Self-aligning telescope

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure include self-aligning telescope control systems and self-alignment methods. In an embodiment, a telescope control system orients a telescope with respect to the celestial sphere by pointing the telescope in the direction of an alignment star or alignment area of the sky. The telescope control system images a field of view in the alignment area, and processes the images to determine the celestial coordinates of a center of the filed a field of view the alignment area. The telescope control system then maps the telescope's coordinate system to the celestial coordinate system. Once mapped, the telescope control system can advantageously slew the telescope to any desired celestial object in the viewable sky based on, for example, user selection, system recommendations, combinations of the same, or the like.

1 . A method for self-aligning a telescope with a celestial object, the method comprising:
 slewing a telescope toward an approximated location of an alignment area;   acquiring an electronic image of a portion of the sky corresponding to the approximated location;   identifying one or more celestial objects in the electronic image; and   mapping information related to the celestial coordinates of at least one of the identified celestial objects to the telescope's coordinate system.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic image comprises a plurality of electronic images. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying one or more celestial objects in the electronic image comprises:
 selecting a group of celestial objects in the electronic image;   measuring one or more relationships between the celestial objects in the group; and   comparing the one or more relationships between the celestial objects in the group with known relationships corresponding to known celestial objects in the alignment area.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein measuring the one or more relationships between the celestial objects in the group comprises comparing the magnitudes of the celestial objects in the group. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein measuring the one or more relationships between the celestial objects in the group comprises measuring angular distances between the celestial objects in the group. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein measuring the angular distances comprises relating the number of pixels between the celestial objects in the electronic image to the plate scale of the electronic image. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising automatically calculating the plate scale of the electronic image by slewing the telescope a predetermined amount in azimuth and elevation and measuring a change in pixels in the electronic image. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selection of the alignment area is based at least in part on portions of the sky calculated to be above the telescope's horizon for the current time, the current date and approximated location of the telescope. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising selecting an alignment area of the sky based at least in part on a current time, a current date and an approximate location of a telescope. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the selection of the alignment area is further based on the location of a celestial object selected for viewing by a user. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising receiving at least one of the current time, the current date and the approximate location of the telescope from a global positioning system. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , further virtually leveling the telescope. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein virtually leveling the telescope comprises:
 receiving a first signal from a level sensor;   rotating the telescope approximately 180° about an azimuth axis;   receiving a second signal from the level sensor; and   comparing the first signal and the second signal to determine a level reading in a first direction.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 rotating the telescope approximately 90° about the azimuth axis;   receiving a third signal from the level sensor; and   in response to the third signal, determining a level reading in a second direction, wherein the second direction is approximately orthogonal to the first direction.   
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising receiving a fourth signal from an electronic compass. 
   
   
       16 . A telescope control system comprising instructions capable of acquiring an electronic image of at least one celestial object, acquiring one or more signals from a level sensor, determining an orientation of an optical system with respect to the earth's horizon in response to the one or more signals from the level sensor, and determining the orientation of the optical system with respect to a celestial sphere by identifying celestial coordinates of the at least one celestial object in the electronic image. 
   
   
       17 . The telescope control system of  claim 16 , wherein the optical system is configured to focus light from a field of view onto an imaging plane and wherein an imager is configured to acquire the electronic image of the light. 
   
   
       18 . The telescope control system of  claim 16 , further configured to determine the orientation of the optical system in response to one or more signals from an electronic compass. 
   
   
       19 . The telescope control system of  claim 16  stored on a computing device selected from the group comprising a handheld device, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, and a television set top box. 
   
   
       20 . A method for aligning a telescope, the method comprising:
 acquiring an electronic image of an alignment area of the sky;   selecting a group of celestial objects in the electronic image;   measuring one or more relationships between the celestial objects in the group;   comparing the one or more relationships between the celestial objects in the group with known relationships corresponding to known celestial objects; and   mapping information related to the celestial coordinates of at least one the known celestial objects to the telescope's coordinate system.   
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein measuring the one or more relationships comprises comparing the magnitudes of the celestial objects in the group. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein measuring the one or more relationships comprises measuring angular distances between the celestial objects in the group. 
   
   
       23 . A telescope system comprising:
 means for selecting an alignment area of the sky based at least in part on a current time, a current date and an approximate location of a telescope;   means for slewing the telescope toward an approximated location of the alignment area;   means for imaging a portion of the sky corresponding to the approximated location; and   means for mapping image data to the telescope's coordinate system.