Automation of the acquisition system of the 1,9 m telescope for the charge coupled device (CCD) camera

Abstract

This thesis describes the control system developed to improve the efficiency of star acquisition on a ground-based optical telescope. "Star Acquisition" refers to the process of identifying the star of interest in a field of stars and centering it on the optical axis of the telescope , as well as setting an autoguider detector on a suitable star so the autoguider can improve the tracking performance of the telescope. Efficiency is improved by making all functions remote controlled , so the astronomer does not have to move between the control room and the telescope to operate the instrument.