GoQat

GoQat is best known for enabling the support of QSI cameras on Linux-based OS, but it embeds a lot of other features and supports lots of devices as seen below. It's a free software, well maintained and powerful enough to be a one-that-does-it-all acquisition software, except slewing from a map. Version 2.0, to be released soon, will include an INDI client, which will make it compatible with even more devices.

A hardware compatibility list is directly available on GoQat's website. Here is a basic list of features:

• Autoguiding using QSI cameras, V4L compatible devices (like USB webcams or USB video grabbers), and in versions below 2.0, unicap compatible cameras and composite cameras using the video-to-firewire grabber from The Imaging Source.

• Autofocus (with Robofocus)

• Video capture, playback and analysis

• Script engine

• FITS image analysis and imaging area selection using DS9

• Set the CCD temperature and filter for your CCD exposures, capture sub-frames and use binning.

• Display real-time scrolling graphs of your CCD camera temperature.

• Calibrate the autoguider with the camera at any angle with a single mouse-click.

• Autoguide your exposures using the fully integrated autoguiding functions: CCD exposures automatically wait until the autoguider is ready.

• Show real-time scrolling strip charts of star positions for periodic error analysis.

• Focus your telescope automatically, including 'V-curve' calibration, temperature compensated focusing and the ability to adjust focus according to defined offsets for each filter change.

• Play back recorded video and automatically perform photometry and astrometry on each frame - ideal for asteroid occultations and other transient events. (Note: the ability to record video is absent from this version but will return in the next release).

• Use task lists to control the operation of your telescope, CCD camera, autoguider and focuser completely unattended. GoQat can detect incoming tasks from a remote location and act accordingly.

• Execute arbitrary scripts in the language of your choice, to perform any external operations that you can do with a script (e.g. live upload of images to a website) and to interact with and control GoQat.

• Load and save Losmandy Gemini pointing model parameters and PEC data, and more.