Astrophotography Technical Requirements
What do you need to complete the program?
All software used in the programs are open-source and/or free to download.
Note: Our astrophotography program cannot be completed with Chromebooks. For an alternative program see out Exoplanet Essentials Program
Required Software
AstroImageJ
The program used for calibration in both the Advanced Program
- Installation links and instructions for Windows and MacOS provided in Student and Teacher Resource Packages
- Open-source software used for Astronomical Image Analysis and Photometry
- Runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux (NOT Compatible with ChromeOS/Chromebooks)
Gimp
Image editing software used for processing and editing astro-image in both the Basic and Advanced programs
- Open-Source (free) alternative to Photoshop
- Able to open .fits file types and convert them to other photo file types (e.g. png, psd, jpg, etc.)
- Note: Images from the RASC Robotic Telescope are saved in .fits file type to retain all the important information in the images
- Runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux (NOT Compatible with ChromeOS/Chromebooks)
Optional Software
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Recommended software to open and use the fillable PDFs provided in the resources
- Free PDF reader that allows you to read and fill PDFs (including multimedia)
- Note: The Basic Program Lab Report PDF provides a space for students to insert their final images. Inserting images directly into the PDF can only be done in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- Compatible with all operating systems (including mobile)
Computer Specifications
Minimum Specifications
- 4 GB of RAM
- AstroImageJ requires approx. 2-2.5 GB of RAM to open the exoplanet data packages
- Internet Connection (to download data packages)
- Windows (64-bit), macOS, or Linux Operating System
- 5 GB of Memory (free Hard Drive Space)
Recommended Specifications
- 8 GB+ of RAM
- Internet Connection (to download data packages)
- Windows (64-bit), macOS, or Linux Operating System
- 10 GB+ of Memory (free Hard Drive Space)