THE LEADING PLANETARY CAPTURE TOOL

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HIGHLY ADVANCED USER INTERFACE



WIDE RANGE OF SUPPORTED CAMERAS



VARIOUS LOOK & FEELS


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HUNDREDS OF BUGS - ALL FREE !

March 2022

FireCapture v2.7 has been released !

March 2021

v2.7beta has been updated including support for Touptek and SVBony cameras !

June 2020

FireCapture v2.7beta released for testing !

December 2019

Raspberry support for FireCapture v2.6 and ZWO cameras !

October 2019

FireCapture Yahoo groups has been transfered to Groups.io

February 2018

FireCapture v2.6 has been finally released !

October 2017

Mac and Linux support for ASI cameras has started !
Beta testers welcome in a couple of weeks

May 2017

FireCapture v2.6 BETA has been released for testing !

November 2016

FireCapture v2.5 has been released ! Thanks for helping during the beta phase

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Compatibility
FC v2.7.14 (x64)

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FC v2.7.14 (x64)

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FC v2.7.14 (x64)

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FC v2.7.14 (aarch64)

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Altair
ASCOM
Basler
FLIR/FlyCap

FLIR/Spinnaker

LUCID
NexImage
OGMA
PlayerOne
QHY
Skyris

SVBony
TIS

Touptek/Omegon
ZWO ASI



Older Versions

PLUGINS

Starting with version v2.5 FireCapture comes with a built-in plugin interface giving access to image data and the possibility for extending functionality. You're invited to create and share your own plugins with the community. Let me know and I'll add them to the list of available plugins. Please check the tutorial below on how to create plugins.

Terms of service: I'm not responsible in any way for the plugin content and of any of the linked sites. The plugins themselves are copyrighted by their respective authors.

Plugin Author Description Download
Blur Capture Limiter Alex Jarosch Calculates a frame blur measure based on the Laplacian operator and its variance. Allows setting a threshold above which frames are recorded.
DynamicPopfilter Anthony Wesley The DynamicPopfilter plugin divides the image into a grid of tiles measuring 9x9 pixels in size, and the brightest pixel in each tile is then replaced by the average of its 8 neighbors. The starting point (ie top left corner) for the grid is varied randomly from one frame to the next to be sure that this process doesn't introduce any detectable pattern. It's recommended that this plugin is used for mono cameras, or colour cameras operating in RAW mode. It doesn't support RGB colour images.
EdgeDetection Stephen Wong A simple edge detection plugin using Sobel operator. The plugin will visualize and display the edges of the objects, which helps on achieving precise focus on targets such as moon craters and planets.
FlareDetect Joachim Stehle FlareDetect provides the possibility of automated image recording sessions based on the current X-ray flux. It uses flux data of the GOES satellite provided by the Space Weather Prediction Center.
Flash Detection Software (FDS) NOA/ESA The Flash Detection Software (FDS) is a tool for detecting impact flashes on the Moon developed by the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) for ESA courtesy of Alceste Bonanos, Stefanos Achlatis, Georgia Christofidi and Ivi Chatzi. The software was developed and tested for lunar impact flash observations, however, its use on planets (e.g. Jupiter, Mars) is encouraged.
ImageInfo Carsten Bauer Provides isoline image, cross section intensity plot and evaluation data helpful for focusing. Detects planet in the image and prints values like diameter, isoline distance, upward slope etc.
MoonPanoramaMaker Rolf Hempel Python application for the automatic exposure of moon panoramas. MoonPanoramaMaker covers the current Moon phase with an optimal grid of single views and automatically steers the telescope mount and camera during their exposure.
Solar Seeing Monitor Joachim Stehle DIY Solar Scintillation Seeing Monitor which measures solar seeing for capture control.
Solar Monitor Paul De Backer Solar Monitor - A plugin that monitors the output from a Solar Scintillation Seeing Device and can trigger capture depending on seeing results.


Plugin Interface Tutorial


FEATURES

TUTORIALS

  • #1 Installation & Troubleshooting
  • #2 First Steps
  • #3 Layout & GUI



  • #4 Telescope & Autoguider
  • #5 Filterwheel & Focuser
  • #6 Capture Tools

ABOUT

It was back in 2008 when I got hold of a SONY newsletter announcing a new CCD sensor (ICX618) which promised fantastic sensitivity. Still working with an old webcam those days I instantly had the idea of replacing the webcam sensor with the new SONY sensor. It took weeks and dozens of emails to get the confidential spec of the new sensor. When I saw the sensitivity values it was clear: I had to have this sensor! The Basler Scout scA640 was the first machine vision camera on the market using this sensor and when I bought it the nightmare began: the included software was useless for planetary imaging and running the camera with the VRecord webcam tool was a complete PITA. Bugged by the inability to store even the basic camera settings I decided developing my own capture software.

What started as a solely private project soon turned into higher gear when fellow astronomers saw the software and insisted on getting it. I decided to make it public, included new camera interfaces and after years of continuous development FireCapture has evolved to one of the leading planetary capture tools. Developing the thing is only one part of the story: with a supportive community of users behind me I always had the feeling of someone 'looking over my shoulder' during the countless hours of programming. I can't mention all but just want to say:

Thank you guys !


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