==== Plate solving ====
Astrometric calibration of an astronomical image ("plate solving") identifies the celestial coordinates of the centre of a FITS file image.  A small number of commercial or free tools are available.  The algorithms identify the stars in the image and match them against a reference catalogue.  A "good estimate" of the position is required to start the algorithm

{{:astap.png?nolink|}}

ASTAP, a respected, free astrometric solver.  ASTAP can be called from the command line and if the solve is successful the image solution is added to the FITS header.  PinPoint, a alternative commercial product, is scriptable via Windows COM.

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-> [[autofocus | Autofocus]]

<- [[plate-solve | Plate solving]]