KStars v3.3.1 is released

KStars v3.3.1 is released for Windows, MacOS, and Linux on all platforms (Intel/AMD and ARM). This is yet another maintenance release with a few new experimental features and addons.

MacOS Updates

Robert Lancaster cleared all the issues reported on astrometry.net problems on MacOS. After gathering the feedback of users with experimental releases on this dedicated INDI thread.

Astrometry on MacOS

Furthermore, DBus is now working again in this release which would make the Ekos Scheduler operational again under Mac.

New Observatory Module

Wolfgang Reissenberger developed a new Ekos Observatory module to manage the dome and weather-triggered shutdown procedure. This is the first iteration of the module with more expected in the upcoming months but it provides a compact and friendly interface to observatory management. Feedback is welcome.

Meridian Flip is gone!

Well, sorta of. Wolfgang Reissenberger removed Meridian Flip from the Capture Module and moved it to the Mount Module. This way the meridian flip can be controlled even if there is no active capture session going on.

So just set when you want the meridian flip to occur at the mount module. Remember that the setting is in Hour Angle (HA). 1 HA = 15 degrees, therefore 0.1 HA = 1.5 degrees West of the Meridian. 

Always use a positive value to ensure proper meridian flip takes place. Using zero could theoretically work but it is at the very edge where the decision to flip or not is made by the mount, so it's safer to use a slightly higher value like 0.1 HA.

Stream Window

Due to popular demand, the FPS control in the Stream window is replaced Frame Duration in seconds control. So a setting of 0.1 seconds would yield a frame rate of 10 FPS (1/0.1 = 10) if the hardware can support that. The duration can be set as low as 1 microsecond but only if supported by the driver and camera!

Other highlights:

• Reset focus frame when mount slews.
• Do not abort PHD2 guiding while suspended.
• Switching to homebrew, python3, and astroy for plate solving on OS X.
• Check if dust cap is detected before checking whether the camera is shutterful or shutterless.
• Fix translation issue with Sun, Moon, and Earth designations.

KStars v3.2.3 is Released!

Another minor release of the 3.2.X series is released, KStars v3.2.3 is out for Windows/Mac/Linux. This would probably the last minor release of the 3.2.X series with 3.3.0 coming into development now.

This release contains a few minor bug fixes and some few convenient changes that were requested by our users.

The Sky Map cursor can now be configured. The default X icon can now be changed to either the arrow or circle mouse cursors. It can be changed by going to Configure KStars --> Advanced --> Look & Feel.

It is also possible now to make left click immediately snaps to the object under the cursor. The default behavior is to double-click on object to focus it, but if Left Click Selects Object is checked, then any left clicks would snap to the object right away.

Another minor change was to include the profile name directly into the Window title for Ekos to make it easy to remember which profile is currently running, in addition to a few icon changes. 

A race condition when using a guide camera was fixed thanks to Bug #407952 filed by Kevin Ross. On the other hand, Wolfgang Reissenberger improved the estimated time of scheduler jobs where there are repeated jobs in the sequence.

KStars 2.9.3 is out with numerous fixes

After some heavy lifting in KStars January v2.9.2 release, we dedicated February to fix all those KStars issues that have been accumulating for a while. Today, KStars v2.9.3 is released with many several important fixes, mostly in Ekos scheduler and capture modules.

It is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux.