CN213517844U

CN213517844U - Astronomical camera and astronomical observation equipment

Info

Publication number: CN213517844U
Application number: CN202021573590.4U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郎玉兰
Original assignee: Top Player Astronomy Technology Development Suzhou Co ltd
Current assignee: Top Player Astronomy Technology Development Suzhou Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-03
Filing date: 2020-08-03
Publication date: 2021-06-22
Anticipated expiration: 2030-08-03

Abstract

The utility model provides an astronomical camera and astronomical observation equipment, astronomical camera detachably installs in the telescope, astronomical camera includes the controller, still including connecting first interface, second interface, first image sensor and the second image sensor of controller, first interface can with external equipment communication connection with transmission and/or control image data, the second interface can connect tracking device with receiving and/or sending and trail the revision instruction, the sensitive surface of first image sensor is located the imaging circle of telescope; the light receiving surface of the second image sensor is positioned in the imaging circle and adjacent to the first image sensor.

Description

Astronomical camera and astronomical observation equipment

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an astronomical field of making a video recording especially relates to an astronomical camera and astronomical observation equipment.

Background

Since the invention of the camera, the astronomical industry was soon entered, with which astronomical images could be taken and recorded. However, astronomical photography belongs to a professional neighborhood for a long time due to the price of astronomical equipment. With the development of science and technology, astronomical cameras gradually extend from professional to consumer levels, and begin to walk into the field of vision of people.

The astronomical camera is a core component of an astronomical photography system, and the quality of the performance of the astronomical camera directly affects the quality of an acquired image. With the proliferation of astronomical enthusiasts at home and abroad, the performance requirements for astronomical cameras are also improved. How to realize high-efficiency refrigeration, low noise, high transmission speed and high pixel bit depth, and meanwhile, an astronomical camera with lower cost becomes a new trend for development in the industry. At present, manufacturers engaged in astronomical camera development are increasing. The performance and function of astronomical cameras are constantly updated, and astronomical cameras with different functions, such as refrigeration cameras, high-speed planet cameras, guide cameras and the like, are designed according to different application scenes.

When the method is used for shooting dark objects, the astronomical camera can be exposed for a long time, and the exposure time can be generally up to 1 hour, so that the signal-to-noise ratio of an image signal is improved. However, the rotation of the earth causes the position of the celestial body to move, and the image is smeared during long-time exposure, so that a tracking device is required to counteract the rotation of the earth, and long-time exposure shooting is realized. The existing tracking devices are controlled in an open loop mode and cannot accurately track the movement of a celestial body, and a closed-loop control system must be installed for the tracking devices, namely, the functions which need to be realized by a guide star camera. The guide camera shoots the image of the celestial body, compares the image with the previous image through software, calculates the offset position of the celestial body, and controls the tracking device to correct so as to achieve tracking with higher precision.

At present, an astronomical photography system with a star guide function uses two sets of camera devices, one set of camera device is used for shooting astronomical images, and the other set of camera device is used for detecting a tracking error of a support, namely a star guide camera. The guide star camera generally adopts two installation methods: 1. and (4) a coaxial guide star. The coaxial guide star uses a special guide star mirror to keep parallel with the main mirror, and the guide star camera is arranged behind the guide star mirror. 2. Off-axis directors. The off-axis director uses a triangular prism to reflect a small portion of the light from the primary mirror and sends it to the director camera. The device is placed between the main mirror and the shooting camera because light is split from the main mirror; because the focal length of the main mirror is fixed, the distance between the main mirror and the camera is limited, and other equipment cannot be installed when the guide star device is placed.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model aims at providing a two image system astronomical cameras with guide star function to reduce the quantity and the volume of shooting equipment, make it can install other equipment, simultaneously, reduce the tracking error that the shake brought effectively.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an astronomical camera, which is detachably mounted to a telescope, the astronomical camera comprises a controller, and further comprises a first interface, a second interface, a first image sensor and a second image sensor, the first interface is connected to the controller, the first interface can be in communication connection with an external device to transmit and/or control image data, the second interface can be connected to a tracking device to receive and/or send a tracking correction instruction, and a light receiving surface of the first image sensor is located in an imaging circle of the telescope; the light receiving surface of the second image sensor is positioned in the imaging circle and adjacent to the first image sensor.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the central point of the light receiving surface of the first image sensor is located on the central line of the imaging circle, the light receiving surface of the first image sensor is facing to the light passing through the telescope, the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the first image sensor falls into the imaging circle, the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the second image sensor falls into the imaging circle, and the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the first image sensor does not overlap with each other.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the first interface includes at least one of a USB interface, an ethernet interface or a WIFI communication interface.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the second interface includes at least one of ST 4, USB or UART.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the first image sensor light receiving surface is rectangular, and the second image sensor is disposed above a long side of the first image sensor light receiving surface.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the first image sensor and the second image sensor are respectively configured as a main image sensor and a guide star image sensor.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the second image sensor has a rectangular light receiving surface, and a center point of the light receiving surface of the second image sensor is offset from a center line of the imaging circle.

The utility model discloses still relate to an astronomical observation equipment, including tracking means and the telescope of support on tracking means, the eyepiece end of telescope is equipped with the installation interface, the installation interface is installed as above arbitrary embodiment astronomical camera.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention further comprises a filter device installed on the telescope.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the tracking device includes a support for supporting the telescope and a motor for driving the support to move, and the motor is connected to the controller.

Compared with the prior art, the utility model discloses all set up two image sensor's sensitive surface in the imaging circle of telescope, can realize that guide star camera and astronomical camera close as an organic wholely, can reduce equipment volume and weight, reduced the cost of purchasing equipment, for example need not purchase the off-axis guide star device. The off-axis guide star device is reduced, and other astronomical equipment such as a filter device and the like can be installed at the position where the off-axis guide star device is originally needed to be installed. Compared with a coaxial guide star, the coaxial guide star can save the purchase of a guide star mirror and can also avoid the jitter caused by unstable connection between the guide star mirror and a main mirror.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a system block diagram of a astronomical camera according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the first image sensor and the second image sensor of fig. 1 positioned in an imaging circle of the telescope.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a astronomical observation apparatus in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the drawings. However, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and structural, methodical, or functional changes that may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art based on these embodiments are all included in the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that terms such as "upper," "lower," "outer," "inner," and the like, used herein to denote relative spatial positions, are used for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. The spatially relative positional terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.

As shown in fig. 1 and fig. 3, the embodiment of the present invention provides an astronomical camera 10 with a guide function, which comprises a controller 1, and a first image sensor 21, a second image sensor 22, a communication interface 3 and a guide interface 4 connected to the controller 1, wherein the communication interface 3 comprises at least one of a USB interface, an ethernet interface or a WIFI communication interface, and is used for connecting with an external computer or mobile device, transmitting/controlling image data, and different requirements of different use environments and various devices can be satisfied by using multiple communication interfaces. The guide star interface 4 includes at least one of ST 4 (special guide star interface), USB or UART (universal serial interface), and is used for connecting with a tracking device and sending a tracking modification instruction.

In the present embodiment, the first image sensor 21 is configured as a main image sensor, and the second image sensor 22 is configured as a guide star image sensor. The main image sensor is used for image shooting, and can carry out long-time exposure to obtain astronomical images with high image quality. The guide star image sensor is used for shooting the position of the celestial body to acquire the position of the celestial body. The controller is used for controlling the two image sensors and collecting image information, and can be connected through special image interfaces such as LVDS MIPI or SLVS. The controller transmits the acquired image information to the communication interface. The controller can also calculate the image of the guide star image sensor, acquire the offset of the celestial body position and control the tracking device through the guide star interface.

Referring to fig. 2, the imaging circle 25 of the astronomical telescope is a circle center, and the main image sensor is preferably placed at the center of the imaging circle 25 in order to obtain the best image. In this embodiment, the main image sensor is configured as a rectangle, and the guide star image sensor is arranged by using the gaps on the four sides of the rectangle, so that the image acquisition of the main image sensor is not affected. And the satellite guide acquires and calculates the position of the celestial body by using the spare position of the imaging ring 25. That is, the main image sensor and the guide star image sensor are both disposed within the imaging circle 25 of the telescope, and are disposed adjacent to each other. Therefore, the guide star camera and the astronomical camera can be integrated, the size and the weight of equipment can be reduced, the cost for purchasing the equipment is reduced, and for example, an off-axis guide star device does not need to be purchased. The off-axis guide star device is reduced, and other astronomical equipment such as a filter device and the like can be installed at the position where the off-axis guide star device is originally needed to be installed. Compared with a coaxial guide star, the coaxial guide star can save the purchase of a guide star mirror and can also avoid the jitter caused by unstable connection between the guide star mirror and a main mirror.

Specifically, the light receiving surface of the main image sensor is rectangular and is positioned at the center of the imaging circle of the telescope, and the orthographic projection of the main image sensor falls into the plane of the imaging circle of the lens. The guide star image sensor is adjacent to the main image sensor, and the light receiving surface of the guide star image sensor is also rectangular, and is preferably positioned above the long side of the light receiving surface of the main image sensor. That is, the center point of the light receiving surface of the main image sensor is located on the center line of the imaging circle, the center point of the light receiving surface of the guide star image sensor is deviated from the center line of the imaging circle, the light receiving surface of the main image sensor is opposite to the light passing through the telescope, the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the main image sensor falls into the imaging circle of the telescope, and the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the guide star image sensor falls into the imaging circle and does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the.

The working principle of the astronomical camera is that the computer sends a guide signal control command to the controller through the communication interface, and the control command can comprise 4 guide direction (right ascension direction, right ascension direction and right ascension direction) commands and a guide signal duration command. And after receiving the control command, the controller outputs the control command to the guide star interface. The acquired raw image data is input into a controller, and uncompressed image data is continuously transmitted to a computer through a communication interface. After the computer acquires the data, the data is converted into an image for display and processing.

By arranging the guide star image sensor on the astronomical camera, not only can the main guide star work be completed, but also the tasks of measuring the background of the sky light and the atmospheric jitter can be realized, and the investment of equipment in the aspect is reduced. Because the guide star and the astronomical camera are integrated, errors caused by shaking can be reduced.

As shown in fig. 3, the present embodiment also relates to an astronomical observation apparatus 100, which comprises a tracking device 30 and a telescope 20 supported on the tracking device 30, wherein the astronomical camera 10 with the navigator function is connected to an eyepiece end of the telescope 30. Because the guide star is integrated into the astronomical camera, a filter device or other devices can be arranged on the telescope, and the guide star image sensor can be matched with other devices to detect background noise of sky light and atmospheric jitter so as to correct the image shot by the main image sensor.

In addition, the tracking device 30 may include a support for supporting the telescope and a motor for driving the support to move, the motor is connected to the controller, and the motor may drive the support based on the instruction of the controller so as to drive the telescope to move.

It should be understood that although the present description refers to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only a single technical solution, and such description is for clarity only, and those skilled in the art should make the description as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments can also be combined appropriately to form other embodiments understood by those skilled in the art.

The above-listed detailed description is only a specific description of a possible embodiment of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and equivalent embodiments or modifications made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An astronomical camera detachably mountable to a telescope, said astronomical camera comprising a controller, characterized in that: the telescope also comprises a first interface, a second interface, a first image sensor and a second image sensor which are connected with the controller, wherein the first image sensor and the second image sensor are respectively constructed as a main image sensor and a guide star image sensor, the first interface is a communication interface, the second interface is a guide star interface, the first interface can be in communication connection with external equipment to transmit and/or control image data, the second interface can be connected with a tracking device to receive and/or send tracking correction instructions, and the light receiving surface of the first image sensor is positioned in an imaging circle of the telescope; the light receiving surface of the second image sensor is positioned in the imaging circle and adjacent to the first image sensor.

2. The astronomical camera of claim 1, wherein: the central point of the light receiving surface of the first image sensor is positioned on the central line of an imaging circle, the light receiving surface of the first image sensor is over against light rays passing through the telescope, the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the first image sensor falls into the imaging circle, the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the second image sensor falls into the imaging circle, and the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the second image sensor and the orthographic projection of the light receiving surface of the first image sensor are not overlapped.

3. The astronomical camera of claim 1, wherein: the first interface comprises at least one of a USB interface, an Ethernet interface or a WIFI communication interface.

4. The astronomical camera of claim 1, wherein: the second interface includes at least one of ST 4, USB, or UART.

5. The astronomical camera of claim 1, wherein: the first image sensor light receiving surface is rectangular, and the second image sensor is arranged on the upper side of the long side of the first image sensor light receiving surface.

6. The astronomical camera of claim 1, wherein: the light receiving surface of the second image sensor is rectangular, and the center point of the light receiving surface of the second image sensor deviates from the center line of the imaging ring.

7. An astronomical observation apparatus comprising a tracking means and a telescope supported on the tracking means, characterized in that: the eyepiece end of the telescope is provided with a mounting interface, which mounting interface mounts an astronomical camera according to one of the claims 1-6.

8. The astronomical observation device of claim 7, wherein: the telescope also comprises a filter device arranged on the telescope.

9. The astronomical observation device of claim 7, wherein: the tracking device comprises a support for supporting the telescope and a motor for driving the support to move, and the motor is connected with the controller.