1<sect1 id="tool-ekos"> 2<title>Ekos</title> 3<indexterm><primary>Tools</primary> 4<secondary>Ekos</secondary> 5</indexterm> 6 7<para> 8 <emphasis role="bold">Ekos</emphasis> is an advanced cross-platform (&Windows;, &MacOS;, &Linux;) observatory control and automation tool with a particular focus on Astrophotography. It is based on a modular extensible framework to perform common astrophotography tasks. This includes highly accurate GOTOs using astrometry solver, ability to measure <emphasis>and</emphasis> correct polar alignment errors, auto-focus & auto-guide capabilities, and capture of single or stack of images with filter wheel support. Ekos is shipped with &kstars;. 9</para> 10<mediaobject> 11 <videoobject> 12 <videodata contentdepth="315" contentwidth="560" fileref="https://www.youtube.com/embed/un2KVJY3Yis"/> 13 </videoobject> 14 <caption><para><phrase>Ekos introductory video</phrase></para></caption> 15</mediaobject> 16<para>Features:</para> 17<itemizedlist> 18 <listitem> 19 <para> 20 Control your telescope, CCD (& DSLRs), filter wheel, focuser, guider, adaptive optics unit, and any INDI-compatible auxiliary device from Ekos. 21 </para> 22 </listitem> 23 <listitem> 24 <para> 25 <emphasis>Built-in</emphasis> native <link linkend="ekos-guide">autoguiding</link> with support for automatic dithering between exposures and support for Adaptive Optics devices in addition to traditional guiders. 26 </para> 27 </listitem> 28 <listitem> 29 <para> 30 <ulink url="https://knro.blogspot.com/2013/10/demo-of-ekos-alignment-module.html">Extremely accurate GOTOs</ulink> using astrometry.net solver (both Online and Offline solvers supported). 31 </para> 32 </listitem> 33 <listitem> 34 <para> 35 Load & Slew: Load a FITS image, slew to solved coordinates, and center the mount on the exact image coordinates in order to get the same desired frame. 36 </para> 37 </listitem> 38 <listitem> 39 <para> 40 Measure & Correct Polar Alignment errors using astromety.net solver. 41 </para> 42 </listitem> 43 <listitem> 44 <para> 45 Easy to use <ulink url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx6Zz9lNd5Q">Polar Alignment Assistant</ulink> tool. A very quick and reliable tool to polar align your German Equatorial Mount! 46 </para> 47 </listitem> 48 <listitem> 49 <para> 50 Capture and record <ulink url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJFZWwlAQRM">video streams in SER format</ulink>. 51 </para> 52 </listitem> 53 <listitem> 54 <para> 55 Completely <ulink url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85L3J_iiXZ4">automated scheduler</ulink> to control all your observatory equipment, select the best targets for imaging given current conditions and constraints, monitor weather conditions, and capture your data while you are away! 56 </para> 57 </listitem> 58 <listitem> 59 <para> 60 <emphasis>Smart</emphasis> Dark Library: All your dark frames with different binning/temperature/frame settings are saved for future use. Ekos re-uses dark frames intelligently without taking unnecessary captures. You can configure how long you want to reuse all the dark frames. 61 </para> 62 </listitem> 63 <listitem> 64 <para> 65 Define multiple driver profiles for local and remote setups. Switch among them easily. 66 </para> 67 </listitem> 68 <listitem> 69 <para> 70 Auto and manual focus modes using Half-Flux-Radius (HFR) method. 71 </para> 72 </listitem> 73 <listitem> 74 <para> 75 <ulink url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stsrcsPxUZA">Automated <emphasis>unattended</emphasis> meridian flip</ulink>. Ekos performs post meridian flip alignment, calibration, focusing, and guiding to resume the capture session. 76 </para> 77 </listitem> 78 <listitem> 79 <para> 80 Automatic focus between exposures when a user-configurable HFR limit is exceeded. 81 </para> 82 </listitem> 83 <listitem> 84 <para> 85 Powerful sequence queue for batch capture of images with optional prefixes, timestamps, filter wheel selection, and much more! 86 </para> 87 </listitem> 88 <listitem> 89 <para> 90 Export and import sequence queue sets as Ekos Sequence Queue (<literal role="extension">.esq</literal>) files. 91 </para> 92 </listitem> 93 <listitem> 94 <para> 95 <ulink url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg2HDFg_dCE">Center the telescope anywhere in a captured FITS image</ulink> or any FITS with World Coordinate System (WCS) header. 96 </para> 97 </listitem> 98 <listitem> 99 <para> 100 Automatic flat field capture, just set the desired ADU and let Ekos does the rest! 101 </para> 102 </listitem> 103 <listitem> 104 <para> 105 Automatic abort and resumption of exposure tasks if guiding errors exceed a user-configurable value. 106 </para> 107 </listitem> 108 <listitem> 109 <para> 110 Support for dome slaving. 111 </para> 112 </listitem> 113 <listitem> 114 <para> 115 Complete integration with &kstars; Observation Planner and SkyMap. 116 </para> 117 </listitem> 118 <listitem> 119 <para> 120 Fully scriptable via <ulink url="https://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/dbus/">&DBus;</ulink>. 121 </para> 122 </listitem> 123 <listitem> 124 <para> 125 Integrate with all INDI native devices. 126 </para> 127 </listitem> 128</itemizedlist> 129 130&tool-ekos-setup; 131&tool-ekos-user-interface; 132&tool-ekos-profile-wizard; 133&tool-ekos-profile-editor; 134&tool-ekos-logs; 135&tool-ekos-capture; 136&tool-ekos-focus; 137&tool-ekos-guide; 138&tool-ekos-align; 139&tool-ekos-scheduler; 140&tool-ekos-analyze; 141&tool-ekos-tutorials; 142 143</sect1> 144