Purpose:
Implement an interface between a CCD camera and computer to enhance an external image over a long time span.
Application Background:
With increasing urban lamplights in the evening, astronomers have more difficulties in viewing the starry night sky due to light pollution. Experiments have shown that a majority of the light pollution is from random signals. Most of these noise signals may be eliminated with averaging algorithms over a certain time span. Therefore, images of the starry sky can be enhanced in real time with computers, using averaging algorithms over a long time span.
Solution:
A CCD camera is connected behind an astronomical telescope. Data returned from the camera is transmitted to a computer at high speed and processed by the computer.
Details:
The charge accumulation method employed by the CCD for image conversion requires control signals such as integral and discharge to be offered by the peripheral circuit. In time, the CCD accumulates a certain voltage. The voltage corresponds to a point within a point array indicating an image at a point. The peripheral circuit controls the CCD and performs the A/D conversion from the voltage. Converted data for each point is transmitted to the PCI-7300A via the FPGA. To avoid any data loss, a handshaking method is employed for transmitting the data. Signals entering the computer depict the images. With the aid of computers, data from several frames may be superimposed and averaged. As a result, random noises introduced by light pollution is significantly reduced.
Conclusion:
The equipment has already been released and results have leverage the observation efficiency considerably.
