https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/ 2026-06-20T08:21:32+00:00 https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/ https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/_media/logo.png text/html 2019-05-05T08:41:26+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/ascom_settings?rev=1557045686 ASCOM settings From the menu Edit -> ASCOM ... Setup. The menu include an entry for each defined ASCOM device. This open the ASCOM driver setup dialog for your device to let you set any specific option for the devices. Please note this setup dialog is not a part of CCDciel but a part of the driver. text/html 2023-11-19T18:07:12+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/ascom?rev=1700417232 ASCOM ASCOM Platform is the standard astronomical equipment driver for Windows. Install the latest ASCOM platform and the drivers you need from <http://ascom-standards.org/Downloads/Index.htm> or from your equipment manufacturer. With Alpaca you can use the device remotely, from another Windows computer, or from a computer running Linux or macOS. To get started install the text/html 2019-09-03T16:02:19+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/astap?rev=1567526539 ASTAP ASTAP, the Astrometric STAcking Program, astrometric solver and FITS viewer, is a free stacking and plate solver program for deep sky images. The plate solving capabilities can be accessed by CCDCIEL ASTAP runs natively on Windows, Linux (i386 and amd64), Raspberry PI (armhf and arm64) and MacOS. It will require about 500 text/html 2026-06-09T09:35:16+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/astrometry.net?rev=1780997716 Astrometry.net Astrometry.net can be used to solve the image you just take with your camera. Astrometric solving will give the exact astronomical position of the image center, its orientation and size. CCDciel requires a local copy of the Astrometry.net software including the indexes on your computer. It can also run Astrometry.net on a remote host using the provided script. text/html 2021-09-08T15:29:02+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/autoguider?rev=1631114942 Autoguider Tool This tool is to interface with the external autoguider. If you configure to start the autoguider you can directly click the Connect button. Otherwise be sure the autoguider application is running before to click it. It show the autoguider status and let you to start or stop autoguiding, force a new calibration, or dither. text/html 2026-06-05T14:51:04+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/automated_sequence?rev=1780671064 Tutorial 7. Automated sequence A sequence allows you to fully automate the imaging. At the sequence tab you can specify all the steps required for unattended operation. This sequence example will first image the objects M13 and M92, then wait for dawn to take some sky flat. text/html 2025-04-22T19:21:18+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/bad_pixel_map?rev=1745349678 Bad/Hot pixel map The bad pixel map will prevent the auto-focus or slewing function locking on a hot pixel rather then on a star. The bad pixel map will be only applied on preview images, focus or slewing images. It is not applied on captured images. Those images are not altered. text/html 2026-06-04T13:52:17+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/capture?rev=1780581137 Capture Tool This tool is to take a series of exposures. At the top is a reminder of the current camera gain settings, click on this text to directly open the camera preference to modify them. Set the Exposure time and the Binning to use. Also the camera lens F-Stop text/html 2020-03-16T12:34:40+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/ccd_temperature?rev=1584362080 Sensor Temperature Tool With this tool you can set the camera cooling setpoint and read the current imaging sensor temperature. To start cooling, enter the temperature Setpoint (target) and click on the Set button. Automatically the Cooler check mark will be checked. text/html 2021-01-29T14:58:51+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/ccdciel_status?rev=1611932331 The status web page You can open the status web page from the menu Help -> CCDciel status or directly from your web browser: <http://localhost:3277> It is also possible to get this page from another computer or phone in the local network or from the Internet if you make the required configuration in your network equipement. text/html 2026-05-14T19:31:23+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/ccdscript?rev=1778787083 CCDciel Script The scripts allow automation of many CCDciel function but also allow to interact with other component of the observatory. They can be executed from the script tool or part of a sequence or sequence termination. There is also standard script that are executed on defined occasion, create a script with the following name : text/html 2020-05-08T14:41:07+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/clock?rev=1588948867 Clock This tool show the current local time in the status bar. This is useful if you not have another clock on the computer screen but you may want to disable it if you use some remote desktop display on a slow network. text/html 2020-01-07T12:40:52+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/cmdline?rev=1578400852 Command line options CCDciel accepts the following options on the command line: Option Parameter Function --basedir -b Base directory The base directory to store all the program configuration and work files. The default is in the user profile, %LOCALAPPDATA%\ccdciel or ~/.config/ccdciel text/html 2025-04-22T19:20:06+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/collimation?rev=1745349606 Inspection and collimation This tool can help to inspect the image and get a good collimation for the telescope optic. It include the image HFD inspection and two collimation method, centering the ring of a defocused star, or examining the deformation in the corner of the image using a 9 panel display. text/html 2020-04-21T11:21:57+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/compilation?rev=1587468117 Compilation of the source code CCDciel is written in Pascal language using the Lazarus IDE and can be compiled with the Free Pascal Compiler. By following this steps you can compile, modify and debug the program from the Lazarus IDE. Install the compiler and IDE text/html 2024-11-23T16:31:46+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/cone_error?rev=1732379506 Measure telescope cone error The “measure cone error” tool measures the slew error after a meridian flip. This slew error will be twice the cone error. Cone error is a misalignment of the telescope axis away from or towards the plane of the mount puck. The front/light inlet of the telescope is either pointing slightly inwards towards the puck or outwards away from the puck. text/html 2025-04-22T18:40:51+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/connecting_the_equipment?rev=1745347251 Tutorial 2. Connecting the equipment When you are a first time user, you have to select first the correct equipment drivers and set some settings. The first time it is run the program will automatically open the Edit->devices setup menu. Create a new profile for your equipment. text/html 2019-12-14T11:37:18+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/connection?rev=1576323438 Connection Tool This tool let you connect or disconnect your equipment and monitor the status. It is a mandatory tool as the first thing to do after starting the program is to click the Connect button. The Profile button open the Devices setup window to modify or select a profile. text/html 2025-08-18T15:19:51+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/cover_calibrator?rev=1755530391 Cover calibrator Tool This tool allow to open/close the cover and light the flat calibrator. The calibrator section is not visible if the device include only a cover without the calibrator light. Similarly a flat panel not attached to a cover do not show the cover section. text/html 2026-06-04T13:03:12+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/dark_frame?rev=1780578192 Dark frame With some camera it is difficult to use a bad pixel map to cleanup the auto-focus frames. In this case you can define here a dark frame that will be subtracted to remove the hot pixels. Beware this processing require the dark frame is acquire with the global gain and offset. This also use more resources than the bad pixel map processing. So the bad pixel map must be used in preference if applicable. text/html 2026-06-05T13:19:14+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/devices_setup?rev=1780665554 Device setup Open this window from the menu Edit -> Device setup to configure the devices to use with the program. Interface The first tab “Interface” let you select the profile you want to use. All the devices and all the program preferences will be stored in this profile, allowing to have completely different settings for your different equipment or locations. text/html 2025-08-18T14:54:55+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/display?rev=1755528895 Display Menu The Display menu let you select the tools you want to include or not in your screen. Check or uncheck each tool to make it visible or not. You can also move each tool on another part of the screen to suite your need just by dragging the tool title to one of the main window border. text/html 2019-06-08T15:35:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/dome?rev=1560008153 Dome Tool This tool show the status of the dome. The first light is green when to dome shutter is open, it is red when closed. If applicable, the second light is green when the dome is slaved to the telescope position, it is red when not slaved. text/html 2025-08-19T08:29:10+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/edit?rev=1755592150 Edit Menu The Edit menu contain the configuration settings: * Devices Setup * Preferences * Install script ---------- * INDI settings ---------- * ASCOM settings text/html 2026-06-04T10:43:57+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/faq?rev=1780569837 FAQ Can you add support for my device? With CCDciel you can use any device with a ASCOM, INDI or Alpaca driver. The program is made to be totally independent of the device itself and only use the standard properties published by this drivers. This ensure the developement I make using my devices will work with any device that use a ASCOM or INDI driver. text/html 2026-06-05T13:14:59+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/file?rev=1780665299 File Menu The File menu includes the following options: * Open FITS or picture file * Save FITS file * Save picture file ---------- * Bad pixel map * Dark frame * Flat frame ---------- * Save configuration now * Quit text/html 2017-10-02T18:32:21+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/filters?rev=1506969141 Filter Tool With this tool you can control your filter wheel. It will show the currently mounted filter. To change the filter, select one from the list. text/html 2026-01-20T10:06:47+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/finder_camera?rev=1768903607 Finder camera This tool is to manage the finder camera, it is visible only when a device is defined and selected in the Slewing preferences. You can adjust the exposure parameters, gain, offset, cooling and binning. To improve the star detection in the image it is possible to load a text/html 2024-03-17T10:07:23+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/flat_frame?rev=1710670043 Flat frame When using the image stacking option it can be useful to process the individual frames with a flat before stacking. This is specially interesting when using star alignment because this preclude the use of a flat later in the processing. Use the menu text/html 2026-05-14T12:08:01+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/focuser_calibration?rev=1778760481 Focuser calibration This function help you to set the auto-focus parameters specific to your focuser, telescope and camera because it is not immediately evident what to set for all this numbers. The principle is you start by centering and manually focusing a star field that is used by the procedure to find how the stars diameter change with the position of the focuser. text/html 2026-05-14T12:48:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/focuser?rev=1778762933 Focuser Tool With this tool you can control your motorized focuser manually. The control are adapted if you use an absolute or relative focuser. The temperature is reported if available. With a relative focuser you can set the desired movement in steps, then click the arrow buttons text/html 2026-06-05T14:49:49+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/focusing?rev=1780670989 Tutorial 4. Focusing Manual focus Point your telescope somewhere high in the sky and set the Preview exposure time and binning. Click on the Loop button. If you are way out of focus start first with a long 10-15 seconds exposure time to see some large out of focus stars disk and move the focuser to reduce the size. If you near the correct focus reduce the exposure time to 1 seconds less. text/html 2023-06-19T14:04:52+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/frame?rev=1687183492 Frame Tool This tool is to set the sensor area used for imaging. The first row is the horizontal starting point and width. The second row is the vertical starting point and height. You can set the values with the mouse on a preview exposure. Press the Shift key and the mouse left button to draw the frame. text/html 2026-06-05T13:12:57+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/global_configuration?rev=1780665177 Tutorial 3. Global configuration You access the global configuration from the menu Edit->Preferences. All this options will be stored in the current profile. There are a number of options for every part of the program and many can be examined later. To start it is essential you set: text/html 2019-02-05T09:29:29+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/help?rev=1549358969 Help Some help to use the software. * PDF documentation open the PDF documentation installed with the software * Online documentation open the documentation in a web browser * User group open the user group in a web browser. This is the place to ask question about the program use. text/html 2024-06-09T13:36:40+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/hyperleda_database?rev=1717940200 Install Hyperleda database From the right click menu you can draw an overlay with the position and name of the objects in the image. By default CCDciel use a database of 30'000 objects, if you need more faint objects you can install the Hyperleda database with more than 5 million objects. text/html 2025-08-19T09:07:30+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/image_preprocessing?rev=1755594450 Image preprocessing It is possible to use scripts to preprocess the new images automatically for example at the end of the nightly sequence. There is standard script you can use directly or if you have very specific needs you can modify them to make your own. This page describe this standard scripts in more detail. text/html 2025-04-19T19:35:07+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/image_statistics?rev=1745091307 Image statistics From the menu Tools -> Image statistics Show statistics about the pixel values in the current image. When the button Select area is checked you can select an area of the image to get the statistics from. This show the following: text/html 2024-08-16T16:37:26+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/image_window?rev=1723826246 Image window This menu is active only when a guider or finder camera is defined in CCDciel. The two options are: Single Panel to show each camera in the full image area depending on the tab selected on the right. This is the default. Multiple panel text/html 2019-02-24T13:20:28+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/indi_settings?rev=1551014428 INDI settings From the menu Edit -> INDI settings. This open a standard INDI client window where you can set any specific option for your devices. text/html 2021-01-08T14:49:20+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/indi?rev=1610117360 INDI INDI Library is the standard astronomical equipment driver for Linux and macOS. Linux You can install INDI with the packages provided by your Linux distribution, but as this is a rapidly moving project it is best to get the latest version directly from the project. For example for Debian/Ubuntu see text/html 2026-06-09T09:34:11+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/install_python?rev=1780997651 Install Python CCDciel include a Python scripting interface. For simple script it is sufficient to use the default Python included with Linux or installed by CCDciel on Windows. In this case you can ignore the end of this page.. But if you use a Mac or want a more advanced usage that need to install specific astronomy modules, you can follow the instructions below text/html 2025-08-19T08:55:23+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/install_script?rev=1755593723 Install script From the menu Edit -> Install script. This allow to get script example you can use directly or customize. Select the row with the script you want and click Download. The script is installed and it open in the editor. The script packages, recognizable with the text/html 2026-06-08T19:29:03+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/installation_on_linux?rev=1780946943 Installation on Linux If your Linux system use deb packages,see Installation on Ubuntu, Debian. On Fedora you can install ccdciel packaged with the system. On Gentoo Linux use the overlay available here: <https://github.com/jamesbates/gentoo-overlay> For other Linux system you can download rpm or tar packages from the Sourceforge text/html 2025-04-20T15:09:33+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/installation_on_mac_os_x?rev=1745161773 Installation on macOS CCDciel can run on a recent version of macOS, the minimal version required to run the program is 10.14 Mojave for x86_64, 11.0 Big Sure for arm64. You can download the CCDciel dmg installer from the Sourceforge download link. Select the version macos-x86_64 for a Mac with an Intel processor. text/html 2026-06-08T19:32:23+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/installation_on_ubuntu?rev=1780947143 Installation on Ubuntu, Debian Bellow installation procedure uses only command line approach, because this is the simpler way to follow instructions just by copy-pasting the commands in terminal. This instructions are tested with the currently supported versions of Debian and Ubuntu. text/html 2024-04-15T13:35:52+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/installation_on_windows?rev=1713188152 Installation on Windows CCDciel can run on any current version of Windows. The oldest supported version is Windows 10. The CCDciel installer is available in 32bit and 64bit. The 64bit version is recommended, install the 32bit version only if you need an old ASCOM driver that only work in 32bit. text/html 2026-06-04T12:37:45+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/internal_guider?rev=1780576665 Internal Guider Quick reference guide The internal guider requires a system calibration once. Click on the calibration and select option 1 or option 2 depending on your mount and driver. Option 1, first slew the telescope manually to a point in the sky at least 45 degrees away from the celestial pole, click on the text/html 2026-05-25T15:26:33+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/jsonrpc_reference?rev=1779722793 Script reference This page contain reference for the Python interface. Python scripts The JSON-RPC method are the basis for the Python scripts, both internal (launched from CCDciel) or external (launched from a terminal or another application). A Python function text/html 2018-04-06T16:08:57+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/magnifier?rev=1523030937 Magnifier Tool This tool show a magnified part of the image below the mouse cursor. The zoom level is at least of 2x, or 3x the main image zoom level. text/html 2025-04-19T20:03:34+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/messages?rev=1745093014 Logging This text window will report all messages (Log) from the program and drivers. The top left button allow to select the level of detail to display. If configured, the messages (log) will be also stored in a text log file for further study. It essential to use this option if you let the program run unattended. text/html 2019-12-14T13:08:16+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/open_fits_or_picture_file?rev=1576328896 Open FITS or picture file From the menu File -> Open FITS or picture file. You can also open an image file by drag&drop of the file to the CCDciel window. This let you load a FITS or picture file in the preview window instead of taking the image with the camera. text/html 2020-01-22T13:25:22+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/photometry?rev=1579699522 Photometry You can open the photometry window by a right click on a star and select Photometry in the popup menu. This tool is intended as a quick way to get a magnitude estimate for a star in an image you just take with your camera. It must not be used for any precision measurement text/html 2023-09-15T15:47:29+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/planetarium?rev=1694792849 Planetarium Tool This tool is to control the connection to the planetarium. It is used to display an astrometry resolved image with the right click menu, or to set the targets coordinates in the sequence preparation. If you configure to start the planetarium you can directly click the Connect button. Otherwise be sure the planetarium application is running before to click it. text/html 2019-11-06T10:18:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/plate_solving?rev=1573035533 Tutorial 6. Plate solving Many function in CCDciel rely on plate solving so it is important this is correctly set. If not already done install a plate solving software now. Because we want the solving time to be just a few seconds we must help the solver software by giving the most accurate information about the image to prevent a blind solving that can long for many minutes. text/html 2017-12-04T09:49:37+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/platesolve_2?rev=1512380977 PlateSolve 2 PlateSolve 2 can be used to solve the image you just taken with your camera. Astrometric solving wil give the exact astronomical position of the image center, its orientation and size. Look at the program page for instruction <http://planewave.com/downloads/software/> Download and install the program and download and extract on of the two available star catalogs e.g. the UCAC3 in a sub folder. Configure the star catalog in the PlateSolve2 program. Then configure the text/html 2025-04-22T19:17:16+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/polar_alignment_2_points?rev=1745349436 Polar alignment without pole visibility This tool is designed to be as quick and easy to use as possible to help to refine the mount polar alignment. It can be run on any part of the sky and not require pole visibility. Before starting this tool the mount must be pole aligned as good as possible. The camera must be connected and the mount initialized to allow to slew and report it's coordinates. text/html 2025-04-22T19:17:38+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/polar_alignment?rev=1745349458 Polar alignment near the pole This tool is designed to help to refine the mount polar alignment. It require the telescope ra axis to be pointed within 2 degrees of the celestial pole, if this is not possible use the method without pole visibility. Before starting this tool the mount must be pole aligned as good as possible. For the northern hemisphere you could start by aiming at the star Polaris which is about 40 arcmin from the true celestial pole. text/html 2026-06-05T15:03:38+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/preferences?rev=1780671818 Preferences From the menu Edit -> Preferences. Set the global preferences and options for the program. Preferences Language You can change the program language from the list. The highlight color allow to quickly recognize different instances of the program running a different profile. text/html 2026-06-09T09:44:57+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/preview?rev=1780998297 Preview Tool This tool is to take a preview exposure for focusing or centering purpose. Set the Exposure time and the Binning to use for the preview. The camera lens F-Stop when using a supported INDI DSLR. This setting is totally independent of the text/html 2019-02-24T13:09:09+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/proxy?rev=1551013749 Apache reverse proxy The Apache reverse proxy can be used to secure the connection when you access resources over the Internet. This concern the CCDciel Status page and the ASCOM Remote devices. You need a Apache web server running on a device accessible from the Internet, use the NAT configuration of your Internet router to forward the port 443 to this device. text/html 2017-08-26T15:39:39+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/quit?rev=1503761979 Quit From the menu File -> Quit. Exit the program and save the configuration. If the devices are connected you are asked if you want to disconnect them. text/html 2025-08-17T09:38:50+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/right_click_menu?rev=1755423530 Right click menu The main menu Image, or a right click on the preview image to show the following menu: Plate solving functions The image will be resolved (plate solved) and if successful, the image position, pixel size and orientation will be saved in the FITS file. text/html 2017-10-02T21:00:46+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/rotator?rev=1506978046 Rotator Tool With this tool you can control your motorized rotator. To rotate to a new position type the new Position Angle and click Rotate. Check Reverse if your optical configuration require to reverse the rotation to match the celestial position angle. text/html 2019-01-08T14:07:18+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/safety_monitor?rev=1546956438 Safety monitor tool This tool show the status of the safety monitor, when the light is green it is safe to open the observatory for observing, for example it not rain. For this tool to work you need to setup the driver and eventually configure the actions to take automatically when the condition change to bad. text/html 2019-12-14T13:06:05+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/save_fits_file?rev=1576328765 Save FITS file From the menu File -> Save FITS file. This let you save to a FITS file the image in the preview window. If the file extension is '.fits.fz' the file is automatically packed with fpack. This is not used part of the capture sequence as the files are automatically saved, but this can be useful to save an image taken with the Preview function or loaded with File text/html 2019-12-02T15:03:38+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/save_picture_file?rev=1575299018 Save picture file From the menu File -> Save picture. This let you save to a picture file the image in the preview window. The content of the picture depend on the file format you select in the save dialog. * The PNG and TIFF picture will be saved as 16 bit linear images. text/html 2026-05-14T19:49:08+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/script_example?rev=1778788148 Script example Here is the code of the Python script scope_unpark you can use to unpark the telescope. The full script code look as following: # This script unpark the telescope mount from ccdciel import ccdcielex import sys try: connected = (ccdcielex('Telescope_Connected')['result']) if not connected : ccdcielex('LogMsg','Telescope not connected!') sys.exit(1) parked = (ccdcielex('Telescope_Parked')['result']) if not parked : ccdcielex('LogMsg','Telesco… text/html 2026-06-05T15:08:41+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/script?rev=1780672121 Script This tool let you create or run a script The scripts can be used to automate some task in CCDciel or to interface with external program for example to manage your observatory and equipment. The same scripts can be used as a step in a sequence, or in specific conditions, but this box is a convenient way to create, test and quickly run any script. text/html 2025-04-22T19:50:35+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/sensor_analysis?rev=1745351435 Sensor analysis This is a special tool to analyse automatically your camera read noise, sensor gain, well capacity and linearity. You will just need a flat panel or substitute in front of your telescope and a cap to cover your telescope to make darks. Analysing will go fully automatic. Halfway the process the tool will ask you to remove the flat panel and cap the telescope for darks. text/html 2026-06-05T15:19:29+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/sequence?rev=1780672769 Sequence Tool This tool is to control a sequence of exposure on one or more objects. The current implementation support only sequential processing of the targets, with options for repeating or skipping some target. The top grid show the current list of targets. You can enlarge the right pane with the mouse to see all the column. text/html 2021-03-14T14:09:24+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/server?rev=1615730964 TCP/IP Status server You can connect locally or remotely to get information about the program. There is three way to get the information: * The status web page. * This Simple socket command. * The JSON-RPC status method. ---------- Simple socket command The program listen on port 3277 and use the following command: text/html 2026-06-05T14:17:04+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/sidebar?rev=1780669024 Home Documentation Tutorial * The program screen * Connecting the equipment * Global configuration * Focusing * Simple capture * Plate solving * Automated sequence * Video tutorial * FAQ Reference Manual * Menu File * Open FITS or picture file * Save FITS file * Save picture file * Bad pixel map * Dark frame * Flat frame * Menu Edit * Devices Setup * Interface * INDI devices * ASCOM devices * ASCOM Alpaca devices * Camera * Guid… text/html 2025-04-22T20:18:55+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/simple_capture?rev=1745353135 Tutorial 5. Simple capture Open the Capture tab and set the required options: * The exposure time * The binning * The name of the object * The number of exposures to take * Be sure the type is Light, other setting may let the shutter closed! text/html 2025-08-17T11:45:52+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/spectral_profile?rev=1755431152 Spectral Profile When you use a spectrograph to image a spectrum it can be useful to quickly show the profile. This immediately give a better idea of what we get, and allow to check for a risk of saturation in some part of the spectra, specifically in emission lines. text/html 2026-06-05T15:10:26+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/star_profile?rev=1780672226 Focus Tool With this tool you can check the focus or start an autofocus run. It can be used with motorized focuser or manual focuser. If the autofocus mode is set to Planet all the reference to HFD are replaced by Sharpness but the tool work the same. Show star profile When you double click on a star, it's profile and information about it's sharpness are show here. text/html 2026-06-05T14:40:22+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/start?rev=1780670422 Documentation index Tutorial Start by this tutorial to quickly get an idea how the program work. * The program screen * Connecting the equipment * Global configuration * Focusing * Simple capture * Plate solving * Automated sequence * Video tutorial * FAQ Reference Manual This give detailed information on every program aspect. The pages follow the order of the main menu. text/html 2019-10-11T15:30:34+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/status_bar?rev=1570807834 The status bar The status bar at the bottom of the program window show a number of information. On the right, three lamp indicate the status of the planetarium, autoguider and devices connection. When a capture is running the status bar show the sequence number and the remaining time of the current exposure. On the right it show the name of the last saved image and the size of this image. text/html 2026-02-05T20:10:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/switch?rev=1770322253 Switch Tool This tool show and let you change the status of the different switch. Each tab correspond to a switch box driver connection defined in the Device setup, Switch. The list of individual switch is returned by each driver, you can configure them in the driver setup. text/html 2026-06-05T15:12:07+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/telescope_mount?rev=1780672327 Telescope Tool This tool display the current telescope RA/DEC and Alt/Az position, the side of pier if reported by the driver, the time to or from the meridian. You can Park or Unpark the mount using the corresponding button. The Track button start or stop the mount tracking. text/html 2024-09-18T08:22:07+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/the_program_screen?rev=1726647727 Tutorial 1. The program screen When you start the program you see the following screen: On the top you have the standard menu: File, Edit, Tools, Image, Display, Help, and four menus with a icon: Connect, Focus, Capture and Sequence. The four menus with icons are the same as on the right tabbed menus. text/html 2024-11-03T17:01:32+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/tools?rev=1730653292 Tools Menu The Tools menu include some useful tools: * View FITS header * Image statistics ---------- * Measure telescope cone error * Polar alignment without pole visibility * Polar alignment near the pole * Inspection and collimation * Focuser calibration * Sensor analysis text/html 2025-04-22T18:53:57+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/video_tutorial?rev=1745348037 Tutorial 8. Video tutorial Han Kleijn prepared a set of video tutorial to show you the operation of the software. The basic operation of the program (30 min): <https://youtu.be/Uq_Rb9AdjrA> Introduction to the program configuration (18 min): <https://youtu.be/13sZL0gY4zs> Polar alignment without seeing the celestial pole: text/html 2025-04-22T18:36:51+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/video?rev=1745347011 Video tool This tool is only available for INDI camera with video stream capability, specifically on Linux and Mac. Because of the way INDI record the video, the file is written on the computer running the INDI server. You must first set the preview rate in the text/html 2026-06-04T14:00:15+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/view_fits_header?rev=1780581615 View FITS header From the menu Tools -> View header. Show the FITS header of the current file. It is possible to search for a text. text/html 2026-06-04T13:27:37+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/visualisation?rev=1780579657 Visualisation Tool This tool is to control the aspect of the preview image. None of this setting have any influence to the image saved as a FITS file. They are only to help you to view the most of detail on the single raw images. On the left part is the histogram display with the two vertical line that indicate the current truncation level. text/html 2023-08-13T10:21:47+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/weather_station?rev=1691922107 Weather station tool This tool show the status of the weather monitor, when the light is green the observing condition are good, for example there is no clouds. If a sequence is running when the weather go bad, the sequence is paused until the condition return good. text/html 2026-06-09T09:35:52+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.ap-i.net/ccdciel/en/documentation/windows_subsystem_for_linux?rev=1780997752 Astrometry.net on Windows subsystem for Linux With Windows 10 or 11 64bit you can also install the Windows subsystem for Linux. This let you use a more recent version of astrometry.net, the same as with Ubuntu or another available distribution. But this require a 64 bits build of CCDciel because the Linux environment cannot be initialized from a 32 bits program.