Custom horizon - in planner needed

This would be awesome. I have a very limited sky and have asked for this in the past. I have to image an object for weeks and while the planner is “good” it needs custom horizon. Not only horizon though, a custom sky limit- My scope is under an awning, and can’t be moved further out so I have a clear view of the zenith. It’d be nice to be able to illustrate a “custom sky window” so we could plan better.

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Count me in on this request. :slightly_smiling_face:

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not tedious, one picture (panorama) no stitching. Most advice on here is grossly outdated = (

Would love to see custom horizon added to SGP. This is becoming a standard feature in a lot of imaging software. Having a single value for horizon makes it difficult to use the built in planner. Hoping this request gets some traction soon.

Totally agree

No dates on this yet, but it is on the list. Currently behind:

  • Focus metrics AF trigger
  • Auto focus sub frame sets
  • Auto flat frame matching
  • Start / stop at dusk
  • Conditional UNSAFE behavior
  • Support for Telescope homing

Despite what it may seem, this is not that far from the top. The list has near 75 items on it.

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@Ken,
I want to thank you and Jared for all the work you’ve been doing. It seems like the last few (?) months you’ve been cranking out new releases and features, and most of my requests have been implemented.

I REALLY look forward to the start/stop at dusk feature, and the ability for SGPro to know a rough starting point for focus based on prior history. Both those features will eliminate quite a bit of manual work needed before I can image each night.

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Hi there, as I’m switching over from NINA, I would also to love to see a custom horizon implementation. As you mentioned a “list” - is it a list that is available to the public?

Thanks & CS

It is on “the list”, but I am avoiding creating another thing to maintain and we also don’t want to have to defend ourselves when we make a decision to deviate from some published list. That said, we don’t mind providing an informal, “no guarantees” list that shows our current priorities as of that particular moment. So… as of 9/12/22, listed in order of priority from highest to lowest (please note that just being on the list is still a pretty high relative priority):

  • AutoFlats - a complete flats replacement tool. Will allow you to capture flats any way you like (including Sky Flats)and never have to think about them again. Just create a normal sequence and flats will appear next to your light data (certainly requires a one-time configuration… but most things do). Available in about a week or so - SGPro 4.3 Beta
  • Telescope “Home” support: Manually, set or go to the defined Home position. Use the Home position as part of End of Sequence options - SGPro 4.3 Beta
  • Support for manual telescope positioning using Alt / Az - SGPro 4.3 Beta
  • Better controls for altering the state of a switch (rather than a dropdown with potentially hundreds of values listed) - SGPro 4.3 Beta
  • Sync Progress with Disk: For any given sequence, perform a sync progress with disk. Specify that this should happen automatically at sequence start. - SGPro 4.3 Beta
  • Auto Focus sub frame sets: Fir a given target or target type, specify inclusion / exclusion zones for Auto Focus. You can create an AF Zone Set for a target type like “Globs” where you exclude the center or for a specific target where there is some issue in a particular area.
  • Target start / end at astronomical twilight end / start
  • Custom Horizons - A control that allows for top down, azimuth-based definition of user horizon. Define properties for each part of the defined horizon. Render horizon limits on the transit chart. Later: Integrate those horizon definitions into the sequence and allow for start / end target at limit.
  • Switch improvement: In addition to the state of the switch, also allow user to specify the order in which the switches are set
  • Support for custom “Unsafe” actions
  • Support end of sequence state for flat boxes with shutters
  • Additional automation control for FlatBoxes with shutters: optional “only allow movement at park / home” option
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Hi, please don’t get wrong - I’m already convinced that SGPro is an absolute fantastic software, that’s why I immediately bought it to support your work.

So many thanks for providing insights (and taking the time to do so) - I was just curious about the way forward.

Always happy to support on testing!

Sure, I didn’t think otherwise. The response is mainly just explaining that we have generally been averse to publishing said list as a formal artifact and is absolutely not meant to be admonishing in any way. We have done this in the past, but I think it led to more problems than it solved.

Hi, Ken

I find the ‘ModelCreator 2’ from Astronomi Switzerland can make the ‘mask’ for the mount. The data can be saved in CSV files.


Can it be imported as Custom horizon? There may be needed some authorization for the software owner? The software seems free in usage( I use MGbox2 in their product).

Regards
Hiromu

Hi folks, Custom Horizons are coming. They will be released in 2 parts… the first in 4.3 and the second in 4.4. More details here:

image

This looks great! Awesome! Much requested indeed. Glad to see it is now getting so close to being realized. Graphics look very good. Creative and very intuitive view of the horizon in this circular format. Integration in the planning tool like this will then certainly make it easier to set target start and end times. It will also enable a future development to have SGP derive those start and end times from target visibility depending on local horizon. I certainly like the looks of this. Thanks for the update Ken!

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