Desenvolvimento e aplicação de um sistema de assistência avançada para telescópios equatoriais

Abstract

This work is motivated by the growing interest in the field of amateur astronomy and aims to improve the accessibility of telescopes for beginner amateur astronomers. The challenge addressed is the high cost of controllers and polar aligners currently available on the market, as well as the complexity of polar alignment in telescopes with equatorial mounts for beginners. The project proposes the development and implementation of an innovative low-cost electronic system that integrates an electronic level, a digital polar aligner, a tracker, and an automatic pointer for celestial objects into a single system, facilitating the alignment and control of telescopes and making them more accessible. Currently, although there are telescopes that come with complete alignment and tracking systems, there is no similar system to the one proposed in this work, which is designed to be attached to a standard equatorial telescope. The strategy includes the implementation of hardware and the creation of software to achieve this goal. The expected results include the ability to align and control a telescope efficiently, providing an enhanced observation experience. The results are quantitative, with the expectation of significantly improving the accessibility and ease of use of telescopes. This research contributes to the advancement of the field of amateur astronomy and opens opportunities for future studies, such as the inclusion of cameras and algorithms to perform polar alignment and tracking of celestial objects.