Astronomy

Astra – observatory control system

Astra is an observatory control system developed to automate and manage robotic telescope operations, originally created for the SPECULOOS observatory.

It’s designed as a replacement for legacy commercial solutions, with a focus on autonomous control, flexibility, and integration into modern astronomical workflows.

The project aims to provide a programmable and extensible platform for coordinating observatory hardware and observation logic, making it suitable for research environments and advanced amateur setups where automation is essential.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

  • Observatory control system designed for automated telescope operations.
  • Developed for real-world deployment in robotic observatories such as SPECULOOS.
  • Focus on autonomous scheduling and control of astronomical observations.
  • Extensible architecture intended for integration with observatory hardware and software components.
  • Modern alternative to legacy proprietary observatory control solutions.

Website: github.com/ppp-one/astra
Support:
Developer: Peter Pihlmann Pedersen
License: GNU General Public License v3.0

Astra is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.


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