holddowntheShiftkeyandclickonthelastfile.Tomovetheselecteddocuments,holddownthemousebuttonanddragtothedesireddestination.Tocopy,holddowntheCtrlkeyasyoustarttodrag.Ifyouarehavingproblemsselectingmultiple,pleaseseeFAQitem#1belowforawork-around.
10.Onceimagesaremeasured,itiseasytocreateafullreportoftheimagenamesandtheircorrespondingFWHMandAspectRatiovaluesbyclickingontheFile/CopyReportToClipboardmenu.TheresultingreportwillbeplacedontheWindowsClipboard,andcanbepastedintoatextdocument,spreadsheet,e-mail,etc.HereisanexampleofthereportafterbeingpastedintoMicrosoft
Word:
FilePathFWHMAspectRatio
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000188.FITN/AN/A%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000185.FIT2.86"16%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000184.FIT2.93"13%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000186.FIT3.01"15%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000181.FIT3.08"11%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000182.FIT3.08"17%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000183.FIT3.08"13%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000175.FIT4.94"18%
C:\images\2005-08-24\VDB142_HA_20m.00000176.FIT5.80"17%
11.Asashortcut,youcandomostoftheoperationslistedabovebysimplyclickingtherightmousebuttonontheimagelist:
ViewwillopenalltheselectedimagesinImageViewerRemovewillremovealltheselectedimagesfromCCDInspectorlist
AddMoreImages...willallowtoselectmoreimagesformeasurementMoveToFolder...willallowyoutopickafoldertomovetheselectedimagestoCopyToFolder...willallowyoutopickafoldertomovetheselectedimagestoMeasureAllwillmeasurealltheimagesinthelistCheckAllwillselectallitemsinthelistUncheckAllwillunselectallitemsinthelistCurvatureMap...willdeterminefieldcurvaturefromselectedimagesanddisplaythemap3-DCurvaturePlot...willuseselectedimagestodisplaythecurvatureinthreedimensionsCharts...willallowyoutoseeanyofthemeasuredvaluesforalltheimagesplottedagainsttime,oranyotherimagevalue
InstallingCCDInspector
ToinstallCCDInspector,
1.Ensurethatallthepre-requisitesareinstalled(seedetailshere)
2.Downloadtheinstallationfile
3.Extractthefilesfromtheziparchiveintoatemporaryfolder4.Double-clickontheSetup.exefiletostarttheinstallation.
5.FollowpromptstoselectfoldersCCDInspector.Inmostcases,acceptingthedefaultvalueswillbesufficient.
6.Oncompletingtheinstall,double-clicktheCCDInspectorPanelicononyourdesktop.
7.IfyouaregoingtouseCCDISplug-inwithCCDStackona64-bitoperatingsystem(XP-64,Vista-64,Windows2003x64),double-clickontheCCDIS64.msifiletoinstallthe64-bitcomponentsforCCDStackplugin.
Howdoesitwork?
CCDInspectoremploysaproprietaryalgorithmforstarfilteringandextraction.Foreachimage,itwillextractuptoafewthousandstarsfromtheentireimage,ignoringhotpixelsandothernon-stellarstructures.Aspartoftheanalysis,CCDInspectorwillthrowoutstarsthatarebloomedorsaturated,andanystarswithtoolowasignal-to-noiseratiothatmayyieldaninaccuratemeasurement.ItwillthenpickthemedianFWHMvalue,andthemedianAspectRatiovalueofallthestarsremaininginthelist.Thesewillbethevaluesdisplayednexttotheimagename.
Byitsnature,theFWHMandAspectRatiodisplayedrepresentan"average"valuefortheimage.TherewillbesomestarswithhigherandsomewithlowerFWHMintheimage.Thesameappliestoaspectratiovalue.Thevalueschosenaremeanttoquantifytheimageforameaningfulcomparisonbetweensimilarimages,suchasmultiplesub-framesofthesamefieldofview.
Forimagesthatcontainsomefieldcurvatureattheedges,theresultingmeasurementwillnotbeskewedbysuchcurvature,aslongasthemajorityofthestarsarenotontheperipheryoftheimage.
What'sinCCDInspector?
CCDInspectorisacollectionoftoolstohelpyougetthebestqualityimagesfromwhateveropticsandmountyoucurrentlyuse.
ThetwomajortoolsareCCDInspectoritselfandareal-timeFWHMMonitorutility.Bothtoolsareintegrated,butcanbeusedindependentlyofeachother.
Newwithversion2.0ofCCDInspectoristheCCDISplug-intoCCDStack.
Thebasicfunctionsofeachtoolareasfollows:
CCDInspector
1. Measureandcompareanynumberofsavedimages2. Chosethebestimagesbyanymeasuredcriteria,move,copy,ordrag
selectedimagestootherfoldersorapplications3. Plotvaluesforalltheimagesagainstanyothervalueforadirect
comparison4. Previewanyoftheimages,anddetermineFWHMandAspectratioofany
starintheimagebypointingtoit5. Analyze2-Dand3-Dcurvatureplots,determineimageplanetilt,distance
fromperfectcollimation,etc.6. Monitor2-Dor3-Dcurvatureplotsofimagescapturedbythecamerain
real-time7. Collimateyouropticsinreal-time,in-focus,andwithyourCCDcamera
attachedtothetelescope
FWHMMonitor
1. FocusyourtelescopebymonitoringFWHM,HFD,PeakValue,oranumberofothervariableinreal-time
2. MeasureFWHMvalueforimagesastheyaredownloadedfromthecamera3. MonitorfocusovertimebymeasuringFWHMoftheautoguiderstarimage4. Monitorguidingortrackingaccuracybymeasuringstarcentroidwander5. MonitorseeingconditionsbymeasuringFWHMvariationsofastarinthe
focuswindow6. Plot,onrealtimerunningchart,allthevariables,suchasFWHM,HFD,
PeakValue,AspectRatio,StarProfile,Centroidwander.7. Selectreal-timeoramovingaverage(orboth)forthedisplay,andchoose
howmanypointstokeepontherunningchart
CCDISPlug-In
1. CCDISisanadvancedimageregistrationplug-inthatworksinconjunctionwithCCDWareCCDStacksoftware
2. Ifboth,CCDStack1.3.2orlaterandCCDInspector2.0areinstalledtogether,you'llnoticeanewCCDIStabintheRegistrationdialogofCCDStack
3. CCDISperformsacompletelyautomaticregistrationofanynumberofimages
4. Imagescanberotated,flipped,binned,oratdifferentfocallength:CCDIScanhandlethemallautomatically.Nomanualstarselectionisneeded.
5. CCDISisoptimizedforspeedandisextremelyaccurate,usuallyresultinginregistrationaccuracymuchbetterthan1/10ofapixel.
6. CCDISismadepossiblebytheadvancedimageextractionandrecognitionalgorithmsthatpowertherestoftheCCDInspectorsoftware.
SoftwareRequirements
Operatingsystemscurrentlysupportedare:WindowsVista,WindowsXP,Windows2000,Windows98.
MicrosoftDirectXversion8.0orlaterisnecessaryfor3-Dgraphicssupport.FollowthelinkforDirectXEnd-UserRuntimesWebInstaller:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/directx/aa937788.aspx
VisualBasic6.0run-timeenvironmentisnecessarytosupportreal-timemonitorswhenusingCCDSoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7b9ba261-7a9c-43e7-9117-f673077ffb3c&displaylang=en
Microsoft.NETFrameworkenvironment2.0:
Microsoft.NETFrameworkruntime
UpgradingtoCCDInspector2
CCDInspector2isdesignedasareplacementforCCDInspectorversion1.Nonewfeaturesareplannedforversion1.Allfutureenhancementsandnewfeatureswillbereleasedaspartofversion2.
Inordertoeasethemigrationtothenewversionandtoallowexistinguserstocompareandcontrastfeatures,CCDInspector2isinstalledseparatelyfromthepreviousversions.ThismeansthatCCDInspector1and2canco-existonthesamecomputerandcanevenrunside-by-side.
RegisteredusersofCCDInspector1canupgradetoCCDInspector2atagreatlyreducedcost,whilenewusersareaskedtopurchaseafulllicense.BothtypesofuserscanevaluateCCDInspector2forthestandardtrialperiodof30days.ThetrialperiodstartsassoonasCCDInspector2isinstalledandlaunchedforthefirsttime.
CCDInspector2trialperiodisalsoindependentofCCDInspector1,soevenifyouhavealreadyevaluatedversion1for30days,yougoaheadandtestoutthenewfeaturesinversion2foranadditional30days.
Whenupgradingfromversion1toversion2withapurchasedupgradelicense,CCDInspectorversion1mustalsobeinstalledandregisteredonthesamecomputer.OnlythenwillCCDInspector2promptfortheupgradelicense.
Alternatively,ifyoudon'thaveCCDInspector1installedandregistered,butdidreceivealicensekeyforit,youcanstillentertheupgradelicensekeyinCCDInspector2,butyou'llneedtodosothroughamenuinthemainwindow.ThemenuisunderHelp->Upgradefromv1.0.Whenclicked,youwillbepromptedtoenteryourversion1registrationinformationfirst.Whendone,anotherwindowwillpop-upforrequestinganupgradelicensekeyforversion2.Oncethat'sentered,version2.0willbefullyregisteredandunlockedforyouruse.Pleasemakesurethatyouhaveboth,version1andversion2registrationkeysande-mailaddressesbeforeproceedingdownthispath.
UpgradingtoCCDInspector2fromCCDIS/pPlug-Infor
CCDStack
OwnersofCCDIS/pplug-incanupgradeatadiscounttoCCDInspector2.Bothlicensekeys,CCDIS/pandCCDInspector2upgradefromCCDIS/parerequiredtoperformtheupgrade.
1.IfyoualreadyhaveCCDIS/pplug-ininstalledandregisteredonyourcomputer,simplystartCCDInspector2,andenteryourupgradekeywhenprompted
2.Ifyoudon'thaveCCDIS/pplug-ininstalledbuthavepreviouslypurchasedalicense,thenfollowtheseinstructions:
LocateCCDIS/pandtheupgradelicensekeysStartCCDInspector2GotoHelp->UpgradeLicensefromCCDIS/p...menuYou'llbefirstpromptedtoenteryourCCDIS/plicensekey,enteritnowWhendone,you'llbepromptedtoenteryourCCDInspector2upgradekey:enteritnowStartusingCCDInspector2
3.Note:CCDInspector2installationincludesCCDISplug-inforCCDStack,soonceyouregisteryourCCDInspector2,youcansafelyremovetheoriginalCCDIS/pinstallationfromyourharddrive
SettingImageScale
CCDInspectorderivestheinformationaboutimagescalefromtheimageheader.Thesoftwareusedtoacquiretheimageneedstobesettorecordthisinformationintheheader,oritwillnotbeavailabletoCCDInspector.
SettingupCCDSofttorecordthefocallengthinformationintheimageheader:
Inordertodisplayinformationinarcseconds,youwillalsoneedtoensurethatCCDSoftknowsthefocallengthofyourimagingsetup.ForusewithCCDInspector,thisshouldbeexpressedinunitsofmm.ThiscanbeenteredinCCDSoftintheCameraSetupscreenbypressingtheFileDefaultsbutton:
Pleasemakesurethatthefocallengthissetinmm,andnotinches,otherwisethearcsecondscalculationwillbeincorrect.
SettingupMaxImDLtorecordthefocallengthinformationintheimageheader:
ClickonFile/Settingsmenu,andselectSiteandOpticstab,andenterthefocallengthandapertureparameters:
Note:IfyouselectdisplayinArcseconds,butthefocallengthorpixelsizeparametersarenotavailablefromtheimage,CCDInspectorwilldisplaymeasurementsinpixelsbydefault.
CCDInspectorDisplayElements
CCDInspectormainwindowprovidestheviewofthesortedlistofimages,themechanismfortheirselection,andachoiceofoperation:.FeaturesthatarenewinCCDInspector2.0aremarkedwiththe symbol.
Acrossthetopofthelistarecolumnheaders(ImageFile,FWHM,Aspect(%),etc.).Shownarethedefaultcolumns.TheactualdisplaycanbetailoredtoshowanyvaluescalculatedbyCCDInspector,aswellasanystandardorcustomvaluesstoredinanimageFITSheader .
Clickingontheheaderofacolumndefinesthesortorderforalltheimages.Anuparrowintheheaderindicatesimagesareorderedintheincreasingvalueorder,andadownarrowmeanstheorderisdecreasing.
Toselectmorethanoneimage:holddownCTRLwhenyouclickonthefilenames.Eachnamewillstayhighlightedasyouselectthenextfile.Ifallthefilesyouwishtomovearelistedsequentiallyinagroup,youcanclickonthefirstfile,holddowntheShiftkeyandclickonthelastfile.Tomovetheselecteddocuments,holddownthemousebuttonanddragtothedesireddestination.Tocopy,holddowntheCtrlkeyasyoustarttodrag.
Youcanalsodrag-and-dropfilesbetweenCCDInspectorandWindowsExplorer,CCDStack,orotherprogramsacceptingfiledragginganddropping.FilescanbeopenedbydraggingthemintoCCDInspectorandreleasing(dropping)themontopofthelist.Oncemeasuredandsorted,filescanbemovedorcopiedtothefolderopeninWindowsExplorerbyselectinganddraggingthemfromthelisttotheexplorerwindow.Notethatifyouusethemousebuttontodragimages,theywillbemoved.Ifyou'dliketocopythefiles,leavingoriginalimagesintheoriginalfolder,holddowntheCtrlkeyonthekeyboardasyoustarthedrag.Thisisthestandardwayinwhichdrag-and-dropworksinWindowsExplorertomovefilesbetweenfolders.
Imagesareshowncolor-coded.Imagesshowningrayhavenotbeenmeasuredyet.Unmeasuredimageswillstillshowallvaluesthatdon'trequirecalculations.
WhentheLimitAlertfeatureisturnedon,imagesthatarewithinthespecifiedlimitswillbedisplayedinblack,whileimagesoutsidethedefinedlimitswillbeshowninred.
Rightclickonanyoftheimagesoranywhereinsidethelistareawilldisplaythepop-upshortcutsmenushownabove.Theoptionsinthemenuareequivalentshortcutstothevariousmenucommandsatthetop.
AutoOpencheckboxprovidesawaytotocontinuallymonitorafolderofimages.Whenanewimageisdetected,itwillbeautomaticallyaddedtothelistandmeasuredOpenbuttonprovidesashortcuttoaddnewimagestothelist.ItisequivalenttoFile/OpenmenucommandRemovebuttonisashortcuttoImages/Removemenu.Itremovesselectedimagesfromthelist.
Reduceinvokesthedarkframesubtractiondialogthatdefinesanimagefilecontainingthedarkframetobesubtractedfromallimages.Ifyoudon'twanttosubtractadarkframe,unchecktheboxnexttoReduce...
CCDInspectorprovidesautomaticscalingofdarkframestomatchthelengthofthelightexposure.Forbestresults,specifyamasterbiasframeinadditiontoagoodmasterdark.Oncespecified,allimageswithvaryingexposurelengthcanbeautomaticallyandoptimallyreduced.Forbestresultsuselightanddarkframesacquiredatthesame(ornearlythesame)temperature.AlthoughCCDInspectorwilldoitsbesttoreduceanimagewithtemperature-mismatchedimages,theresultswillnotbeasaccurate.
InArcsecstellsCCDInspectorthatwheneverpossiblethedisplayshouldbeinarcsecondsinsteadofpixels.Ifimagescaleisnotavailablefromtheimage,CCDInspectorwillusethedefaultimagescaledefinedthroughSettings/DefaultImageScaledialog.Ifthat'salsonotset,thevalueswillbedisplayedinpixels.MeasureAllwillmeasureanddisplayalltheappropriatestatisticsforalltheimagesinthelist.YoucaninterruptthemeasurementprocessbypressingandholdingtheEsckeyuntilitstops.Thisoptionisavailablewhennoimagesarehighlightedinthelist.Measurewillmeasureonlytheselectedimagesinthelist.Theselectedimageswillbemeasuredwhetherornottheyhavealreadybeenmeasuredpreviously.
LimitAlertfeatureallowsyoutosetboundsonanumberofdifferentimageattributes.AllimagesthatmeasureoutsidethespecifiedboundswillbehighlightedinredcolorinthemainCCDInspectordisplay.LimitalertsareonlyactivewhentheLimitAlertcheckboxischecked.
Selected:theboxbelowthislabelshowshowmanyimagesarecurrentlyselected,andoutofhowmanytotalimagesinthelist.View:shortcuttoImages/Viewmenucommand:openselectedimagesintheimageviewerCurvatureshortcuttoAnalysis/CurvatureMapmenucommand.Displays2-DCurvatureMapforallselectedimages3-DPlotshortcuttoAnalysis/3-DPlotmenucommandChartsshortcuttoAnalysis/ChartsmenucommandExtrapolatethisfeatureestimatestheperformanceoftheopticalsystemto
anothercamera/sensorsizefromjustasinglemeasuredimage
LimitAlertSettings
LimitAlertfeaturesetsboundsonanumberofdifferentimageattributes.AllimagesthataremeasuredtobeoutsidethespecifiedboundswillbehighlightedinredcolorinthemainCCDInspectordisplay.Thisallowsquickidentificationofimagesthatareoutoffocus,withtrailedstars,ortoobrightabackground.Onceidentified,theseimagescanberemovedfromthelist,orfurtherexaminedtodeterminewhethertheyareacceptable.
LimitalertsareonlyactivewhentheLimitAlertcheckboxischecked.
Imagesareshowncolor-codedinthemainCCDInspectordisplay:
Imagesshowningray(gray)havenotbeenmeasuredyet.WhentheLimitAlertfeatureisturnedon,imagesthatarewithinthe
specifiedlimitswillbedisplayedinblack,Imagesoutsidethedefinedlimitswillbeshowninred.
ToactivateLimitAlerts,clickontheLimitAlert...checkboxonthemainCCDInspectordisplay.Thefollowingdialogwillpop-up:
Youcannowenterthedesiredlimitsonanyoftheseparameters:
FWHMAspectRatioBackgroundbrightnessContrastRatioStarsused(found)AltitudewheretheimagewasacquiredCurvatureCollimationTiltinXTiltinYExposurelengthTemperatureoftheCCD
Tochangethelimit,clickontheMinValueorMaxValueboxnexttothedesiredImageProperty.Thevaluewillbecomeeditable:
Youcannowtypeinthedesiredlimit.ClickontheMaxValuecellifyouwanttochangetheMaxValueforthatproperty.Tocleartheproperty,eitherenterablankforthevalue,orclickontheImagePropertynametohighlightthewholerow,andthenpresstheDeletekey.
NotethatallthepropertiesthatcontainMinand/orMaxvalueswillbeevaluatedforeachimage.Ifanyoneofthesepropertiesexceedthespecifiedbounds,theimagewillbehighlightedinred.
UsingImageViewer
ImageViewer(availablefromImages/Viewmenu)providesaquickpreviewoftheimage.Thiscanbeusefultoconfirmthemeasurementsortoverifythattheimage.
WhenanimageisdisplayedintheViewer,movingthemouseoveranyofthestarsintheimagewilldisplaythemeasurementsassociatedwiththatstarinapop-upwindowabovethemousecursor.InformationdisplayedwillcontaintheFWHMvalue,AspectRatio,andpeakADUvalue.N/AwillbedisplayedforanystarsthatCCDInspectorfailstomeasure(eitherbecausetheyaretoolarge,distorted,toodim,notastellarobject,ormultiplestarstooclosetoeachothertodistinguish).NotethatImageViewerdoesnotfilterouthotpixels,asisdoneduringimagemeasurement.ThismayresultinsomehotpixelsdisplayinganFWHMandAspectvalue--youshouldbeabletotellwheretherealstarsare.Hotpixelsareignoredwhendeterminingtheoverallimagestatistics.
Youcanscrollaroundtheimage,andzoominorzoomoutbyclickinganywhereintheimageandpickingthezoomlevel.Thefollowingoptionsareavailablebyclickingtherightmousebuttonanywhereintheviewerwindow:
UseZoomleveltoselectthemagnificationlevelfortheimagedisplayUseCopytoClipboardtoplaceacopyoftheimageontotheWindows
Clipboard.Itcanthenbepastedintoadocumentorintoanyimageeditingsoftware.DisplayRangecanbeusedtoadjustthebrightnesslevelsfortheimagedisplay,soastoshowoffmoreofthestars,ortheobjectintheimageUseNextImagetodisplaythenextimageinthelist(intheorderthattheyappearinthemainCCDInspectorwindow)UsePreviousimagetogobackoneimageinthelistStartAnimationwillstartanautomaticdisplayofalltheimagesinsequence,intheordertheyappearinthemainwindowStopAnimationwillstoptheautomaticdisplayatthecurrentlydisplayedimage
ImageSelectionforBetterCurvatureMapping
Ideally,thefollowingcriteriashouldbeappliedtothemultipleimage
selectiontoproduceanaccuratecurvaturemap:
1.Allimagesmustbeofthesamesize2.Imagesshouldbeacquiredduringthesamesessionwiththesameoptical
configuration,preferablywithlittleornofocusvariationsbetweentheframes.
Theimagesdonothavetobeofthesameareaofthesky,butshouldbeclose-bytoavoidtheeffectsofmirror-flopandflexureonfocus.3.UseCCDInspectortomeasureimages,andpickonlyonesthatareveryclosetoeachotherinFWHMandAspectRatio.4.Useimageswithagoodsprinklingofunsaturatedstarsthroughouttheimage
frame.Forexample,aglobularclusterwouldnotbeagoodimage,asallthebrightandbloatedstarswillbeconcentratedatthecenteroftheglob.5.UseCCDInspectordarkframereduction,orimagesthatarealreadyreducedby
darkframesubtraction.6.Use3ormoreconsecutiveimagesforbuildingamoreaccuratecurvaturemap.
Thisincreasessignal-to-noiseofthemeasurementandproducesamoreaccuraterepresentationofthefieldcurvature.7.Usegoodsampling:ifFWHMvaluesarewellbelow2pixels,theFWHM
measurementwillnotbeperformedaccurately,andtheresultingcurvaturemapmayappeardistortedduetouncertaintyindeterminingthecorrectstellar
profile.Onewaytodealwithundersampled,shortfocallengthconfigurationsistodefocusthetelescopeslightlybeforetakingatestimage.ThiswillresultingreaterFWHMvaluesthatcanthenbemoreaccuratelymeasuredbyCCDInspector.
Ifyou'dliketomeasureasingleimage,itshouldcontainanevenly
spread-outstarfieldofunsaturatedstars,andshouldbedark-framesubtractedforbestresults.
UsingCurvatureMapViewer
CurvatureMapViewer(availablefromAnalysis/CurvatureMapmenu)providesatopographicmapoftheimagesurface.Differentcolorsareassignedtovariouslevelsoffocus:thedarkestcolorsarebestfocus,thebrightestcolors--theworstfocus.
CCDInspectorextractsthousandsofstarsfromeachimageandcomputestheirFWHM.Then,apolynomialfunctionisfittedtothedistributionofFWHMvalues.Thisisthenplottedusingvaryingcolors,asfollows:
Black:lowestFWHMBlue:slightlydefocusedGreen:moredefocusedRed:highestdefocus
MovingthemouseoveranyportionofthecurvaturemapwilldisplayFWHMmeasurementassociatedwiththestarsinthisareainapop-upwindowabovethemousecursor.
Thetopleftcornercontainsanumberofvaluablestatisticsderivedfromthemeasuredimage:
MinFWHM:lowestFWHMvalueinthecurvaturemapMaxFWHM:maximumFWHMvalueCurvature:percentdefocusbetweenlowestandhighestdefocuspointsonthemapTiltinX,Y:defocusfromlefttoright,andfromtoptobottomoftheimage,expressedinarcsecondsorpixelsTotalTilt:istheabsoluteamountofmeasuredtiltintheimage,expressedin%,anditsdirectionshownindegrees,aswellaswithapointingarrowCollimation:thedistancebetweenphysicalandopticalcentersintheimage,showninarcsecondsorpixels.Assumingasmallopticaltilt,thisishowfartheopticsarefromperfectcollimation.
Thetwosetsofcrosshairinthemiddleoftheimagemarkthephysical(largecircle)andoptical(smallcircle)centersoftheimage.Inaperfectlycollimated
telescope,thesewillcoincide.Asmuchasafewarcsecondsmis-collimationcanaffectimagequality.
Youcanzoominorzoomoutbyclickinganywhereintheimageandpickingthezoomlevel.Thefollowingoptionsarealsoavailablebyclickingtherightmousebuttonanywhereintheviewerwindow:
UseZoomleveltoselectthemagnificationlevelfortheimagedisplayUseCopytoClipboardtoplaceacopyofthemapontotheWindowsClipboard.Itcanthenbepastedintoadocumentorintoanyimageeditingsoftware.DisplayRangecanbeusedtoadjustthecolorassignmentfromlowesttohighestFWHMvalues(thevaluesintherangearealwaysinpixels).UseNextImagetocomputeanddisplaythemapfornextimageinthelist(intheorderthattheyappearinthemainCCDInspectorwindow)UsePreviousimagetogobackoneimageinthelistStartAnimationwillstartanautomaticdisplayofmapsofalltheimagesinsequence,intheordertheyappearinthemainwindowStopAnimationwillstoptheautomaticdisplayatthecurrentlydisplayedimageCollimationDisplaywillshowthecollimationviewerwithcomputedcollimationerrorfromthecurrentmapSaveImagewillallowthisimagetobesavedasaFITSfile.
Using3-DCurvaturePlotViewer
JustliketheCurvatureMap,the3-DCurvaturePlotprovidesamapoftheimagesurface.Theplotisshownin3-Dimensions,withdifferentcolorsassignedtovariouslevelsoffocus:thedarkestcolorsarebestfocus,thebrightestcolors--theworstfocus.
CCDInspectorextractsthousandsofstarsfromeachimageandcomputestheirFWHM.Then,apolynomialfunctionisfittedtothedistributionofFWHMvalues.Thisisthenplottedona3-Dsurface,withvaryingcolors,asfollows:
Black:lowestFWHMBlue:slightlydefocusedGreen:moredefocusedRed:highestdefocus
Movingthemouseoveranyportionofthe3-DplotwilldisplayFWHMmeasurementassociatedwiththestarsinthisareainapop-upwindowabovethemousecursor.
Youcanrotate,tiltandzoominandoutusingthemouseinthe3-Dview.Todothis,clickdownontheleftbuttonanywhereinthe3-Dviewand:
Movemouseupanddowntotiltbackandforward
Movemouseleftandrighttorotatetheimage
Usethemousetrack-wheeltozoominandout,orholddowntheCtrlkeyonthekeyboardandmovethemouseupordowntozoominorout.
Thetopleftcornercontainsanumberofvaluablestatisticsderivedfromthemeasuredimage:
MinFWHM:lowestFWHMvalueinthecurvaturemapMaxFWHM:maximumFWHMvalue
Curvature:percentdefocusbetweenlowestandhighestdefocuspointsonthemap
ThetwoaxisarelabeledXandYnearthebottomrightcorneroftheimage.Xisthehorizontalaxisoftheimage.
Youcanzoominorzoomoutbyclickinganywhereintheimageandpickingthezoomlevel.Thefollowingoptionsarealsoavailablebyclickingtherightmousebuttonanywhereintheviewerwindow:
UseZoomleveltoselectthemagnificationlevelfortheimagedisplayUseCopytoClipboardtoplaceacopyofthemapontotheWindowsClipboard.Itcanthenbepastedintoadocumentorintoanyimageeditingsoftware.DisplayRangecanbeusedtoadjustthecolorassignmentfromlowesttohighestFWHMvalues(thevaluesintherangearealwaysinpixels).UseNextImagetocomputeanddisplaythemapfornextimageinthelist(intheorderthattheyappearinthemainCCDInspectorwindow)UsePreviousimagetogobackoneimageinthelistStartAnimationwillstartanautomaticdisplayofmapsofalltheimagesinsequence,intheordertheyappearinthemainwindowStopAnimationwillstoptheautomaticdisplayatthecurrentlydisplayedimage
FITSHeaderViewer
FITSHeaderViewerisusefulforverifyingthattherightimagescale,focallength,camerasettings,altitude,etc.areintheimageheader.Todisplaytheviewer,selectasingleimagefromthelistofallimages,andclickontheImages/ViewImageHeader...menu.Thisoptionisalsoavailablefromthepop-upmenuwhenright-clickingonanyoftheimagesinthelist.
Ifanyofthevaluesareincorrect,youcanuseCCDSoftorMaxImDLamongothertoolstocorrectthem.
PreciseCollimation
Unlikecollimationproceduresofthepast,CCDInspectorprovidesarevolutionarynewwaytocollimateacompound-opticstelescope.
Collimationmakesahugedifferenceinthequalityofimageandresolutionthatcanbeachieved.WithCCDInspector,acollimationerrorof10arcsecondscanproduceasmuchas1arcsecondsincreaseinFWHMofastar.Thismeansthatagood3.0arcsecondFWHMimagecanbecomea2.0arcsecondimagewithpropercollimation!
Bymeasuringtheexactdisplacementoftheopticalcenterfromthephysicalcenteroftheimagingconfiguration,CCDInspectoriscapableofdetectingthesmallestcollimationerrorswithyourCCDstillattachedtothetelescope,andwithtelescopewellfocused!Thisisthebestpossiblewaytocollimate,since:
TheopticaltrainisnotdisturbedbyremovinganeyepieceandreplacingthecameraaftercollimationFocuspositionwillneedonlyminoradjustmentstogettobestfocusaftercollimationiscompletedWhat'smore,thecollimationcanoccurrighton,orverynear-bytothefieldyouwillbeimaging.ThismaybethebestwaytocollimateatelescopeswithsignificantmirrorflopSincecollimationisdoneonhundredsofstars,there'snoneedtore-centeranythingafteradjustingcollimation:justtakethenextimage,andkeepadjusting.
WithCCDInspectorversion2.1.0,weintroduceanotherbreakthroughinnovation:SingleDefocusedStarCollimationmethod.Thismethodwillhelpyouachievethesamespectacularresultsaswiththeoriginalcollimationroutine,butusingonlyonebrightstarcenteredinthefieldofview.
DifferencesbetweenMulti-StarandSingleDefocusedStarcollimationmethods
Multi-starmethodcanbeusedinperfectfocus.Thisisbeneficialwhenthe
focusermechanismcanintroducechangesinthecollimationofthesystem,orifyouwanttodoaquickcollimationcheckwithoutlosingfocusSingle-starmethodcanbeusedwithasinglebrightstar.There'salwaysabrightstarsomewhereinthesky,butsometimes,thereisnotarichstarcluster,suchasisrequiredbythemulti-starmethodMulti-starmethoddoesn'trequirere-centeringaftermakingcollimationadjustments,Single-starmethoddoesSingle-starmethodisnotassensitivetotrackingerrorsbecauseabrightdefocusedstarcanbeusedwith1secondorlessexposure.Multi-starmethodcanrequiremuchlongerexposuresthataresubjecttotrackingerrors
WhichmethodshouldIuse?
Thatdependsonwhat'smostconvenientatthetime.Decidebasedthedifferenceslistedabove.Eithermethodwillhelpyouachieveexcellentcollimation.
[NOTE:CCDInspectoralsoprovidesasimplifiedCollimationViewerdisplaythatiseveneasiertouseforreal-timecollimation]
Tofacilitateachievingperfectcollimation,CCDInspectorprovidestwosetsofcrosshaironthescreen:thelargeronemarkingthephysicalcenterofthechip,andthesmalleronemarkingthecurrentopticalcenterofcollimation.Bymakingcollimationadjustmentstomovethesmallcrosshairtothephysicalcenterofthechip,thebestcollimationisachieved.Tohelp,CCDInspectoralsoprovidesanumericreadingatthetopleftoftheCurvatureMapViewerwindowthatshowsthedistancebetweenthetwocrosshairinarcsecondsorpixels(basedonthechoicemadeinthemainCCDInspectorwindow).
Theproceduretoadjustcollimationisfairlysimple:
1.Findareasonablycrowdedstarfieldofreasonablyevenly-spreadstars,withnoextremelybrightstarsinthefieldofview.JustpointsomewhereneartheMilkyWayandyou'lllikelyseemanyhundredsofstarsinoneshot.
2.StartCCDInspector,andopentheReal-TimeCurvatureMapwindowfromReal-Time/CurvatureMap...menu.
3.Starttakingexposuresusingthecamera'smainchip.Thefollowingaresomeguidelines,actualsettingswillbedifferentforeachindividualsetup:
30to60secondsexposureshouldbesufficientforbestS/Nandforcollectingenoughstarstomeasurefieldcurvature.Alongerexposuremaybenecessarywithreallylongfocallengthtelescopes,orifawell-populatedstarfieldisnotavailable.Thegoalistoseeatleast100ormorereasonablybright,butnotsaturatedorbloomed,starsintheshot.Morestarsarebetter.Alargeconcentratedstarcollectionanywhereintheimagewilldistortthemeasurement(suchasaglobularcluster,forexample).Binthechip1x1forbestresultswithshorterfocallengthsystems.FWHMofanaveragestarinthefieldshouldbearound2pixelsormore.Ifit'sless,theFWHMmeasurementwillnotbeasprecise,resultinginalesssensitivecurvaturecomputation.Iftheseeingisexceptionallygoodortheimageisreallyundersampled,itwouldbedesirabletodefocustheimageabittoachievetheminimumof2pixelsFWHM.Ifyourimagescaleis0.6arcsecs/pixCCDInspectorwilldetectconditionswhentherearen'tenoughstarsinthefieldofview,ortheyarenotevenlyspreadout,andwilldisplayamessageindicatingthismaynotresultinanaccuratemeasurement.Ifyoureceivethismessage,it'susuallybesttostop,andadjusttheparameterstogetmorestarsinthefieldofview(increaseexposure,ormovethetelescope).
4.Aftereachexposure,checkthecurvaturemaptoseehowmuch,andinwhatdirectiontoadjustcollimation.Justlikeinstandardcollimationtechniques,thecloseryougettoperfect,thesmallertheadjustmentsneeded.
5.Makeanadjustment,takethenextimage,andrepeatwithstep4.Keepdoingthisuntilthecrosshairatthecenteroverlap,andtheerrorisindicatedasonlyafewarcseconds.Atthispoint,you'reinexcellentcollimation!
Someadditionalhintstohelpwithcollimation:
Tohelpseethedirectionanddistanceofthecollimationerror,rightclickonthefieldcurvaturemap.Fromthepop-upmenu,selectMagnifyCrosshair
Youcanalsozoom-infurtherfromthepop-upmenutoseetheerrormagnified.Youmayneedtoscrolltheimagetothecentertoseethecrosshair,ifthezoomed-inimagedoesnotfitcompletelyonthescreen.
Removeasmuchtiltfromthecameraaspossibletoachievebestcollimation.Usescrew-inconnectorsexclusively,andifyourfocuserhascollimationadjustments,usethemtosquarethecameratotheopticaltrain.YoucanusetheCCDInspectorTiltmeasurementsinthereal-timecurvaturemapviewtohelpwithdoingthis.Makesurethetelescopeiscooleddownandequalizedwithambientair:ifnot,youwillseestrangeartifactsinthecurvaturemapsthatareduetoaircurrentsastheOTAcools,suchasthis:
CollimationViewer
CollimationViewerisareal-timedisplaythatprovidesanintuitiveguidetothecorrectionsnecessarytoachieveperfectcollimation.ThistoolusesthesamecalculationastheCurvatureMapdisplay,butshowstheresultinaformmoresuitabletoreal-timecollimation:
CollimationViewercanbestartedintwodifferentways:
Todoreal-timecollimation,clickontheReal-Time/CollimationViewer
menufromthemainwindowinCCDInspector.Thenstarttakingexposuresusingyourcamera,anditwillautomaticallyshowcollimationfromthemostrecentlyacquiredimage.Toseecollimationdisplayforanimage,firstdisplaythecurvaturemapforit:Analysis/CurvatureMapmenu.Then,rightclickonthemapimage,andselectCollimationDisplay...TheCollimationViewerwillshowtheerrorandrecommendedcorrectionfortheimagethatwasusedtocreatetheoriginalcurvaturemap.
Collimationviewershowsthethree-screw,tip-tiltcollimationarrangementthatiscommonlyusedonSCT's,RC's,Newtonians,andotherstylesoftelescopes.
HerearethenecessaryconfigurationstepstostartusingtheCollimationViewer:
1.First,notethatthetopofthecollimationviewermustalwayscorrespondtothetopoftheOTA2.WhenlookingatanSCTfromthefront,thethreeknobs,labeledA,B,andCneedtobealignedtothetopoftheCollimationViewerinthesamewaythephysicalknobsarealignedtothetopoftheOTA.Toalignthedisplayknobs,clicktheleftmousebuttonononeofthem,anddragtorotatetothedesiredposition.NotethatthelabelsA,B,andCarenotimportant,andareusedjusttomakeiteasiertoidentifywhichbuttonisbeingselected.WhetherA,B,orCisalignedwiththetopsideintheaboveimagedoesnotmatter,aslongasoneoftheknobsislocatedinthisposition.
Important:Inordernottoloosenthesecondarymirrorcompletely,avoidrepeatedlyturninganyoneknobinthecounter-clock-wisedirection.
TocollimateanSCT,startbylookingatitfromthefrontofthetelescopetowardstheback.Inthemiddleofthecorrector,you'llfindathesecondarymirrorwiththreecollimationscrewsorknobs.
TheimagebelowshowsaschematicviewofthefrontofthesecondarymirrorwithcollimationscrewsrepresentedbycirclesA,B,andC(notethattheactuallabelsarenotimportant.Theyaretheretomakeiteasiertoidentifyaknobonthetelescope.Ifconvenient,youcanevenaddastickernexttoeachoftheknobstolabelthemwiththecorrespondingletter.Thiswillmakeiteasiertoidentifywhichknobtoturnwhenthetelescopeisrotatedorwhenyouarefacingitfrom
andifficultangle):
ThetopoftheimagewillcoincidewiththetopoftheOTAandthetopofthesecondarymirror.TomatchtheknobstotheirpositionontheSCT,clickanddraganyoftheA/B/CcollimationknobsintheCollimationViewertorotatethemtoalignwiththetopofimage.
ThesametypeofalignmentprocedureappliestoanRC,MCT,oraNewtonian,althoughNewtonianmayrequirealittleexperimentationtodeterminewhichknobcorrespondstothetopoftheimage,sincethecameraispositionedata90degreeangletotheprimary.FortheRCorNewtonian,simplyimaginetheCollimationViewerknobdisplaytoshowthebackoftheprimary,withthethreeknobscontrollingthetip-tiltoftheprimarymirror.
Onceproperlyaligned,theCollimationViewerwillshowthecollimationerrordirectionandmagnitudeautomatically,assoonasanewimageisdownloadedfromthecamerausingyourconfiguredimageacquisitionsoftware.Tomakeacorrection,tryturningeachknobinturntoseewhichonereducesthecollimationerrornumberdisplayedinthemiddle.
Thedisplayshows:
Themagnitudeofthecollimationerrorinthecenterofthedisplay
Thedirectionofthecollimationerrorshownbyalinefromthecenteroftheviewerdisplay.Thelineonlyshowsthedirectionoftheerror,nottheerrormagnitude.
Numberofstarsdetectedintheimage(showninthetitleoftheCollimationViewerwindow).ThesamerecommendationsapplytotheCollimationViewerasdofortheCurvatureMapViewer:50starsisaminimum,100+starsisrecommendedforamoreaccuratecollimationcomputation,andproperstarsamplingisrequired.
NotethattheCollimationViewerwindowcanbesizedtobebettervisiblefromadistance:simplyclickanddragonthebottom-rightcornerofthewindowtoincreaseordecreasethedisplaysize.Collimationviewercanbedisplayedatthesametimewiththereal-timeCurvatureMapdisplayforadifferentviewofthecollimationerror.
Single(Defocused)StarCollimationMethod
DefocusedstarcollimationmethodisnewinCCDInspector2.1.0.Themain
differencesbetweenthepreviouslyavailablecollimationmethodinCCDInspectorandtheSingleStarCollimation(SSC)are:
Onlyone,centeredbrightstarisneededforSSCThestarmustbesufficientlyoutoffocus,soastofilloutacircleof
atleast40-100pixelsradius
ThestarmustbepositionedclosetotheimagecenterThestarmustbebeexposedwellenoughtogetagoodsignal-to-noise
ratio
Thismethodshouldlookfamiliartoanyonewhohasdonevisualcollimation
throughaneyepiece.ThemainadvantageofusingCCDInspectoristhatunliketheconventionalmethods,youcankeepyourcameraattachedtothetelescope,yourhandsandeyesnexttothecollimationscrewsandgetacontinuousandprecisenumericalread-outofcollimationerroranddirection.
QuickStart
Thefollowingdescribesallthestepsnecessarytostartcollimating.With
practice,thisprocesscantakeaslittleasfewminutes,evenwhenthescopeisfar
outofcollimation.
1. Pointyourtelescopeatabrightstar,wellabovethehorizon.Amagnitude-2orhigherisrecommended,butlargeraperturetelescopesmayusedimmerstars.Adimstarcanstillbeused,butmayrequirealongerexposure.
2. Starttakingcontinuousimagesofthestarusingafocusroutineofyour
imageacquisitionsoftware:
-MakesuretheimageacquisitionsoftwareisproperlyselectedinSettings->CameraControlSoftwaremenuofCCDInspector-youcanbinthechip2x2oreven3x3.BinningincreasesS/Nratio,and
increasesdownload/processingspeed,soit'sdefinitelyrecommended-useautomaticdarksubtraction,ifthisoptionisavailableinthe
acquisitionsoftware-forbrightenoughstars,anexposureofonesecondcanbeplenty,especiallywithabinnedchip
3. StartthecollimationviewerfromReal-Time->Collimation->DefocusedStarCollimationViewermenuinCCDInspector
4. StarttheimageviewerfromReal-Time->Image
Viewermenu
5. Positiontheimageviewerwindowandthecollimationviewerside-by-side,
soyoucanseebothatthesametime
6. Defocusthestarsothatitoccupiesaboutthesizeofthecirclenearthecenterintheimageviewer.Exactsizeisnotveryimportant,butitshouldbegreaterthanabout20pixelsradius,andnotsodefocusedsoastobecometoodim.CCDInspectorcanhandlestarsthesizeofabout90%ofthewholechip,andassmallas20pixelsradius.Ifthestaristoodim,ortoosmall,
CCDInspectorwilldisplayabrieferrormessageindicatingtheproblem.
7. Centerthestarasbestasyoucanusingyourtelescope'smovement
controls.Ifit'snotexactlyatthecenter,nobigdeal.But,ifitisreallyfaraway,theerrorsizeandthedirectionwillnolongerbeaccurate.-Thecircleatthecenteroftheimageviewerispositionedexactlyinthe
middle.-Thecrossmarksthecenterofthedefocusedstar.
-Ideally,thecrossshouldbepositionednearthecenterofthecircle(in
theimageabove,itsawayfromthecenter,tothetopright)
8. TakeafewimagesandwatchtheCollimationViewerupdate.Eachtimethe
windowisupdated,itwillflashredforafewseconds,thenumberinthecenterwillchange,andthedirectionarrowwillbeadjusted
9. Yourgoalistoturnacollimationknobsothattheimageofthestar
movesinthedirectionthatthecollimationarrowispointing.
Thestarmovementdoesn'thavetobeexactlyinthisdirection,butshouldbeclose.Youcandeterminewhichknobtoturnbytrialanderror.
10. Afteryouturnthecorrectknob,youwillseetheimageofthestarshift
inthedirectionthearrowispointing.Inordertoreadtheupdated
collimationvalues,first,re-centerthestarusingyourtelescopecontrols
11. Waitafewsecondsaftermakingtheadjustmentforthetelescope
vibrationstodiedown,andthenwatchtheresultshownintheCollimationViewer.Theerrornumbershoulddecrease
12. Asthenumbergetssmaller,theamountofknobadjustmentneededalsogetssmaller.Witherrorvaluelessthanabout5,averylighttouchtotheknobintherightdirectionisallthatmaybeneeded.
13. Note:Ifthedirectionarrowkeepspointingindifferentdirectionsallbyitself,youropticsarealreadycollimatedtothebestpossiblelevelunderthecurrentseeingconditions:it'snotadvisabletoproceedanyfurther
14. Repeatsteps8-14untilthevalueinthemiddleisaslowaspossible,andwhilethedirectionarrowdoesnotjumparoundtocompletelydifferent
directions
15. Undergoodseeingconditions,itshouldbepossibletoreducetheerrortonearzero.
CollimationViewer
ThesameCollimationViewerthatisusedforthemulti-starcollimation
methodinCCDInspectorisalsousedforOneStarCollimationmethod.Theviewerisareal-timedisplaythatprovidesanintuitiveguidetothecorrections
necessarytoachieveperfectcollimation.Thistoolusesinnovativeimage
processingandimagerecognitionalgorithms,
andshowstheresultinaformsuitabletoreal-timecollimation:
CollimationViewercanbestartedbyclickingontheReal-Time->Collimation->DefocusedStarCollimationViewermenuinCCDInspector.
Collimationviewershowsthethree-screw,tip-tiltcollimationarrangement
thatiscommonlyusedonSCT's,RC's,Newtonians,andotherstylesof
telescopes.Thisdisplayisformnemonicpurposes,tohelpyoukeeptrackofwhichknobdoeswhat.
Important:Inordernottoloosenthe
secondarymirrorcompletely,avoidrepeatedlyturninganyoneknobinthe
counter-clock-wisedirection.Turningaknobcounter-clockwiseisequivalenttoturningtheothertwoknobsclock-wise.
TheViewerdisplayshows:
Themagnitudeofthecollimationerrorinthe
centerofthedisplay.Thisnumberisunit-less,anddoesn'tchangewithimagescaleortheamountthestarisdefocused
Thedirectionofthecollimationerrorisshown
byalinefromthecenteroftheviewerdisplay.Thelineonlyshowsthe
directionoftheerror,nottheerrormagnitude
Yourgoalistogettheerrornumberaslowaspossible.Onanightofgoodseeing,thisvaluecanbeloweredtonearlyzero.
NotethattheCollimationViewerwindowcanbesizedtobebettervisible
fromadistance:simplyclickanddragonthebottom-rightcornerofthewindowtoincreaseordecreasethedisplaysize.
ImageViewer
WhiletheCollimationViewerisdisplayed,theImageViewerdisplaywill
overlaytheimageofthestarwithsomeadditionalgraphics:
TheAngleandErrordisplayatthetopshowthecollimationerror
numerically:theerrorvalueisthesamevalueasshownatthecenterofthecollimationviewer,whiletheangleistheangleindegreesoftheerror
direction(negativedegreesindicateclock-wisedirection,whilepositive
indicatecounter-clock-wise).
Thecrossindicatesthecenterofthestarimage,whilethelinecircle
indicatesthecenteroftheCCDchip.Asyoumakeadjustmentstocollimation,re-centerthestarbymovingthecrossclosertothecenterofthecircle.Theextralinecomingoutfromthecenterofthecircleisthecollimationdirectionarrow.Itpointsinthesamedirectionasthearrowinthecollimationviewer.
HelpfulHints
Makesuretore-centerthestarifitmovesmorethanabout20pixelsawayfromthecameracenter.Theaccuracyofthemeasurementwillbeaffectedinsomeopticaldesigns(forexample,SCT)ifthestarisfarawayfromthe
center
Youcanuseasub-framemode,butleaveabackgroundborderofabout20-50
pixelsallaroundthedefocusedstar.Makesurethatthesubframeyouuseiscenteredonthechip,otherwisethecollimationaccuracywillbeaffected
Averybrightstarmayrequireshorterexposureand/ornobinning.Ifthe
exposureistoolong,therecouldbebrightbloominganddiffractionspikesaroundthestarthatcanaffectaccuracy.Toseeifthisisthecase,decreasethedisplayrangeoftheimagetomakethestarverybrightonthedisplay.Ifyouseesolidraysemanatingfromthetopandthebottom(sometimesleftandright)ofthestar,thentheexposureistoolong
Don'tmaketheexposuretimetooshort,either.Lessthan0.5secondsis
notrecommended,asthatwilloftenbeaffectedbyseeingchangesinthe
atmosphere.Bestresultswillbeachievedwithanexposurefrom0.5toabout2
seconds.
Payparticularattentiontothecollimationerrordirectionarrow:ifit
keepsjumpingbymorethan30-40degreesbetweenconsecutivemeasurements,thenyouhavereachedthelimitofwhatcanbedoneinthecurrentseeingconditions,regardlessofthevalueoftheactualerror.Undergoodseeingconditions,Ihavebeenabletolowerthecollimationerrortolessthan1.
Underpoorseeingconditions,theerrordirectionstartedgettingjumpyat
around5.
UsingCharts
Chartsfeatureisapowerfulanalyticaltoolthatallowsdirectcomparisonofvariousmeasuredvaluesfrommultipleimages.Anyofthenumericvaluescanbeusedinachart,whethercomputedorderivedfromtheimage.
Toinvokecharts,theimagesinthelistmustbemeasured,andCCDInspectorwillpromptifthisnotalreadydone.Allimagesinthelistareplottedonthechart.ChartsfeaturecanbeinvokedthroughtheAnalysis/ChartsmenuorbyclickingontheChartsbuttononthelowerleftpanelofthemainwindow.
ChartsdefaulttodisplayingFWHMvaluesovertime.Inthisway,onecanseethechangeinfocusortrackingoveranumberofimages.Anyofthenumericvaluescanbeselectedforthehorizontalaxis,andanyforthevertical.Inthisway,it'seasytofindacorrelationbetweendifferentvariablesinyoursystem.Eachpointonthechartrepresentsasingleimageandismarkedbyasmallrectanle.Ifyoumovethemouseovertherectangle,apopupwindowwillshow
both,thevaluesforXandYaxisforthatimage,andtheimagefilename.
Herearesomeexamples:
AspectRatioplottedagainstAltitudecangiveanindicationofhowthemounttracksdependingonpositioninthesky:
Collimationplottedagainstaltitudeortimecangiveanindicationofmirrorflopinthesystem
XorYtiltovertimecanbeanindicatoroffocusersag,flexure,ormirrorflop
Backgroundbrightnessovertimecanindicatethetimeofthenightwhentheskyisdarkest
Changingcurvatureovertimealsoimplieschangingcollimationduetoflexureormirrorflop:
UsingGenericCameraControlSoftware
CCDInspectorworksdirectlywithCCDSoftandMaxImDLtoacquireandprocessimagesinreal-time.Startingwithversion1.1itcanalsobeusedwithallothersoftwareacquisitionpackages,aslongastheyareabletoautomaticallysavecapturedimagesintoaspecificfolderinFITS,SBIG,TIFF,orDSLRRAWformats.
TousetheGenericcamerasupport:
SelectSettings/CameraControlSoftware/Generic...menucommand.
Youwillbepromptedtochosethedestinationfolderwheretheacquisitionsoftwarewillwriteoutcapturedimages.Pickanexistingemptyfolderorcreateanewone.
SelectRealTime/CurvatureMap...orRealTime/3DCurvaturePlotmenutobringupthereal-timeviewer.You'llbeaskedifyouwanttodeletetheimagesfromthespecifiedfolderaftermeasuring.SelectYesifyouarenotgoingtoneedtheimages:CCDInspectorwilldeletethemautomatically.SelectNoifyouwanttokeeptheimagesaftertheyhavebeenmeasuredbyCCDInspector.CCDInspectorwillonlyinspectnewfileswrittentothefolder,soyoucankeepolderimagesinthesamefolder.Now,starttheacquisitionsoftware,connecttothecamera,pointthe
telescopeintoastar-richportionoftheskynotfarfromzenith,andsetittoautomaticallysavealltheexposurestothesamefolderselectedfor
CCDInspectorGenericanalysis.
Next,starttaking10-30secondexposures.Aftereachexposureis
downloadedfromthecameraandsavedintothechosenfolder,CCDInspectorwillpickitup,loadandmeasureit,anddisplaythecorrespondingcurvaturemap.
IfyouchoseYestodeletetheimages,theimagewillberemovedfromthisfolderafterthemapisgenerated,otherwise,allimagescapturedbythecamera
willremaininthisfolder.
Donotusetooshortofanexposure.Ashortexposureisnotverygoodfor
curvatureanalysis,andCCDInspectormaynothaveenoughtimetoprocessthefirstimagebeforethesecondoneisdownloaded.Asaresult,someimagesmaybeskipped.10-30secondsexposureshouldbelongenough,butmaydependon
thespeedofyourcomputer.
.
SensorExtrapolationTool
TheSensorExtrapolationToolcanbeinvokedfromtheAnalysismenu.Thebasicfunctionofthetoolistoprovideanestimateofhowwellanopticalsystemwillperformwithadifferentsizesensorbyanalyzingimagestakenwithyourexistingcamera.Thetoolcontainsalonglistofdifferentcamerasandsensorchips,sotheappropriatecameracanbequicklyselectedfromthelist.Forexample,ifthecurrentcamerahasaKAF-3200chip,andtheuserisconsideringupgradingtoalarger,KAF-16803chip,somereasonablequestionsmaybe:
1.Howflatwillthefieldbeattheedgesoftheimage?Willthestarsbetoodefocusedinthecorners?WillIneedafieldflattener?2.Howmuchcomawilltherebeinthecorners?Howelongatedwillthestarsappearwiththenewchip?3.Howmuchlightfall-off(vignetting)willtherebewiththelargerchip?Willtheedgesandthecornersbesufficientlyilluminated?
Normally,toanswerallofthesequestionsonewouldhavetoborrow,steal,orbuythenewcameraandtryitoutontheexistingequipment.CCDInspectormakesthisprocessmucheasier(andcheaper!)Simplyacquireoneormoreimagesofawell-populatedstarfield,justliketheonesusedforCurvatureMap,Collimation,andanyotheranalysistoolsinCCDInspector.Ifyouhavesomeoldframes,thesewillworkjustaswell.
LoadtheimagesintoCCDInspector,selectoneormoreofthem,andthenclickontheAnalyze/SensorExtrapolationmenu(alsoavailablefromtheExtrapolate...buttononthemainscreen).Pickthedesiredmeasureyou'dliketoextrapolate:
FWHM(curvature)AspectRatioVignetting
CCDInspectorwilldisplayachartofthemeasureyouselected:
Initialchartwillrepresentthemeasurementoftheexistingsystemandchipsize.ThecurrentchipisdisplayednexttotheChipSizelabel,attopleft.Notethatthesensor,KAF-3200haschipsizeof14.9mmx10mm.Theimagebelowrepresentsameasurementtakenalongalinefromthetoplefttothebottomrightofthesensor.Theverticalaxisrepresentsthemeasure(FWHMvalueabove),whilethehorizontalaxisrepresentspercentdistancefromthecenterofthechip.0%isatthechipcenter,while-100%isatthetopleftcorner,and+100%atthebottomright:
Notethatfromthechartabove,onecanseethatthere'saslighttilttotheimagethatmakesthestarsatthebottomright(100%mark)biggerthanthestarsatthe
topleft(-100%).Overall,starsizesareabout8-10%largeratthecornersthantheyareatthecenter.Prettygoodperformance.
Now,let'sseewhatthesameopticalsystemwilldowiththelarger,KAF-16803sensor.ClickonthedownarrownexttoChipSize,andpickeitherthecamerabrandyouareconsidering,orthenameofthesensor:
AnalysischartwillnowdisplayFWHMvaluesasestimatedbyCCDInspectorforthenewsensorsize.Notethatthenewsensorissignificantlylarger,36.9x36.9mm,andissquareinsteadofrectangular.Fromthechartabove,itiseasytoseethatthestarsinthecornerswillbequiteabitlarger,about3.3arcsecondsFWHMontheaverage.Thisrepresentsa60%increaseinstarsizeatthecorners--muchmoreobviousthanthe8%measuredwiththesmallerchip.Lookslikeafieldflattenerwouldbeagoodideaforthissizechip!
CCDInspectorcanalsoestimatingstaraspectratioasitwouldappearonthenewchip.SimplychangeChart:typetoAspectRatio(%),andthechartontheleftwillbedisplayedfortheoriginalsensor:
Notethataspectratioincreasestowardstheedges,probablyduetocomaandotheraberrationspresentinthesystem.FortheKAF-3200sensor,theincreaseisfairlynegligible,andaspectratioisunder15%forstarsallthewayinthecorners.Now,let'sseewhattheaspectratiosystemperformancewouldbewiththelargerchip.Thechartattherightshowsthattheestimatedaspectratioswillbenearly55%inthecorners!Thiswillbefairlynoticeableandso,acomacorrectorisverylikelyneededwhenupgradingtothelargersensor.
Similarly,onecananalyzetheamountoflightfall-offinthecornersoftheimage.SelectVignetting(%)fromtheChart:drop-downlist.Fortheoriginalimage,thechartwillbeshownin%oflightavailablealongthesamediagonallineasbefore:
Fromthechartabove,it'seasytoseethatlightfall-offisabout15%inthecornersofthecurrentsensor.Althoughthat'sreasonablylarge,thisamountofvignettingiseasilyhandledbyagoodflatframeapplication.Now,let'sseewhatthelightfall-offwillbeforthelargerchip:
Wow!Thelargerchipwillhave0%illuminationinthecorners!That'saseriousproblemthatwillneedtobeaddressed!If30%isaboutthemaximumacceptablelevelofvignetting,thenonlyabout1/2ofthislargerchipwillbesufficientlyilluminated,judgingfromtheabovechart.
UsingFlatFrameAnalysisTool
Flatframeanalysistoolprovidesaneasyquantitativewaytodeterminethedegreeofilluminationthroughoutanimageframe.
Thistoolcananalyzeimagescontainingastar-field,similartothekindthatwouldbeusedforcollimationusingCCDInspector,oratrueflatframeimage.
Forbestresults,don'tuseimagescontaininganyextendedobjects(nebulae,galaxies,denseglobularclusters).
Toanalyzeanimage,selectitinthemainwindowandclickontheAnalysis/FlatFrameAnalysismenu.Ifyourimagecontainsstars,theresultwilllooksomethinglikethis:
Thejaggedlinesindicatethepercentoflightfall-offfromthecenter.Forexample,linelabeled2%enclosestheareaoftheimagewherelightfall-offis
lessthan2%.
Fromtheimageabove,it'sclearthatthelightfall-offforthissystemisabout5%-7%allthewayinthecornersofthesensor.Asyoumovethemouseacrosstheflatfieldanalysisimage,asmallpop-upwilldisplaytheamountoflightfall-offunderthecursor,andwillalsoshowhowfarawaythecursorisfromthecenteroftheimage.Intheimageabove,themousepointerisat60%awayfromcenter,andshowsthatatthatlocation,thevignettingisonlyat2%.
Inadditiontoseeingthepercentlightfall-off,thedisplayabovealsoshowshowfartheopticalilluminationcenterisfromthephysicalcenterofthechip.Thecenterofthechipismarkedbythe+symbol,whiletheopticalilluminationcenterbyX.
Animageofastarfieldcanalsobeanalyzedforvignetting.Proceedasbefore,byselectingtheimageandthenclickingonAnalyze/FlatFrameAnalysismenu.Theresultingimagemaylooksomethinglikethis:
Thesametypeofinformationisavailableinthisdisplayasintheonedescribedabove,althoughtheimageitselfrepresentsamathematicalapproximationoftheflatfield,computedbyevaluatingimagebackgroundatvariouspointsintheimage.
AspectRatioMap
AspectRatioMapisanewtoolthathelpsvisualizestarselongationthroughouttheimage.Starscanbeelongatedforvariousreasons,includingcollimationerrors,imageplanetilt,andcoma.
AspectMapisaheat-map,similartotheCurvatureMap.But,insteadofassigningdifferentcolorstostarFWHMvaluesacrossthefield,AspectMapassignsdifferentcolorstoaspectratiosofthestarsacrossthefield.Blue,darkercolorsindicatelowaspectratiovalues,whilebrighter,reddercolorsindicatehigheraspectratios.
Inadditiontoaheat-mapdisplay,AspectRatioMapprovidesaminimumandmaximumaspectratiosfortheimage.TotalTiltvalueisanindicationofasymmetryinthedistributionofelongatedstars.Thetotaltiltshowstheamountofasymmetry,inpercent,andthedirectioninwhichtheaspectratiosincreasethemost.
CCDISPlug-inforCCDStack
AnewandexcitingdevelopmentinCCDInspector2istheinclusionofanadvanced,automatedimageregistrationmodulethatworksseamlesslywithCCDStack.Thismodule,CCDISwillonlyworkifboth,CCDStackandCCDInspectorareinstalledonthesamecomputer.
Imageregistrationistheprocessofadjustinganimagestacksothatalltheimagesareproperlyalignedtoabaseimage.Thiscaninvolvescalingtheimagestothesamedimensions,shiftingthemverticallyandhorizontally,andde-rotatingthemsoastoallowthemtobestacked.
WithoutCCDISregistrationprocesscanbetedious,andtheresultingregistrationmaynotbeasaccurate.Inaccuraciesinregistrationcanleadtoblurringandlossofresolutioninthestackedimage--somethingtobeavoidedatallcosts!CCDISusesanextremelyaccurateandsophisticatedalgorithmtofinduniquestarpatternsbetweenalltheimages,automatically!CCDISthenappliestheappropriatescalingfactor,de-rotation,andlinearoffsettoaligntheimagesinthebestpossibleway.CCDISwillalsofliptheimageifthehorizontalorverticalaxisarereversed.Generally,CCDISalignmentaccuracywillbebetterthan1/10ofapixel.Inmanycasesitisbetterthan1/30ofapixel!
CCDISplug-inisincludedandautomaticallyenabledduringtheinstallationofCCDInspector2.IfyoualreadyhaveCCDStackordecidetoinstallitlater,CCDISwillquicklybecomeyourprimarychoiceofregistrationmethods:
Wheninstalled,CCDIStabwillbethefirsttabofavailableregistrationmethodsintheCCDStackRegistrationdialog.Therearenocomplicatedsettings:justclickalignalloralignthisbuttonstoperformthefullyautomaticregistration.Whendone,theresultsoftheregistrationwillbeshowninthelowerhalfofthedialog.Resultsforthisimagesectionshowstheregistrationstatisticsforthecurrentlyselectedimage.Aboveexampleindicatesthatatotalof325starswerechosenfortheregistrationprocess,andfromthese,a23-staruniquepatternwasidentifiedthatmatchedwiththebaseimage(baseimageisshownonthebottomofthedialog).TheRMSerrorshownistheaverageerroracrossall325stars,aftertheregistrationprocesscompletes.Thisisexpressedinpixels.Theaboveresultisverygood,showingthattheerrorisalmost1/50ofapixel!
TheonlyoptionintheCCDISRegistrationdialogistousehighprecision.ThisoptionmakesCCDISdomoreworkbyextractingmorestarsfromtheimage,andbylookingforthestarpatternforabitlonger.Theresultsareusuallysomewhatimprovedcomparedtothelow-precisionregistration.Highprecisionmodecantakeabitmoretime,butcanworkbetterespeciallyforimagesthatdonothavealargeoverlap,suchaswhendoingmosaics.IfCCDISisunabletofindamatchingstarpatterninthelow-precisionmode,itwillautomaticallyswitchto
thehigh-precisionmodeandtryagain.Inmostcases,itissafetoleaveusehighprecisionoptionunchecked.
Onceregistrationcompletes,youcanseetheactualtransformationsettingsCCDISfoundforeachoftheimagesbyopeningtheManualtab:
Asyouselectdifferentimagesintheimagemanager,thevaluesintheManualtabwillchangetoshowtheCCDIS-determinedregistrationparameters.Intheexampleabove,theselectedimagewasshiftedoverby-69.13pixelshorizontally,237.52pixelsvertically,andwasrotatedby33degrees.Theimagescalewasfoundtobethesame,sothescalingfactor(Magnify)wassetto1.000.
NOTE:afterperformingregistrationandlookingatthecolordisplayinCCDStack,thestarsmayappeartobeslightlyoutofalignment,especiallyathighmagnification.Thisisbecausethedisplaycannotadjustimagesbyafractionofapixel,andisnotanindicationofCCDISerror.Onceyouapplytheregistrationtotheimages,thepositionerrorswilldisappear(exceptwhenusingtheNearestNeighborinterpolationmethod,thestarsalsocannotbeadjustedbylessthanawholepixel).
CCDISusesahighlyoptimized,efficientalgorithmtoperformpatternmatching.Itwillusemulti-core,ormulti-processorcomputerstoperformitsfunctionsevenfasterthanonasingleCPU.
DSLRRAWFileSupport
CCDInspectorsupportsnativeRAWdigitalcameraformatscreatedbythecamerasshownbelow.
TheRAWformatcapabilityisbasedonthesourcecodeprovidedbyDavidCoffin,andonlysomehavebeentestedbyus.David'ssoftwareisverywellwritten,andweareconfidentthatalloftheformatslistedbelowwillwork.
Shouldyoufindaformatthat'slistedbutnotworking,pleaseletusknow.
AdobeDigitalNegative(DNG)
AgfaPhotoDC-833m
AppleQuickTake100
AppleQuickTake150
AppleQuickTake200
AVTF-080C
AVTF-145C
AVTF-201C
AVTF-510C
AVTF-810C
CanonPowerShot600
CanonPowerShotA5
CanonPowerShotA5Zoom
CanonPowerShotA50
CanonPowerShotA460
HasselbladV96C
ImaconIxpress16-megapixel
ImaconIxpress22-megapixel
ImaconIxpress39-megapixel
ISG2020x1520
KodakDC20
KodakDC25
KodakDC40
KodakDC50
KodakDC120
KodakDCS200
KodakDCS315C
KodakDCS330C
NikonE4500
NikonE5000
NikonE5400
NikonE5700
NikonE8400
NikonE8700
NikonE8800
NikonCoolpixP6000
NikonCoolpixS6
NokiaN95
OlympusC3030Z
OlympusC5050Z
OlympusC5060WZ
OlympusC7070WZ
Olympus
CanonPowerShotA530
CanonPowerShotA570
CanonPowerShotA590
CanonPowerShotA610
CanonPowerShotA620
CanonPowerShotA630
CanonPowerShotA640
CanonPowerShotA650
CanonPowerShotA710IS
CanonPowerShotA720IS
CanonPowerShotPro70
CanonPowerShotPro90IS
CanonPowerShotPro1
CanonPowerShotG1
CanonPowerShotG2
CanonPowerShotG3
CanonPowerShotG5
CanonPowerShotG6
CanonPowerShotG7
CanonPowerShotG9
CanonPowerShotG10
KodakDCS420
KodakDCS460
KodakDCS460A
KodakDCS520C
KodakDCS560C
KodakDCS620C
KodakDCS620X
KodakDCS660C
KodakDCS660M
KodakDCS720X
KodakDCS760C
KodakDCS760M
KodakEOSDCS1
KodakEOSDCS3B
KodakNC2000F
KodakProBack
KodakPB645C
KodakPB645H
KodakPB645M
KodakDCSPro14n
KodakDCSPro14nx
C70Z,C7000Z
OlympusC740UZ
OlympusC770UZ
OlympusC8080WZ
OlympusX200,D560Z,C350Z
OlympusE-1
OlympusE-3
OlympusE-10
OlympusE-20
OlympusE-30
OlympusE-300
OlympusE-330
OlympusE-400
OlympusE-410
OlympusE-420
OlympusE-500
OlympusE-510
OlympusE-520
OlympusE-620
OlympusSP310
CanonPowerShotS2IS
CanonPowerShotS3IS
CanonPowerShotS5IS
CanonPowerShotSD300
CanonPowerShotS30
CanonPowerShotS40
CanonPowerShotS45
CanonPowerShotS50
CanonPowerShotS60
CanonPowerShotS70
CanonPowerShotSX1IS
CanonPowerShotSX110IS
CanonEOSD30
CanonEOSD60
CanonEOS5D
CanonEOS5DMarkII
CanonEOS10D
CanonEOS20D
CanonEOS30D
CanonEOS40D
CanonEOS50D
KodakDCSProSLR/c
KodakDCSProSLR/n
KodakC330
KodakC603
KodakP850
KodakP880
KodakZ980
KodakZ1015
KodakKAI-0340
KonicaKD-400Z
KonicaKD-510Z
LeafAFi7
LeafAptus17
LeafAptus22
LeafAptus54S
LeafAptus65
LeafAptus75
LeafAptus75S
LeafCantare
LeafCatchLight
LeafCMost
OlympusSP320
OlympusSP350
OlympusSP500UZ
OlympusSP510UZ
OlympusSP550UZ
OlympusSP560UZ
OlympusSP570UZ
PanasonicDMC-FZ8
PanasonicDMC-FZ18
PanasonicDMC-FZ28
PanasonicDMC-FZ30
PanasonicDMC-FZ50
PanasonicDMC-FX150
PanasonicDMC-G1
PanasonicDMC-GH1
PanasonicDMC-L1
PanasonicDMC-L10
PanasonicDMC-LC1
PanasonicDMC-LX1
PanasonicDMC-LX2
CanonEOS300D/DigitalRebel/KissDigital
CanonEOS350D/DigitalRebelXT/KissDigitalN
CanonEOS400D/DigitalRebelXTi/KissDigitalX
CanonEOS450D/DigitalRebelXSi/KissDigitalX2
CanonEOS500D/DigitalRebelT1i/KissDigitalX3
CanonEOS1000D/DigitalRebelXS/KissDigitalF
CanonEOSD2000C
CanonEOS-1D
CanonEOS-1DS
CanonEOS-1DMarkII
CanonEOS-1DMarkIII
CanonEOS-1DMarkIIN
CanonEOS-1DsMarkII
CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII
CasioQV-2000UX
CasioQV-3000EX
CasioQV-3500EX
CasioQV-4000
LeafDCB2
LeafValeo6
LeafValeo11
LeafValeo17
LeafValeo22
LeafVolare
LeicaDigilux2
LeicaDigilux3
LeicaD-LUX2
LeicaD-LUX3
LeicaD-LUX4
LeicaV-LUX1
LogitechFotomanPixtura
MamiyaZD
Micron2010
MinoltaRD175
MinoltaDiMAGE5
MinoltaDiMAGE7
MinoltaDiMAGE7i
MinoltaDiMAGE7Hi
MinoltaDiMAGEA1
PanasonicDMC-LX3
Pentax*istD
Pentax*istDL
Pentax*istDL2
Pentax*istDS
Pentax*istDS2
PentaxK10D
PentaxK20D
PentaxK100D
PentaxK100DSuper
PentaxK200D
PentaxK2000/K-m
PentaxK-7
PentaxOptioS
PentaxOptioS4
PentaxOptio33WR
PentaxOptio750Z
PhaseOneLightPhase
PhaseOneH10
PhaseOneH20
PhaseOneH25
CasioQV-5700
CasioQV-R41
CasioQV-R51
CasioQV-R61
CasioEX-S20
CasioEX-S100
CasioEX-Z4
CasioEX-Z50
CasioEX-Z55
CasioEX-Z60
CasioEX-Z75
CasioExlimPro505
CasioExlimPro600
CasioExlimPro700
ContaxNDigital
CreativePC-CAM600
EpsonR-D1
Foculus531C
FujiFinePixE550
FujiFinePixE900
FujiFinePixF700
MinoltaDiMAGEA2
MinoltaDiMAGEA200
MinoltaDiMAGEG400
MinoltaDiMAGEG500
MinoltaDiMAGEG530
MinoltaDiMAGEG600
MinoltaDiMAGEZ2
MinoltaAlpha/Dynax/Maxxum5D
MinoltaAlpha/Dynax/Maxxum7D
MotorolaPIXL
NikonD1
NikonD1H
NikonD1X
NikonD2H
NikonD2Hs
NikonD2X
NikonD2Xs
NikonD3
NikonD3X
NikonD40
PhaseOneP20
PhaseOneP25
PhaseOneP30
PhaseOneP45
PhaseOneP45+
PixelinkA782
Polaroidx530
Rolleid530flex
RoverShot3320af
SamsungGX-1S
SamsungGX-10
SamsungS85
SamsungS850
Sarnoff4096x5440
SigmaSD9
SigmaSD10
SigmaSD14
Sinar3072x2048
Sinar4080x4080
Sinar4080x5440
SinarSTIformat
FujiFinePixF710
FujiFinePixF800
FujiFinePixF810
FujiFinePixS2Pro
FujiFinePixS3Pro
FujiFinePixS5Pro
FujiFinePixS20Pro
FujiFinePixS100FS
FujiFinePixS5000
FujiFinePixS5100/S5500
FujiFinePixS5200/S5600
FujiFinePixS6000fd
FujiFinePixS7000
FujiFinePixS9000/S9500
FujiFinePixS9100/S9600
FujiIS-1
HasselbladCFV
HasselbladH3D
NikonD40X
NikonD50
NikonD60
NikonD70
NikonD70s
NikonD80
NikonD90
NikonD100
NikonD200
NikonD300
NikonD700
NikonD5000
NikonE700
NikonE800
NikonE880
NikonE900
NikonE950
NikonE990
NikonE995
NikonE2100
NikonE2500
SMaLUltra-Pocket3
SMaLUltra-Pocket4
SMaLUltra-Pocket5
SonyDSC-F828
SonyDSC-R1
SonyDSC-V3
SonyDSLR-A100
SonyDSLR-A200
SonyDSLR-A300
SonyDSLR-A330
SonyDSLR-A350
SonyDSLR-A700
SonyDSLR-A900
SonyXCD-SX910CR
STV680VGA
NikonE3200
NikonE3700
NikonE4300
Definitions
Apointsourceoflight,suchastarilluminatesanumberofpixels
surroundingthecenterofthestar.Thecenterpixelisusuallythebrightest,withtheintensityofthepixelsfallingoffratherrapidlythefurtherawayonelooksfromthecenterpixel.Thefasterthelightfalls,thebetterthequalityandsharpnessofthestar.Thesloweritfalls,themorepixelsthestar
occupies,themorebloateditis,andthereforelessfocused.Tocomeupwithastandardizedwaytomeasurestarquality,independentofthebrightnessandmagnitudeofthestar,theFWHMmeasureisused.FWHMstandsforFull-WidthatHalf-Maximumandissimplythewidth(orthediameter)ofthecirclesurroundingthestarwheretheintensityhasfallenoffby50%fromthepeakvalue
(half-maximum).
FWHMcanbemeasuredinpixels,orinarcseconds.Pixelsisthe
defaultinCCDInspectorifthefocallengthandthepixelsizeofthecameracannotbedetermined.IftheseareknownandspecifiedinCCDSoft,CCDInspectorcanbeusedtoautomaticallyconvertpixelstoarcseconds.Thevalueinpixelsisdependentonboth,focallengthandpixelsize,andsocannotbeusedtodirectlycomparetwoimagesfromdifferentcameras,orfromdifferent
telescopes.Ontheotherhand,measurementinarcsecondsisindependentfromtelescopefocallengthorthecamerapixelsize,andcanbeusedfordirectcomparisonbetweendifferentinstruments.
LowerFWHMvaluesarebetter--meansthestarbrightnessfallsofffaster.
TherearemanyfactorsthatlimitjusthowlowanFWHMvalueonecanget.Someoftheseare:
1.Focus:telescopemustbewellfocusedtoproducedlowestpossibleFWHM.2..Collimation:poorcollimationwillleadtomorebloatedstarswith
higherFWHM
3.Seeingconditions:atmosphereisoneofthemajorlimitingfactorseven
forprofessionalastronomers.Onagoodday,anaverageamateurwith
excellentopticsandcollimationcanhopeforFWHMof2"-2.5".Onrareoccasionsoratreallygreatlocations,theseeingcandiptoaslowas1.6"butnotmuchbelow.Moreoftenthannot,you'relikelytoseeFWHMinthe3"to4"range.
Anythingmuchabove4"isusuallyasignaltogoinsideandwatchsomeTV--theseeingisreallypoor.4.Trackingandguiding:FWHMofastarinalongexposurecanbemuchgreaterthanFWHMofthesamestarinareallyshortexposure.Thishappensbecausetheairmasseskeepmovingcausingseeingfluctuationsduringlongexposures,andguidersandmountsusuallyhavesmallerrorsthataddupoveralongperiodtosmearthestarabitmore.
AspectRatio:Aspectratiorepresentshowmuchout-of-roundthestarimageis.Itistheratioofthelongestaxistotheshortestaxisofthestarprofile,expressedinpercent.Anumberbelow20-30%representsaprettyroundstar.Anumberof0%representsperfectlyroundstar,butyouwillmostlikelynotseethisinrealimagesduetonoiseandmeasurementuncertainty.
ImageHeaderKeywordsUsedbyCCDInspector
Keyword UsedIn UsedFor
FOCALLENCCDInspector,FWHMMonitor
Imagescaledetermination
XPIXSZYPIXSZ
CCDInspector,FWHMMonitor
Imagescaledetermination
PEDESTALCCDInspector,FWHMMonitor
Toremovefixedpedestalfromtheimage
EGAINE-GAINE_GAIN
CCDInspector,FWHMMonitor Forreportingpurposes
DATE-OBS CCDInspector Dateandtimeoftheexposure
CENTALTOBJCTALT
CCDInspector Altitudeoftheexposure
CCD-TEMPTEMPERAT
TEMPERATURECCDInspector Temperatureofthesensor
EXPTIMEEXPOSURE CCDInspector Imageexposurelength
XBINNINGCCDXBIN
CCDInspector Imagebinningmode
FAQ
FrequentlyAskedQuestion(FAQ):
1.Question:Mynon-USkeyboarddoesnotallowmetoselectmultipleitemsintheCCDInspectorimagelist.WhatshouldIdo?
Answer:ThisisaknownissuewithsomeinternationalconfigurationsofWindows.Toworkaroundthis,gototheCCDInspectorFile/SettingsmenuandclickontheUseCheckboxesoptionnearthebottomofthemenu.
Youshouldnowseecheckboxesappearnexttoallitemsintheimagelist.Toselectmultipleimagessimplyplaceacheckmarknexttoeachbyclickingonthecorrespondingcheckbox:
TherestoftheCCDInspectorfunctionalitywillremainthesame.
2.Question:SomeoftheimagesarereportingFWHMvaluesthataretoolow,orAspectRatiovaluesthataretoohigh.What'swrong?
Answer:ImageswithalotofnoisemayfoolthenoiserejectionfilterinCCDInspectorandforceittomeasuresomehotpixelsasstars.Toreducethechanceofthishappening,measureimagesthathavealreadybeenreducedwithadark-framesubtraction,orletCCDInspectorsubtractadarkframeasdescribedinstepQuickStarttopic..
3.Question:Iselect"InArcseconds"option,buttheFWHMisstillshowninpixels.What'swrong?
Answer:Imagesarenormallysavedwithheaderscontaininginformationaboutpixelsizeandfocallengthofthetelescope.Iftheimageyouaremeasuringdoesnotcontainthisinformation,CCDInspectorwillbeunabletodeterminetheconversionfactorfrompixelstoarcseconds,andwilldefaulttodisplayinpixels.Checkyourimageacquisitionsoftwaretomakesurethatthefocallengthisproperlyspecifiedforallnewimages.
4.Question:"CCDInspectorlooksverymuchlikeanotherproductIsawrecently"
Answer:Yes!CCDInspectoristhenextgenerationoftwoproductsreleasedearlierthisyear:StarSieveandCFWHM.BothproductsarefullycontainedinCCDInspector,butCCDInspectorisamajorstepforwardinfunctionality,providingthree-dimensionalcurvatureplots,comparisoncharts,backgroundandcontrastmeasurement,supportforMaxImDL,configurablecolumns,real-timecollimation,andmuch,muchmore!
FileMenu
Open
Selectimagesforanalysisandcharting.UsetheFilesTypedrop-downtoselectthetypeofimagesyouarelookingfor.SBIG,FITS,andTIFFformatfilesaresupportedbyCCDInspector.Multipleimagescanbeselectedatonce.
Ifyou'dliketopickimagesfrommultiplefolders,selectimagesfromfirstfolderfirstandclickOpen.Then,clickonOpen...menuagain,changedirectory,andpickmorefilestoadd.
AutoOpen
Selectafolderofimagestobemeasuredandmonitoredinreal-time.CCDInspectorwillloadandmeasureallexistingimagesinthefolder.What'smore,itwillcontinuallymonitorthefolderforanynewimages.Assoonasnewimage(s)areaddedtothefolder,thesewillautomaticallybeaddedtothelistandmeasuredaswell.Thisallowsonetomonitoralldownloadsfromacamera,andhavethemautomaticallymeasuredassoonastheyaresavedbytheimagecapturesoftware.TheimagescanbeinanyoftheformatssupportedbyCCDI,includingRAW.Tostoptheautomaticmonitoring,clickonAutoOpenagaintouncheckit.Topickadifferentfolder,uncheckAutoOpenfirst,thencheckitagain.Whenprompted,pickthenewfolder.
CopyReporttoClipboard
Measurestheimages,iftheyarenotmeasured,andcopiestheresultintoatabulatedformatontoWindowsClipboard.Thisreportcan
thenbepastedintoadocument,spreadsheet,oratextfile.
Exit QuitCCDInspector
ImagesMenu
View DisplaysoneormoreselectedimagesintheirownViewerwindows.
ViewStars
Displaysoneormoreselectedimages,placingcirclesaroundallthestarsthatwerepickedforFWHMmeasurementandcurvatureanalysis.Thesemaynotbeallthestarsintheimage,asCCDInspectorrejectsstarsbasedonmultiplecriteria:saturation,aspectratiodistortion,S/N,etc.
ViewImageHeader
Displaysaviewerwiththelistofallthekeywordsandvaluesfromtheimageheader.
RemoveRemoveselectedimagesfromCCDInspectorwindow.Theactualimagefilesarenotaffectedbythisoperation.
MovetoFolder
Allowsselectedimagestobemovedtoanotherfolder.Imagefileswillbephysicallymovedfromonefoldertotheonespecified.
CopytoFolder
Allowsselectedimagestobecopiedtoanotherfolder.Imagefileswillremainintheoriginalfolder,andtheircopieswillbecreatedintheonespecified.
CheckAll
Selectallimagefiles
UncheckAll
Unselectallimagefiles
CheckAllItemsWithinLimits
SelectallimagesthatarewithinthespecifiedlimitsettingsunderLimitAlerts(imagesdisplayedinblack).ThisoptiononlyworksifLimitAlertcheckboxischeckedonthemainCCDInspectorwindow.Aftertheimageareselected,theycanbeoperatedonbyanyofthecommandsabove,suchasRemove,Move,Copy,etc.
InvertCheckedItems
Unselectallselectedimages,andselectallunselectedimagesinthelist(invertselection)
AnalysisMenu
MeasureAll
CCDInspectorattemptstomeasureeveryimageinthelist.FWHM,Aspectratio,andmanyothervaluesarecomputed.Ifanyofthefollowingcolumnsareselectedinthedisplay,additionalcomputationwillbeperformedtodetermineimagecurvature:
Collimation
Curvature
TiltinX
TiltinY
Ifnoneofthesecolumnsareselected,thecurvaturecomputationwillnotbeperformed,resultinginfastermeasurementofallimages.
CurvatureMap
Computeanddisplaycurvaturemapfortheselectedimages.Ifmorethanoneimageisselected,allwillbeusedinthecurvaturecomputation,resultinginanaveragecurvaturemap.Inordertogetbestresults,theimagesmustbeofsimilarFWHMandsimilarexposurelength,andofthesame(orverynear-by)portionofthesky.
Forapropercurvaturemap,theimage(s)mustcontainsufficientnumberofwell-exposed,butnotsaturatedstarstomeasure.Thestarsshouldbereasonablyevenlyspreadoutthroughthefieldofview.Forbestresults,avoidanyreallybrightobjectsinthefieldofview,suchasgalaxies,brightnebulae,orglobularclusters.
ShowthesameinformationaspresentedintheCurvatureMap,butina3dimensionaldisplay.The3-DViewershowsthecurvatureinperspective,andprovidescontrolstorotate,tilt,and
3-DPlot
zoominandout.
Usingthemouse,clickdownontheleftbuttonand:
Movemouseupanddowntotiltbackandforward
Movemouseleftandrighttorotateimage
Usethemousetrack-wheeltozoominandout,orholddowntheCtrlkeyonthekeyboardandmovemouseupordowntozoominorout.
AspectMap
AspectMapisaheat-map,similartotheCurvatureMap.But,insteadofassigningdifferentcolorstostarFWHMvaluesacrossthefield,AspectMapassignsdifferentcolorstoaspectratiosofthestarsacrossthefield.Blue,darkcolorsindicatelowAspectMapvalues,whilebrighter,reddercolorsindicatehigheraspectratios.Aspectratioofastarisanindicationofhowelongatedthestaris.Therefore,AspectMapcaneasilyshowcoma(aspectratioincreasesoutwardsfromthecenter).
Providesananalyticaltootomeasureimagequalitybasedonalargenumberofmeasuredvalues.Chartswindowusesallimagesinthelistasdatapointstoplot.YouhavefullcontrolovertheXandYaxisofthechart.Thefollowingvariablescanbeselectedforeitheraxis:
FWHM
AspectRatio
AirMassIndex
BackgroundBrightness
ImageScale
FocalLength
Charts
PixelSize
CameraGain
ContrasttoNoiseRatio
Totalstarsusedinanalysis
Altitudeoftheimage
Dateandtimeoftheimage
Curvatureamount
Collimationerror
TiltinX
TiltinY
Chartwindowcanberesizedtoseemoredetails.Eachpointplottedonthecharthasasmallrectanglesurroundit.Ifamouseispositionedovertherectangle,atooltipwilldisplaywithboth,theXandYvaluesforthedatapoint,andtheimagefilenameassociatedwithit.
Morethanonechartviewercanbedisplayedatthesametime,ifdesired..
SensorExtrapolation
SensorExtrapolationoptionestimatescurvature,vignetting,andstaraspectratiosastheywouldappearonadifferentsizesensor.Theestimationisdonebyanalyzinganimageusingaknownsensorsize,andthenprojectingtheresulttoadifferentsensor.YoucanquicklyestimatewhetherthecurvaturewillbetoomuchonthatlargerDSLRchip,orifthelightfall-offwillbetooextremebeforebeforespendingthemoney.Thechoicesare:
FWHMAspectRatio
Vignetting
FlatFrameAnalysis
FlatFrameAnalysiscreatesacontourdisplaywithlinesdelineatingpercentagechangesinlightfalloff.Thisallowsforaquickdeterminationofhowmuchvignettingispresentinthesystem,andhowmuchispresentatdifferentdistancesfromtheimagecenter.OpticalIlluminationcenterisalsomarkedtodemonstrateanoffset,ifany,thatmayexistbetweenthechipcenter,andtheilluminationcenter.
Real-TimeMenu
CurvatureMap
Createsareal-timeviewerwindowtomeasureanddisplaythecurvatureofeveryimageasitisacquiredfromthecamera.Tostartreal-timemeasurement,followthesesteps:
ChoosethecorrectcameraacquisitionsoftwareforyousetupundertheSettingsmenu(CCDSoftorMaxImDL)
Ifthecameracontrolsoftwareisnotalreadystarted,startitasusual
Startacquiringimagesusingthemainimagerchip.
Aseachimageisdownloadedfromthecamera,CCDInspectorwillautomaticallymeasureitanddisplaythecurvaturemapbasedonitscontent.
Withthecross-hairshowingthedifferencebetweentheopticalcenterandphysicalcenteroftheimage,Real-TimeCurvatureMapmakesiteasyandprecisetocollimateatelescope,withoutaneyepiece.
Ifthestarfieldbeingimageddoesnotcontainenoughstars,CCDInspectorwilldisplayawarningmessagethatthecurvaturemapmaynotbeaccurate.
3-DCurvatureMap
Createsareal-timeviewerwindowtomeasureanddisplay3-Dplotofthecurvatureofeveryimageasitisacquiredfromthecamera.Followthesamestepstostarttheacquisitionprocessasin
theCurvatureMapdescriptionabove.
Collimation
Multi-StarCollimationViewer
DisplaystheCollimationViewerwindowforreal-timecollimation.FollowthesamedirectionstostartcollimatingasinthesectiononCurvatureMapabove.
DefocusedStarCollimationViewer
DisplaystheSingleStarCollimationViewerwindowforreal-timecollimation.
ImageViewer
DisplaysImageViewer.Updatestoshowthelatestimagecapturedbythecamera.DarksubtractionandDebayering(ifconfiguredinDefaultImageProperies)willbeautomaticallyapplied.
ImagestoAverage
Selecthowmanyreal-timeimageswillbeusedtocreateeachcurvatureor3-Dmap.CCDInspectorwillwaitforthisnumberofimagestobecapturedbeforecomputinganddisplayingthecurvaturemap.If1isselected,thennoaveragingwillbedone.Averagingprocessallowsamoreaccurateassessmentofcurvatureandcollimationtobemadebyincludingstarsfrommultipleexposures.Starsdonothavetobealignedbetweenframes:someshiftisevendesirablebetweenframes,asitwillyieldmoreinformationaboutthecurvatureoftheentireimage.
DisplaystheFWHMMonitortool.ThistoolcanalsobeinvokeddirectlyfromtheDesktopicon,orfromtheCCDInspectorStartmenu.FWHMMonitorprovidesreal-timemeasurementofthefollowing:
FWHMInspector
ImageFWHM
ImageAspectratio
Half-FluxDiameter(HFD)
PeakValue
StarCentroidError
FWHMerrorduetoseeingfluctuations
Inaddition,anumberofreal-timerunningchartsareprovidedfordisplayofallofthesevaluesinreal-timeorasamovingaverage.
Settings
DefaultImageProperties
Setthedefaultimagescale,saturationlevelandmonochrome/coloroptionsforallimageswhereitcannotbedetermined.
Theimagescalewillbeusedinallcaseswherethearcsecondsunitsareusedfordisplay,andtheimageheaderdoesnotcontaineitherthefocallengthorpixelsizekeywords.
Saturationlevelsetsthecut-offlevel,inADU,beyondwhichastarwillbeconsideredsaturated.Saturatedstarshavedistortedshapes,andtheirFWHMandstarprofilescannotbeaccuratelydetermined.Formostrawimagesfrom16-bitCCDsensors,thedefaultvalueof45000isareasonablecut-offlevelandshouldnotneedtobechanged.
SensorTypedefaultstoMonochrome.Ifyouareusingasingle-shotcolorsensorwithaBayermatrix,selectBayerMatrixinstead.ThiswillhelpCCDInspectortoremovetheeffectsoftheBayerfiltermatrixtomoreaccuratelycomputestarprofiles.
PixelSizecanbespecified,forexample,forDSLRorwebcamsensors,wherethisinformationisnotavailablefromtheFITSheader.Non-squarepixelsizecanbespecifiedbyenteringdifferentwidthandheight.
ChosethecolumnsdisplayedinthemainwindowofCCDInspector.Onceselected,anyofthedisplayedcolumnscanbeusedtosorttheimagelistinascendingordescendingorderofvaluesforthatcolumn.Theavailablechoicesareshownbelow.
Toselectcolumnsfordisplay,highlightoneormorecolumnnamesinthelistontheleft(AllAvailableColumns)andclickthe>>button.Tounselectacolumn,highlightitinthelistontheright,andclick<<button.Torearrangetheorderofcolumns,
highlightacolumnintheDisplayedColumnslist,anduseMoveUporMoveDnbuttonstorepositionit.TorestorethecolumnstodefaultCCDInspectorsettings,clicktheDefaultbutton.
(FITSKeyword...)allowstheselectionofanyvaluesavailableintheFITSimageheaderfordisplayandsorting.Whenselected,thefollowingdialogwillbedisplayed:
Chosethedesiredkeywordfromthedrop-down,ortypeacustomkeywordin,selectDatatype(textornumeric)andthecaptiontouseforthecolumndisplay.Ifpresent,thevalueofthiskeywordwillbeautomaticallydisplayedinCCDInspectormaindisplayforeachimage.
AirMassindex:specifiestheamountofairtheshotwasmadethrough,ascomparedtotheamountofairwhenshootingstarlightatzenith.Atzenith,thevalueforAirMassis1.0,andatAltitude0itis40.GreatervalueofAirMassindexindicatesgreateratmosphericdistortionduetoscatter,refraction,andseeingeffects.
Altitude:thisistheAltcoordinateofwheretheimagewasacquired,indegrees.Thisvalueisderivedfromtheimageheader
BinMode:binningmodeofthedetectorthatwasusedfor
DisplayColumns
thisimage
AspectRatio(%):theaspectratioofanaveragestarintheimage.Aspectrationumberisagoodindicationofhowfaroutofroundthestarsare,possiblyduetotrackingerrorsorotherdistortions
Background(adu):Backgroundbrightness,inaduunits.Thisrepresentsanaveragebackgroundoftheimage.Thiscanbeagoodindicationofhowbrighttheskywasduringtheexposure
Collimation:errorincollimation,expressedinarcsecondsorpixels.Distancebetweenopticalandphysicalcentersattheimageplane.
ContrastRatio:actually,Contrast-to-Noiseratio.Thisisagoodindicatorofsignalqualityintheimagesbeingcompared.Forexample,amountofsignalcanbedirectlycomparedbetweenimagesacquiredthroughdifferentcolorfilters.ThehighertheCNR,themoresignal,andlessnoiseandthedarkerthebackgroundintheimage.
Curvature:expressedin%:theamountofdefocusbetweencenterandedgeoftheimage,normalizedtoavaluethatisindependentoftheactualFWHMvaluesintheimage.Agoodindicationofhowdefocusedthestarsareattheedgeofthefieldcomparedtothecenterduetocoma,sphericalaberration,etc.
Date&Time:dateandtimeoftheexposure,asreportedintheheaderoftheimage.Thisvalueisconvertedtothelocal
timezoneconfiguredonthecomputer.
Exposure:exposurelength,inseconds
FocalLength(mm):focallengthoftheinstrumentusedtoacquiretheimage.Thisisderivedfromtheimageheader.
Folder:folderwheretheimagefileresides
FullPath:fullpathtotheimage,includingthefilename
FWHM:expressedinarcsecondsorpixels.AverageFWHMvaluederivedfromtheimage.
Gain(e-/adu):gainofthecamera.Derivedfromimageheader.
ImageFile:nameoftheimagefile,withoutthefolder
PixelSize(um):pixelsizeofthecamera,inmicrons.Derivedfromimageheader.
Scale("/pix):imagescaleinarcsecondsperpixel.Derivedfromimageheaderfocallengthandpixelsizeparameters,or,ifnotpresent,fromthedefaultimagescalesettingforCCDInspector.
StarsUsed:numberofstarsCCDInspectorusedinmeasuringFWHM,AspectRatio,Curvature,etc.Thisisnottheactualnumberofstarsintheimage,asCCDInspectorcanrejectstarsasunsuitableformeasurementduetosaturation,lowsignal-to-noiseratio,orotherdistortions.
Temperature:sensortemperatureusedforthisimage
TiltinX:theamountofdefocus,inarcsecondsorpixels,fromlefttorightsideoftheimage.
TiltinY:theamountofdefocus,inarcsecondsorpixels,fromtoptobottomoftheimage.
CameraControlSoftware
ChosethecameraacquisitionsoftwarethatCCDInspectorwillusewithalltheReal-Timemonitors.Thesupportedsoftwarepackagesare:
CCDSoftfromSoftwareBisque
MaxImDLfromDiffractionLimited
Genericimageacquisitionsoftware
Ifyouarenotgoingtousereal-timefeaturesofCCDInspector,usethedefaultsettingofCCDSoft.
Genericsupportprovidesreal-timesupportforanycameraandacquisitionsoftwarethatallowsFITS,SBIG,orTIFFformattedimagestobeautomaticallywrittentoaspecifiedfolderontheharddisk.Assoonasanimageiscaptured,andsavedtotheselectedfolder,CCDInspectorwillautomaticallyretrieveandanalyzethisimage.You'llhaveachoiceofselectingwhetherthemeasuredimageiskeptinthefolder,ordeletedaftermeasurement.
UseCheckboxes
ChangesthemainCCDInspectorwindowlisttodisplaycheckboxesnexttoeachoftheimages.Toselectimagesforanyoperationwillthenrequireplacingacheckmarknexttothedesiredimage(s).ThisisnecessaryinsomeinternationalversionsofWindows,wherethelistcontrolusedinCCDInspectordoesnot
allowmultipleselection.
CollimationScrewDirection
Setsthedirectionthatthecollimationscrewsmovethemirrorsurface.UsedbyCollimationViewer.Theoptionsare:
Clock-Wise=Pull(Default)
Clock-Wise=Push
ThedefaultsettingisappropriateformostcommercialSCT's,RC'sandNewtoniantelescopeswhencollimatingtheprimaryorthesecondarymirrors.ChangingthisselectionreversestherecommendeddirectiontoturnthecollimationscrewintheCollimationViewer.
NoiseThreshold
Setsthenoisethresholdtousewhenselectingstarsformeasurement.Theoptionsare:
Low(default)
Medium
High
Thissettingallowsforbetterstarselectioninsomenoisysensors,suchasCMOS-based,uncooleddetectors.Toallowbetterdiscriminationbetweennoiseandstarsforsuchsensors,settheNoiseThresholdtoMedium.Ifnoiseisstillselectedasstars,increasethethresholdtoHigh.
FormostCCD-basedcooledsensors,thesettingshouldbeleftatthedefaultLow.
HelpMenu
CCDInspectorHelp
Displaysthishelpfile
CheckforUpdates
Setupautomaticcheckfornewsoftwareupdates,orcheckfornewupdatesrightnow.Whenanewupdateisavailable,CCDInspectorwillinformyouofthisfact,andallowyoutodownloadandinstallthenewversion.NotethatifCCDInspectorisalreadyrunning,itwillbeclosedbeforeinstallationwillbegin:
Now!--checkifnewupdatesareavailablerightnow.Iftheyare,you'llbepromptedtoseeifyouwanttodownloadandinstallthem
Never--disableautomaticchecksfornewsoftwarereleases
EveryTime--automaticallycheckfornewsoftwarereleaseseverytimeCCDInspectorisstarted
OnceaDay--automaticallycheckfornewsoftwarereleasesonlythefirsttimeeachdaythatCCDInspectorisstarted
Every5Days--automaticallycheckfornewsoftwarereleaseseveryfivedays
Every10Days--automaticallycheckfornewsoftwarereleaseseverytendays
Every30Days--automaticallycheckfornewsoftwarereleaseseverythirtydays
AboutCCDInspector
DisplaytheAboutbox,withsoftwareversionnumberandcopyrightnotice.
FWHMMonitorforCCDInspector
MeasureandPlotInReal-TimeAnyStar,AnySub-Frame,AnyImage:
FWHM,HFD,ASPECTRATIO,FLUX,CENTROID,PEAKVALUEandMORE!
FWHMMonitorisdesignedtoworkseamlesslywithCCDSoftandMaxImDLtoprovidethesefunctions,alongwithanumberofotherusefultoolstoestimateseeing,imagequality,andtracking,andguidingperformance.
FWHMMonitorcanhelpperformthefollowingfunctions:
1.Real-timefocusingusingFull-Width-at-Half-Maximum(FWHM),PeakValue,Half-FluxDiameter(HFD),andotherdisplaystatistics2.SeeingconditionsestimationbymeasuringFWHMorHFDofastar3.Focusqualitymonitoringduringalongexposurebymeasuringthequalityofthestarimageontheautoguiderchip4.Fastandeasywaytoevaluatethequalityofalongexposurecontainingmultiplestarsandextendedobjects5.MeasureFWHMoranumberofotherstatisticsofaspecificstarintheimagebyselectingitinCCDSoft6.Aneasyandobjectivewaytosortanumberofexposuresbysharpness.
Therearemanyotheruses.Forexample,theeccentricitymeasurementallowsonetoevaluatethecomadistortionofastarneartheedgeofthechipcomparedtotheoneinthecenter.Thestarprofileplotallowsonetoseeataglancewhetherthestarissaturated,orhasreachedthenon-linearregionoftheCCDchip,orhasbeendistortedinsomewaybypoorguidingorpoorlyadjustedoptics.
FWHMMonitorcontainssomeverysophisticatedalgorithmstoprovidethemostaccuratemeasurementpossible,whileignoringspuriousdata,noise,andartifacts.
UsingFWHMMonitor
FWHMMonitorapplicationcanbestartedorclosedasneeded.Youdon'thavetoshutdownandrestartCCDSoftorMaxImDL--FWHMMonitorwillautomaticallyconnecttotherunninginstanceoftheconfiguredapplication.Thepanelposition,sizeandselectedoptionsarerememberedbetweensessions.IftwoinstancesofthePanelarestarted,onlyonewillreceivereal-timeupdatesfromthecamera.
Double-clickontheFWHMMonitoricononthedesktoptolaunch:
FWHMMonitor
Thepanelwillfloatontopofyourimageacquisitionsoftware.Ifyouwillbefocusingandstandingfarawayfromthemonitor,simplydragthebottomrightcornerofthepanelwindowtoincreaseitssize.Thetextsizewillincreaseinproportiontothesizeofthewindow.Ifdesired,thepanelcanbestretchedtooccupythesizeofthefullscreen.
Thedisplaypanelisdesignedtobeassimpletouseaspossible,andaseasytoseeinthedarkandfromadistance.Ifyouwouldliketoseetheprofileplotofthestarorarunningreal-timechart,clicktheexpandbutton">>"attheright:
Therearesomeadditionalstatisticsshownbelowtheprofileplot:FWHMvalue,Aspectratio,Peakvalue,andcentroidcoordinates.Aspectratioindicateshowfarout-of-roundthestarimageis.Forexample,astarthat'selongatedduetotrackingerror,orcoma,willexhibitmuchhigheraspectratio.Theratioisexpressedin%.A9%outofroundmeansthatthelongeraxisofthestaris1.09timeslongerthantheshortaxis.Usuallyavaluebelow30%orsoisnearlyinvisible,buttheelongationbecomesmoreobviousastheratioincreases.
Theverticallineinthemiddleoftheplotpointstothelocationofthecentroid.Thecoordinatesofthecenterofthestar,expressedinCCDpixels,areshowninparenthesisattherightas(x,y).
YouhaveachoiceofdisplayunitinFWHMMonitor:thevaluescanbedisplayedinarcsecondsorpixels.SimplyplaceacheckmarknexttoInArcsecsoptionifyou'dliketoseethedisplayinarcseconds,anduncheckittoseeitinpixels:
Clickonthelabelnexttothesecondnumber(theoneshowingAvg(3)intheabovephoto)toseeadditionalchoicesofvaluesthatcanbedisplayedinadditiontoFWHM:
Oncethechartwindowisopenedwiththe">>"button,clickinganywhereonthechartwilldisplayamenuwithanumberofdifferentoptions.Theseallowtheselectionofwhatvaluestodisplay,whethertoaveragethemornot,andhowmanyvaluestokeeponarunningchart:
SelectingCameraControlSoftware
FWHMMonitorworkswithCCDSoftversion5andMaxImDLversions3,and4.Tosettheacquisitionsoftwareyouuse,clickonthecontrolmenuatthetopleftoftheFWHMmonitorwindow:
ClickonFWHMMonitorSettings...,andpickthedesiredcontrolsoftwarefromthedrop-downlist::
GenericCaptureSoftware
CCDInspectorworksdirectlywithCCDSoftandMaxImDLtoacquireand
processimagesinreal-time.Itcanalsobeusedwithallothersoftwareacquisitionpackages,aslongastheyareabletoautomaticallysavecapturedimagesintoaspecificfolderinFITS,SBIG,orTIFFformats.
TouseGenericcamerasupport,selectGeneric...CameraControlSoftwarefromthedrop-downlist..Youwillbepromptedtochosethedestinationfolderwheretheacquisitionsoftwarewillwriteoutcapturedimages.Pickanexistingemptyfolderorcreateanewone.Next,youwillbepromptedwhetherimagesaretobeautomaticallydeletedafterbeingprocessed.IfyouchoseYestodeletetheimages,theimagewillberemovedfromtheselectedfolderafteritsmeasurementsaredisplayedbyFWHMMontior,otherwise,allimagescapturedbythecamerawillremaininthisfolder.
Now,setupyouracquisitionsoftwaretoautomaticallywriteoutFITS,TIFF,orSBIGformatfilesintothesamefolderyouselectedinFWHMMonitor.Theimagescanbefull-frame,orsub-frameforfasterfocusingpurposes.
Sub-secondexposuremayresultinnotenoughtimeforFWHMMontiortoprocesstheimagebeforethenextimageisdownloaded.Asaresult,someimagesmaybeskipped.Afewsecondssecondsexposureshouldbelongenough,butmaydependonthespeedofyourcomputer.IfyoufindthattheimagesarebeingwrittenfasterthantheyarebeingprocessedbyFWHMMonitor,simplyincreasetheexposuretime,oraddasmalldelaybetweentheexposuresinyourcapturesoftware.
.
SelectingDefaultImageScale
TosetthedefaultimagescaletobeusedbyFWHMmonitorifthescaleisnotprovdedbythecameraacquisitionsoftware,clickontheFWHMcontrolmenuatthetopleftofthewindow:
ClickonFWHMMonitorSettings...,andentertheactualimagescaleformainimagerand/orautoguiderforyourconfiguration:
DisplaySettings
FWHMMonitorhasanautomaticdisplaymodethatwillmeasurethestarimmediatelyfromanimagecapturedbythecamera.Youcanchoosetomonitorimagescapturedbyeitherthemaincamerachip,orbytheautoguiderchip.Tomonitortheautoguiderchip,placeacheckmarknexttotheAutoguideroption.Tomonitorthemainimager,uncheckthisoption.
FWHMMonitorwillautomaticallyrefreshitsdisplayandrecalculatethevalueswhenanewimageiscaptured.Ifyou'dliketomeasureastarfromaspecificimageafterit'salreadybeencaptured(orloadedfromdisk),simplymakethisimageactiveinthecameracontrolsoftware,andclickontheGetFWHMbutton.ThiswillmeasurethecurrentlyactiveimageinCCDSoftorMaxImDL.
Iftheimagecontainsonlyonestar,thenFWHMMonitorwilldisplayitsmeasurements.Thisworksgreatfortheautoguiderwindow,orinrapidfocusmodewiththesub-framesettodisplayonestar.FWHMMonitorissmart,andwillmakeeveryattempttoignorehotpixels,noise,airplanetracks,andotherartifactsthatarenotstellarinnature.
Incaseofanimagethatistoonoisy,orcontainsnovalidstardata,FWHMMonitormaydisplayN/AorNotAvailable.Thiscanalsohappenifthestarisveryunfocusedorextremelysaturated,causingtheFWHMvaluetoexceed30pixels.
Whenanimagecontainsmanystars,andpossiblyotherobjects,suchasnebulae,galaxies,etc.,FWHMMonitorwillpickasinglestartomeasure,basedonanumberofattributes.Itwillfirstisolateupto1000starsfromtheimage.Fromthesestars,itwilldiscardstarsthataresaturated,orveryclosetothebackground.ItwillthensorttheremainingstarsbytheirFWHMvalueandwillpickthemedian(middle)starfromthelist.Thisstarwillbemostrepresentativeofthequalityoftheimage.Inthisway,FWHMMonitorallowsaveryeasyandautomaticmeasurementofthequalityofanyimage.Youcanjudgetheguidingperformanceofyourmount,thechangingseeingorfocusconditions,andalsosortyourexposuresbasedonsharpness.
Inaddition,youcanselectanareaoftheimage,orevenasinglestarthatyou'd
liketomeasureusingCCDSoft'sorMaxImDL'srectangularselectiontool:
Onceselected(theselectedareacanincludeoneormanystars,orevenextendedobjects),pressGetFWHMbuttononthedisplaypanel,andthebestrepresentativestarfromtheselectedrectanglewillbemeasuredanddisplayed.
Notethatyoucanloadasavedimageatanytimeafterit'sbeencaptured,andmeasureitsqualityusingFWHMMonitorbyclickingontheGetFWHMbutton.
TheFWHMMonitordisplaypanelshowstwovalues:FWHMandHFDbydefault.ThetopvaluewillalwaysshowFWHM,butyouhaveachoiceofwhatmetrictodisplayinthebottomvalue.ClickyourmousedirectlyonthelabelnexttothelowernumberdisplaythatcontainsthewordHFD.Youwillseeapop-upmenuwiththefollowingchoices:
Clickonthevalueyou'dliketoseedisplayedbelowtheFWHM.SeetheDefinitionsectionforexplanationofwhateachoneofthesevaluesmeasure.Forexample,hereisadisplaywithpeakvalueoptionselected:
NotethatthePeakValuedisplayinFWHMMonitorisnotexactlythesameastheimagemaximumvalue:thepeakvalueisthemaximumvalueoftheselectedstar,notthewholeimage.
ChartSettings
FWHMMonitorprovidesanumberofchartdisplaysthatcanbeusefulinboth,monitoringfocusandimagequalityinreal-time,andinmeasuringanexistingimage.Toviewthechart,expandFWHMMonitorbyclickingonthe>>button.TheChartdisplaywillappear,showingthedefaultselectedchart.
Chartsettingscanbechangedbyclickingtheleftmousebuttonanywhereontopofthechartarea:
Thefollowingchartoptionsareavailable:
1.StarX-YProfilechart(default)showscurrentlymeasuredstar'sprofileinhorizontalandverticaldirections.NotethatMovingAveragesettingisnot
applicabletothischarttype.
2.FWHM-areal-timerunningdisplayshowinganumberoflatestFWHMvaluemeasurementsinpixelsorarcseconds.Real-time,orMovingAverageorbothcanbedisplayedatthesametime.
3.HFD-areal-timerunningdisplayofanumberoflatestHFDmeasurements.Showninpixelsorarcseconds.
4.Peak-runningdisplayofanumberoflatestpeakvaluesofastar.ShowninADU.
5.AspectRatio-arunningdisplayofanumberoflatestaspectratiomeasurements,in%.
6.Centroid-arunningdisplayofthedistance,inpixelsorarcseconds,fromtheinitialstarpositioncentroid.Canbeusedtoevaluateseeing,andtrackingproblems.
7.Seeing-isanRMSvalueoftheFWHMvariation.Iftakingreallyshortexposures,thisapproximatestheblurringeffectofseeing,andcanbeusedtojudgehowgoodorbadthecurrentatmosphericconditionsare.Notethatthisdoesnotmeasurethecentroidwanderresultingfrombadseeing,andsowillusuallyunderestimatethetrueFWHMvalueofseeing.
AllchartsexceptfortheX-YProfilecanbeusedtodisplayReal-timemeasurement,aMovingAverage,orbothbyplacingacheckmarknexttotheappropriatemenuselections.
Formovingaverageselection,youhaveachoiceof2points,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,or20pointsmovingaverage.
Thechartcanalsobesettodisplaymoreorlesspoints,asdesired.Topickthenumberofpointstokeeponthechart,selectPointsontheChartmenu,andpickthedesirednumber(50,100,200,500,or1000).
Torestartthechart,andtoresetthechartscalechooseClearChartoption.Thiswilleraseallhistoricaldataandwillstartmeasurementsfromscratch.
Ifyou'dliketopausetheautomaticchartrefresh,clickonthePauseChartUpdatesoption.ThechartwillnotbeupdateduntilthechecknexttothePauseChartUpdatesoptionisremoved.
FWHMMonitorwillalwaysshowunitsnexttothevalue.Thefollowingabbreviationsareused:
"(doublequotationmark)standsforarcseconds
pix standsforpixels
a standsforADUoranalogtodigitalunits
a/p
standsforADU/pixelandisusedfortheaverageflux
display
% isusedfortheaspectratiodisplay
FWHMMonitorFAQ
Herearesomecommonquestionsandanswers:
1."IselecteddisplayInArcsecondsoption,butthedisplaystillshowsvaluesinpixels?"
Solution:MakesureyousetthefocallengthinCCDSoftCameraFileDefaultsdialogorMaxImDLMainTelescopeOpticalSettingsdialog.
2."TheFWHMorHFDdisplayinarcsecondsappearstobeincorrect?"
Solution:Makesuretosetthecorrectfocallength(see#2above).Ifyouaretryingtomeasureanexistingimage,thenyoumayneedtoeditimageheaderinCCDSoftorMaxImDL,andverifythattheFOCALLENkeywordissettothecorrectfocallengthinmm.Todisplayimageheaderinformation,selectView\FileInformation...menuandclickontheEditHeadertabinCCDSoft,orView\FitsHeaderWindowinMaxImDL.
3."IttakestoolongtodisplayFWHMforanewimage"
Solution:Thismayhappenwhentryingtomeasurealargeimagewithalotofstars,oralotofhotpixels.Youcaneitherusethecameracontrolsoftwaretoselectasmallportionoftheimagewithsomerepresentativestarstomeasure,useasub-frametoreduceimagesize,and/oruseauto-darkframesubtractiontoreducenoise.
4."Thedisplaydoesnotupdatewhenanewimageisdownloadedfromthecamera"
Solution#1:Checkthatthe"Autoguider"optionissetappropriately.Ifit'schecked,andthecameraisexposingimagesusingthemainimager,noupdateswillbecalculatedsinceFWHMMonitoriswaitingforanimagefromtheautoguider.
Solution#2:IfusingCCDSoft,verifythatthepluginisproperlyinstalledandenabledinCCDSoft.FromtheCameraSetupscreen,pressEventsPlugInsbutton.Ifyoudon'tseethe"CCDMonitorRelay"eventplugin,thenitwasn'tinstalledproperly.TryuninstallingFWHMMonitorfromtheWindowscontrol
panelAdd/Removesoftwarescreen.Then,re-installFWHMMonitor,makingsuretoprovidethecorrectpathtotheCCDSoftfolder.
5.Ididaplatesolvetogettheexactimagescale,butIdon'tknowmyeffectivefocallength.WhatdoIdo?
FWHMMonitorwilluseimagescaleascomputedbyaplatesolution,ifavailable.Focallengthdoesn'tneedtobesetinthiscase.But,ifyouwanttocomputethefocallengthfroma"solved"imagescale,hereistheformulayoucanuse:
FocalLength=pixelsize*206.2648/imagescale
whereFocalLengthistheeffectivefocallengthexpressedinmillimeters,pixelsizeisthesizeoftheCCDpixelinmicrons,andimagescaleistheimagescaleascomputedbytheastrometricsolution,inarcseconds/pixel.
7.Whataretheupperandlowerlimitsonstarsizeandimagescale?
FWHMMonitorusesadvancedinterpolationandcurvefittingtechniquestomeasurestarFWHM,evenforverytinystars.Thereisalimit,though,tohowsmallastarimagecanbebeforeitbecomesimpossibletomeasure.ForFWHMMonitorthatlimitis1.3pixelsFWHM.Inotherwords,ifthestarsizeisatorbelow1.3pixels,FWHMMonitorwillbeunabletomeasureit.Thisisbecausethestarspansaradiusoflessthantwopixels,andtherefore,thereisjustnotenoughinformationintheimagetoproperlymeasureitssize.
Attheotherextreme,ifFWHMvalueofanobjectexceeds30pixels,FWHMMonitorwillgiveupontryingtomeasureit.Thisisanarbitrarychoice,mademostlytohelpFWHMMonitornotgetboggeddownintryingtomeasurelargeobjectsthatarenotstellarinnature(suchasthecoreofagalaxy,forexample,oranextremelybloatedandsaturatedstar).
InstallingCCDISPlug-inona64-bitWindows
CCDISplug-inrequiresanadditionalinstallationwhenusedwithCCDStackrunningona64-bitversionofWindows:
WindowsXP-64WindowsVista-64Windows2003x64
Tocompletetheinstallationona64-bitWindows,pleasedouble-clickontheCCDIS64.msifileincludedinyourCCDInspectorpackage.
NewDSLR
RAWimageformatssupportedinCCDInspector2.2
ClickheretoseethelistofallthenewandoldRAW
formats
AgfaPhotoDC-833m
CanonPowerShotA570CanonPowerShotA590CanonPowerShotPro1
CanonPowerShotG10
CanonPowerShotSD300CanonPowerShotSX1IS
CasioEX-Z60
CasioEX-Z75
HasselbladV96C
KodakC603
KodakZ980
KodakZ1015
LeafAFi7
LeicaD-LUX4
OlympusE-620OlympusSP570UZ
PanasonicDMC-FZ50
PanasonicDMC-FX150PanasonicDMC-G1
PanasonicDMC-GH1
PanasonicDMC-LX3
Pentax
CanonPowerShotSX110ISCanonEOS5DMarkII
CanonEOS50D
CanonEOS500DDigitalRebelT1iKissDigitalX3
CanonEOS1000DDigitalRebelXSKissDigitalF
CasioEX-S20
MotorolaPIXL
NikonD3X
NikonD90
NikonD700
NikonD5000
NikonCoolpixP6000
OlympusX200,D560Z,C350ZOlympusE-30
OlympusE-520
K200D
PentaxK2000/K-m
PentaxK-7
PhaseOneP45+
SamsungS85SamsungS850SonyDSLR-A300
SonyDSLR-A330
SonyDSLR-A900