Astrometry.net

Use it

There are currently two options for using the Astrometry.net software: through a web service, or by downloading and building the code and running it on your own computer. Previously we had a service that used the flickr photo-sharing site, but that is currently not working.

web: Our web service is operating at nova.astrometry.net, where you can submit images for astrometric calibration. If you have questions about using the web service, ask questions on the Google Group.

download: If you want to try downloading and building our software on your local Linux, unix, or Mac box, (also reported to work under Cygwin in Windows) then

1. download the source:
   • releases: astrometry.net/downloads or on github
   • development version on github: github astrometry.net
2. check thebuilding/installing part of the readme file.
3. grab some index files
4. if you have any trouble, post on the Group (or check the docs)
5. detailed build recipes for some systems (Ubuntu) can be found in the CI build scripts, for those who don't mind wading through yaml files

packages:

• Debian or Ubuntu: apt install astrometry.net
• MacOS Homebrew: brew install astrometry-net
• Windows: it should work in WSL. Any more detailed reports would be welcome.
• Docker: please see Docker instructions
• FreeBSD users can install it from /usr/ports/astro/astrometry (in 2024: is this still true? If you use FreeBSD please let us know on the goog group)

flickr: If you are a member of flickr (free) you can upload images to flickr and submit them to the astrometry group to have them solved. We check for new images roughly once an hour, and images that have been run through the solver will receive a comment with the solve details and are also annotated. This photo of M81 and M82 is an example of a solved photo with annotations. For more information on flickr and how to use it see the flickr FAQ.