Pi Solar Camera – Astronomy with the Raspberry Pi

Build a Raspberry Pi Solar Camera and get a close-up look at the 2024 Solar Eclipse! Learn to use any telescope to stream video with a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera.

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Today, we will integrate a Celestron EclipSmart Solar Telescope (or any telescope) with a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera. The result is an instrument that can stream images to web browsers and video players or interact with popular astronomy applications.

I’ll show you two applications that you can use to stream the data. One of them, RPI Cam ASCOM Alpaca, is used with professional astronomy software. The second, Picamera2 Web UI Lite, is a more general-purpose app. I’m using it in my implementation.

I’ll also show you Astroberry Server, a complete Raspberry Pi suite of astronomy applications.

I’m preparing for the April 2024 eclipse and am thrilled to report that the DroneBot Workshop is in the path of totality! As long as we have a clear day on April 8th, I’ll be able to watch and photograph the event of a lifetime from the comfort of my spare bedroom!

The solar telescope is one of the instruments I will be using, and it is a fascinating device, even without an eclipse. It lets you view sunspots and watch them evolve, a real treat if you are into astronomy (as I am).

I’ll also show you how to apply solar filters to a regular camera to obtain some great pictures of the Sun.

And, naturally, I’ll show off some of my photos.

Here is the Table of Contents for today’s video:

00:00 – Introduction
01:35 – Raspberry Pi Astronomy
07:18 – Celestron Solar Telescope
10:02 – Raspberry Pi HQ Camera
11:43 – Other Bits & Pieces
14:50 – Telescope Assembly
15:58 – Pi and Case Assembly
18:17 – Image Software Introduction
19:24 – Astroberry Server
21:40 – RPI Cam ASCOM Alpaca
24:02 – Picamera2 Web UI Lite Installation
30:35 – Preparing for the Eclipse
35:42 – My “Observatory” & Sun Filters
37:30- DSLR Setup & Pictures
39:03 – Pi Camera Setup & Pictures
40:46 – Conclusion

I hope you enjoy the project and have time to assemble it before the eclipse. If I get some photos and/or videos on April 8th, I’ll share them on the forum!

Happy sungazing!

Bill