I’m thinking about an IoT Polar Aligner. The main idea is to use a Raspberry Pi W with the camera module to find and detect the North Star and display it on the mobile phone. The final goal is to connect it with servos so that it can automatically align itself. Does anyone know of a similar open source project?

Crosspost: https://mander.xyz/post/20076533

  • cedric@social.anthropi.st
    2·
    21 days ago

    @xurxia that seems very close to what a polemaster does, except that the rotation of the mount is manual (via hand controller, computer control, or manually).

    The problem is that the alignment will require adjusting the alt/az screws on the mount to improve the alignment, which isn’t easy to automate (they need to be firmly tightened to avoid any movement, especially with heavy equipment).