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🔭 Stellar: Add Alt-Az field rotation calculations#388

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stellar-alt-az-support-11153797102778091791
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🔭 Stellar: Add Alt-Az field rotation calculations#388
pozar87 wants to merge 1 commit intomasterfrom
stellar-alt-az-support-11153797102778091791

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@pozar87 pozar87 commented Mar 7, 2026

This PR introduces support for calculating field rotation on Alt-Az mounts, which is critical for users of smart telescopes and Alt-Az astrophotography setups.

  1. Field Rotation Rate: Implemented the formula $\omega = \omega_e \frac{\cos(\text{lat}) \cos(\text{az})}{\cos(\text{alt})}$ to calculate the instantaneous rotation rate of the field in arcseconds per second.
  2. Maximum Exposure Time: Added a utility to determine the maximum exposure duration before field rotation causes star trailing, based on a user-defined pixel tolerance and the specific camera's sensor geometry.
  3. Accuracy: Handled the zenith singularity by capping altitude at 89.99 degrees and provided a 1-hour cap for cases with negligible rotation.

Verified with new unit tests covering various coordinates and equipment configurations.


PR created automatically by Jules for task 11153797102778091791 started by @pozar87

- Added `field_rotation_rate` to `OpticalPath` using the standard astronomical formula.
- Added `max_exposure_alt_az` to calculate exposure limits for Alt-Az mounts.
- Implemented unit tests in `tests/unit/test_optics_field_rotation.py`.
- Verified ZWO ASI220MM Mini specifications.

Co-authored-by: pozar87 <9629954+pozar87@users.noreply.github.com>
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