MacResearch

Tuparev Technologies is developing the control software for a new Siderostat-Telescope for the Institute for Astrophysics of the Georg-August-University Göttingen. The hardware will be manufactured by our partner, Halfmann Teleskoptechnik GmbH & Co. KG, near Augsburg, Germany. The software package will be part of the essentialAstronomy™ suit which contains numerous astronomical modules.

This telescope will be used for research, instrument development, the training of students, and public/school observations of the sun and bright solar system objects or stars. For this telescope, two 0.5m siderostat mirrors will feed a vertical telescope and a large spectrograph. To minimize vignetting, the siderostat automatically switches between two predefined observation configurations of the mirrors. The software system provides a rich web-based control interface and number of APIs for interfacing auto-guider, filter wheel, moving slit, and large image projectors. The software will also control a fold-away enclosure and a weather station.

According to Georg Tuparev, "As far as I am aware, this will be the first 100% Mac powered solar telescope in the world." The software is 100% Mac-based and employs Cocoa and WebObjects technologies.

The essentialAstronomy™ is the first one to use their completely new telescope pointing module capable of controlling any type of optical, radio, or orbiting instrument. Additions to control flex-mirrors, multi-mirror systems, and arrays are currently under development. Tuparev adds, "The pointing is extremely fast (if the instrument permits) and ideal for observations of GBRs, as well as applicable for meteorological and military observations. Using Halfmann Telescopes we managed to achieve a slewing speed of up to 25deg/sec for a 1.2m aperture f/6 telescope."

In addition to this machine, the first fully Mac-operated robotic telescope will be installed at McDonald Observatory in Texas is waiting to be picked up by the transportation company in Houston. For more information about this software and Tuparev Technologies check out their website at http://www.tuparev.com.