John_H_42
First Post
Reged: 09/03/07
Posts: 1
|
|
Does anyone think Google Earth could ever be used to control telescopes? Maybe they could implement the ASCOM driver interface
http://ascom-standards.org/index.html
that would be so cool! Right now I have a telescope and I want to control it with my computer, but Starry Night Pro costs so much!
Is KML enough to script this functionality? Or would this need more?
|
no_stranger
Master Guide
Reged: 10/26/05
Posts: 4512
Loc: Western Australia GMT+8
|
|
G'Day John, welcome to the Community.
Nice idea, and I have no doubt that someone is working on that right now, but for what' it's worth, consider this.
I still use Celestia, Heavens Above and Redshift 3, and now that I have access to Hubble here, I fear that my tubes will soon become ornaments and artifacts of a learning curve that has led me from the observatory to my office.
Apart from the odd bit of astrophotography to capture rare events, I find myself using a telescope less and less, and even then my efforts are usually overshadowed by that rectangular telescope on my desk.
Who knows, there may be something already available that I'm not aware of for GE Sky, but one things for sure, with the potential that's here, and the level of expertise of the people that are engineering it, I'm pretty sure that you will be seeing lots of upgrades and new features here in the near future. I wonder if the interface in Google Earth for GPS could hold any clues ?
Lets hope that something turns up to suit your needs.
Happy trails.
|
blobrana
Tourist
Reged: 06/27/06
Posts: 132
|
|
You could try out the free Cartes du Ciel or WinStars or Worldwind while you wait...
Or buy/try these and roll your own,
http://www.deepskysoftware.net/
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Science-CAD/ScopeDriver.shtml
http://www.download.com/Network-Telescope-Control/3000-2054_4-10428057.html
http://www.download.com/3000-2054_4-10251355.html
@ no_stranger
i sense, your solution is to wait a few yeas until widespread `Augmented reality` is invented. This probably will revolutionise the way amateur astronomers use telescopes.
(Basically it ill overlay a computerised image over what you see in a real telescopes eyepiece, or more conveniently, combines them both onto a computer screen. Moreover, the entire telescope itself may be robotic, and located on a different continent to you. ) 
|
no_stranger
Master Guide
Reged: 10/26/05
Posts: 4512
Loc: Western Australia GMT+8
|
|
Thanks for the links blobrana, I'm sure that John will appreciate them as much as some other members and I will.
(and to be honest, in comparison to how I remember starting with Astronomy, I thought that reality had been intensified a few years back, and the way that amateur astronomers can use telescopes has already been revolutionized.
What you predict is already reality for some, not only can we see a digital image from our own tubes on a nice high-res flat screen, but also some pretty amazing images from remotely operated cannons that can look back at the continents from afar.)
I'm giving my vintage away and running off topic so I'll PM you and enjoy a yarn. 
|
Rod_Mollise
Tourist
Reged: 08/23/07
Posts: 5
|
|
It could be done, I'm sure...but there would be one problem: You'd need Internet access to use Google Sky and drive your scope with it. That wouldn't be an issue at home, but it would be at a club dark site and and many star parties.
Rod Mollise
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
