Automated Smart Telescope Remote Assistant

The unified, distributed platform for modern amateur astronomy.

🌌 What is ASTRA?

ASTRA is an open-source Unified Astronomy Platform designed to bridge the gap between complex astronomical hardware and the modern web. It provides a complete ecosystem for remote observatory management, real-time celestial navigation, and automated equipment control.

Traditional astronomy setups often require a dedicated, heavy desktop computer application tethered directly to the telescope, filled with overwhelming menus and complex configurations for amateurs.

ASTRA breaks this barrier by decoupling the hardware from the interface. By using a distributed architecture, it allows you to run your equipment via a lightweight edge node while you control everything from a clean, high-performance web dashboard. Whether you are a seasoned astrophotographer or an occasional observer, ASTRA ensures you spend less time fighting with settings and more time discovering the wonders of the night sky.

✨ Key Features

📡 Distributed Edge Control (astra_edge)

The heart of ASTRA's hardware integration. The Edge Node runs directly on your observatory computer (e.g., Raspberry Pi) and communicates natively with INDI servers.

• Native INDI Integration: Full control over telescopes, mounts, cameras, focusers, and filter wheels.
• Hardware Abstraction: Standardized interface for diverse equipment brands.
• Remote Tunneling: Securely connect your local hardware to the ASTRA cloud for global access.
• Real-time Telemetry: Low-latency monitoring of equipment status and environment.

🔭 Immersive 3D Dashboard

A high-performance web interface built with Svelte 5 and Three.js.

• 3D Sky Visualization: Real-time rendering of the celestial sphere and your equipment's orientation.
• Responsive Control: Manage your entire session from any device (Desktop, Tablet, Mobile).
• Observation Management: Plan, log, and review your sessions with ease.

📚 Sideris Physics & Catalog Engine

A dedicated service for precision astronomical calculations.

• Massive Catalogs: Instant access to thousands of stars and Deep Sky Objects (Messier, NGC, IC).
• Precision Ephemerides: High-accuracy position calculations for Solar System objects using Astropy and SkyField.
• Visibility Planning: "What's in the sky" calculations tailored to your specific location and time.

🤖 AI-Powered Assistance

An optional, model-agnostic layer to simplify complex workflows.

• Natural Language Control: "Can you suggest me what DSO objects could I see tonight?" or "What is the current altitude of Mars?"
• Context-Aware Knowledge: Integrated with Wikipedia and celestial catalogs to provide on-the-fly info about your targets.
• Task Automation: Streamline repetitive setup routines through text.

🏗️ Architecture

ASTRA uses a containerized microservices architecture:

• astra_ui: Svelte 5 frontend with real-time 3D visualizations.
• astra_api: Central coordinator, session manager, and AI router.
• astra_auth: Secure JWT-based authentication and access control.
• astra_edge: Hardware abstraction layer (INDI).
• sideris: Specialized service for catalog lookups and ephemerides.
• Kong Gateway: Unified entry point and secure routing.

🚀 Getting Started

For detailed deployment instructions and technical overview, please refer to the documentation:

• 🏗️ Architecture Overview
• 🚀 Detailed Deployment Guide
• 🛰️ Edge Node (Hardware) Guide
• 📖 User Guide

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose.
• (Optional) An INDI-compatible telescope or simulator.

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/jesusbasalloteinfo/Astra.git
   cd Astra

2. Setup environment:

   cp example.env .env
   # Edit .env and add your AI_API_KEY for the assistant

3. Launch the platform:

   docker compose up -d

4. Access the UI: Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8000.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: Svelte 5, TailwindCSS 4, Three.js, Lucide Icons, Paraglide-js (i18n).
• Backend: FastAPI, Python 3.11+, MongoDB (Core), PostgreSQL (LLM State).
• Protocols: INDI (Hardware), WebSockets (Real-time), REST (API).
• DevOps: Docker, Docker Compose, Kong Gateway.

📁 Project Structure

├── astra_api/      # Core Coordination API
├── astra_auth/     # Authentication & User Service
├── astra_edge/     # INDI Hardware Node
├── astra_ui/       # Svelte 5 Frontend
├── sideris/        # Physics & Catalog Engine
└── gateway/        # Kong API Gateway

🌱 Project Status

ASTRA is currently in active development! I am focusing on core features and stability. While I am not accepting major pull requests just yet, your feedback is highly valuable. Please feel free to open an Issue to report bugs or suggest enhancements.

🤝 Credits

ASTRA is made possible by the following open-source projects:

• indipyclient
• FastAPI
• Svelte
• Three.js
• LiteLLM

📜 License

Distributed under the AGPL v3 License. See LICENSE for more information.

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Clear skies and happy observing! 🔭