pyobs -- An observatory control system forrobotic telescopes

TL;DR

pyobs is a flexible, open-source Python framework that enables comprehensive robotic control of telescopes, supporting various hardware and providing automation features for observatory operations.

Contribution

It introduces a modular, configurable system that integrates hardware control, automation, and remote access for robotic telescopes, with broad hardware support and open standards.

Findings

Successfully deployed on three different telescope types.

Supports multiple hardware components and automation features.

Open-source and easily extendable system.

Abstract

We present a Python-based framework for the complete operation of a robotic telescope observatory. It provides out-of-the-box support for many popular camera types while other hardware like telescopes, domes, and weather stations can easily be added via a thin abstraction layer to existing code. Common functionality like focusing, acquisition, auto-guiding, sky-flat acquisition, and pipeline calibration are ready for use. A remote-control interface, a "mastermind" for truly robotic operations as well as an interface to the Las Cumbres Observatory observation portal is included. The whole system is fully configurable and easily extendable. We are currently running pyobs successfully on three different types of telescopes, of which one is a siderostat for observing the Sun. pyobs uses open standards and open software wherever possible and is itself freely available.