github.com/ccmehil/star_coords ↗
Get the AltAz coordinates for a given object using astropy and output on a OLED screen.
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Contributors
1
Lines of Code
92
From
2022-01-30
To
2022-01-31
About ccmehil/star_coords
Star Coordinates is a Python tool designed to help amateur astronomers locate celestial objects by calculating and displaying their altitude and azimuth coordinates. Using the astropy library for astronomical calculations, the program determines where an object appears in the sky relative to the observer's location and outputs these coordinates to an OLED display connected to a Raspberry Pi. The OLED screen is optional, allowing users to run the software without display hardware if preferred.
The project is tailored for observers in light-polluted areas who benefit from precise directional guidance when aiming telescopes. It interprets altitude as elevation angle (ranging from -90 to 90 degrees, with visible objects typically between 0 and 90 degrees) and azimuth as directional bearing on a 360-degree circle starting from true north. The software requires astropy, numpy, and the luma.oled library for display support, with GPIO and I2C enabled on the Raspberry Pi for hardware connectivity.
The creator describes this as a hobby project developed by someone relatively new to both astronomy and Python programming, created within their first month of telescope ownership. The project includes server functionality with optional autostart capabilities on system boot and welcomes community contributions and feedback.