This page contains links to locally-available ASCOM telescope control, image reduction, and other astronomical software in completed form. Most of the software here is available as source code. It is expected that you will modify this software to suit your needs.
All software and source code samples available from this site are licensed under the GNU General Public License except where otherwise specified. Please note that this license requires that if you release your modified versions, you must release them as free software. Contact me and I will be happy to host your modifications here if you don't have a way of serving them.
QuickCalibrate is a small freeware utility that makes calibrating large numbers of images in Maxim DL somewhat easier, quicker, less memory-intensive, and less interactive. (This freeware is not provided under the GNU GPL.)
ID Asteroids is a small applet that attempts to identify asteroids based on a pasted-in MPC formatted observing report. It uses the Astorb Database (Bowell, T.) as a data source for orbital elements. It requires Widgets freeware, and uses NOVAS and Kepler freeware in order to compute positions. You must have all these components installed in order for ID Asteroids to work. Note: Yes, I know this isn't very fast! And yes, it could be faster. This is a quick and dirty app for a friend without internet at the observatory, making it better than nothing. Note also that the data source for elements has some problems. If there is interest, I will write an MPCOrb engine. (This freeware is not provided under the GNU GPL.)
HandyCalc is a freeware utility that does several astronomical calculations in quick, easy steps. The results can be copied from HandyCalc and pasted into other applications. It requires that you have Widgets freeware installed on your computer. (This freeware is not provided under the GNU GPL.)
Ultimate is the next generation of telescope control scripting. In addition to all the powerful features of previous generation scripts, the Ultimate system features advanced multi-user observation scheduling, asynchronous telescope control, separate-track automated and manual calibration and reduction pipelines, event alerts, and the ability to automatically interrupt the schedule for transient object observations.
Ultimate comprises several separate software tools that interoperate:
Ultimate Control System script (freeware)- currently in beta test.
Ultimate Web Scheduler (commercial) - A web interface to the Ultimate back-end that allows users of various classifications to request observations by the telescope. Compatible with ACP web edition, or stand-alone (stand-alone version requires ASP capable server and custom programming).
Ultimate Reduction Pipeline (commercial) - The automated reduction pipeline client-server system automatically looks for moving objects and objects of changing brightness as the images are delivered from the telescope. Objects found to move or vary are identified using local and web resources, or are flagged as requiring intervention.
Target List Maker (freeware) - A concession to user friendliness for those using only the Ultimate script. This small program, distributed as a self-contained Windows executable, accepts user input and generates the "scheduled targets" list in comma delimited format that is used by the Ultimate script.
Ultimate Prefs, Ultimate's stand-alone script configuration utility (beta). This will allow you to change the operational parameters of the script. The settings can be browsed with plus and minus buttons; each setting is documented on screen, and changes are recorded when you alter the value and move to a new setting. Easier than editing the script. Settings are stored in the system registry. If you are running version 0.4 or greater of the script for the first time, or are using this configuration utility for the first time, you might want to first run the setting initialization script.
Widgets - Widgets is an ASCOM server that contains handy functions that seem mostly not to have been thought of by the commercial providors. For example, math functions which are not available in VBScript are implimented here. A robust angular-separation calculator is incorporated. An ephemeris server is included. Various data formatting methods are implimented. Etc. (This freeware is not provided under the GNU GPL.)
Autoguide - A script that accepts tracking error values from Maxim and corrects the tracking by sending slew commands via ACP. Experimental.
Acquire 2.0 - This is a complex script, built from Acquire 12.4 for ACP 2. This is a telescope control script oriented toward minor planet astrometry, survey, and the taking large amounts of data per night. It includes:
This is substantially the script described in Jeff Medkeff's paper to MPAPW III (2001). This script requires ACP 2.x, Maxim 3.x or higher, PinPoint, Widgets, and NOVAS.
This script is now unsupported (see Ultimate instead).
GetPhot 2.0 - This is a script that is designed to sit on a field and take continuous sequences of images, as long as the object has enough altitude to be observed. Some important points about this script are found here. The script was designed by Walt Cooney and coded by Jeff Medkeff for use by photometrists wanting to observe a single object for a substantial portion of the night, or switch between a few objects through the night. This is currently in use at several CBA stations, including at Rockland Observatory! This script requires ACP 2.x, Maxim 3.x or higher, PinPoint, Widgets, and NOVAS.
Burn-In - This is a simple script used with ACP 2+ and an ASCOM telescope driver to 'burn in' a new telescope. The script slews the telescope to random positions continually until interrputed. The idea is to exercise the telescope's electronics, motors, and gearing in the hopes that any hidden problems can be forced into failure before the telescope is in an observing capacity. Stop the script when you think the telescope is on the 'flat' part of the bathtub curve.
GetPhot - GetPhot is a script designed to acquire photometric lightcurve data for asteroids and variable stars.
PinPoint Doubles - Uses PinPoint for the semi-automated measurement of double stars. See the file "readme.txt" in the zip archive for additional details. Contributed by John McClusky. (No license information available.)
TPointPostProcess - This script is used inconjunction with TPMapper.vbs (included with ACP 2) to create a TPoint import file which in turn is used to create an error model for your mounting. TPMapper (included with ACP 2) creates an intermediate output file. Once you have that file, your mapping images should be plate solved with PinPoint. Then run this script against the intermediate output file and the solved images to create the TPoint import file. TPoint is by Patrick T. Wallace.
VStarContinuous - A "fire and forget" script that takes continuous guided images of a variable star (or other target) through a series of user-selected filters. Documentation is in the script comments. Requires Maxim DL/CCD 2.1+.
Acquire (obsolete) - This is a telescope control script oriented toward minor planet astrometry, survey, and the taking large amounts of data per night. It is the script described in Jeff Medkeff's paper to MPAPW III (2001). This script requires ACP 1.x, Maxim 2.x or higher, PinPoint, Widgets, and NOVAS.
AcquireImagesGuide (obsolete) - This is a modification of the AcquireImagesGuide.vbs script put together by Bob Denny. Its only difference from the original is that this version picks a guide star from a catalog, altering the pointing of the telescope accordingly to select guide stars with high reliability. This script requires ACP 2.x, Maxim 3.x or higher, PinPoint, and NOVAS.
Script Support (obsolete) - Script Support has several components. There are two very clunky Windows executables that generate script configurations and target lists. There is a site data text file, which 701 is using until the day we get a full ASCOM ephemeris server, and which you will need too if you are using some of the scripts here. There is also a script initialization file. If the script or software you are downloading requires this package, the page describing the specific software will say so.