Photometric Color Calibration and ImageSolver failing

[rfrancis]

I've been using PCC with great success since April, the last time being 9 August.

I have now found that I get consistent failures in the plate solving stage, and the same failure if I use ImageSolver.

I get the same failures on the image I successfully calibrated on 9 August.

I have tried all the servers, and all seem to be throwing errors:
CDS Strasbourg: time out
ADAC Tokyo: transfer closed with outstanding read data
CADC Victoria: time out
CASU Cambridge: data arrive but processing error, see below
IUCAA Pune: couldn't resolve host
NAOC Beijing: empty reply
INASAN Moscow: no such file or download error
CFA Havard: no such file or download error
JAC Hilo: no such file or download error
SAAO South Africa: couldn't resolve host

So it looks like they're all off-line except Cambridge. Obviously I've tested my internet connection and all seems well.

This is what happens with the Cambridge server, with ImageSolver (it's the same for PCC, but with more preamble):

Code: [Select]

run --execute-mode=auto "/Applications/PixInsight/src/scripts/AdP/ImageSolver.js"

Processing script file: /Applications/PixInsight/src/scripts/AdP/ImageSolver.js
* Using an automatically calculated limit magnitude of 16.27.
Seed parameters for plate solving:
   Image coordinates: RA=20 12 29.807, Dec=+38 25 15.27
   Resolution: 0.5682805986761558
Starting StarAlignment iteration

Downloading Vizier data:
http://vizier.ast.cam.ac.uk/viz-bin/asu-tsv?-source=I/317&-c=303.124196 38.420908&-c.r=0.630034&-c.u=deg&-out.form=|&-out.max=200000&-out=PPMXL&-out=RAJ2000&-out=DEJ2000&-out=pmRA&-out=pmDE&-out=Jmag&-out=Hmag&-out=Kmag&-out=b1mag&-out=b2mag&-out=r1mag&-out=r2mag&-out=imag&r1mag=<16.27
1227 bytes transferred in 0.18 s @ 6.81 KiB/s
fov:0.630034 actual:0.000000
Catalog PPMXL size: 0 objects

Using the triangle similarity algorithm

StarAlignment: Processing view: RGB
/var/folders/v0/1gsx52jj2mv8qz_x6hl3bjtr0000gp/T/stars.csv:
Scanning star data: done
0 stars.
*** Error: /var/folders/v0/1gsx52jj2mv8qz_x6hl3bjtr0000gp/T/stars.csv: 0 star(s) found - need at least six stars.
<* failed *>
*** Error: The image could not be aligned with the reference star field
Please check the following items:
The initial coordinates should be inside the image.
The initial resolution should be within a factor of 2 from the correct value.
Adjust the star detection sensitivity parameter, so that the script can detect most of the stars in the image without mistaking noise for stars.
The catalog should be matched to the image. Choose the appropriate catalog and magnitude filter, so that the number of stars extracted from the catalog can be similar to the number of stars detected in the image.
*** The image could not be solved.
This is usually because the initial parameters are too far from the real metadata of the image.


Is this due to some common maintenance across all these servers at the moment?

thanks,
Richard

[astrochaser]

I've been using PCC with great success since April, the last time being 9 August.

I have now found that I get consistent failures in the plate solving stage, and the same failure if I use ImageSolver.

I get the same failures on the image I successfully calibrated on 9 August.

I have tried all the servers, and all seem to be throwing errors:
CDS Strasbourg: time out
ADAC Tokyo: transfer closed with outstanding read data
CADC Victoria: time out
CASU Cambridge: data arrive but processing error, see below
IUCAA Pune: couldn't resolve host
NAOC Beijing: empty reply
INASAN Moscow: no such file or download error
CFA Havard: no such file or download error
JAC Hilo: no such file or download error
SAAO South Africa: couldn't resolve host

So it looks like they're all off-line except Cambridge. Obviously I've tested my internet connection and all seems well.

This is what happens with the Cambridge server, with ImageSolver (it's the same for PCC, but with more preamble):

Code: [Select]

run --execute-mode=auto "/Applications/PixInsight/src/scripts/AdP/ImageSolver.js"

Processing script file: /Applications/PixInsight/src/scripts/AdP/ImageSolver.js
* Using an automatically calculated limit magnitude of 16.27.
Seed parameters for plate solving:
   Image coordinates: RA=20 12 29.807, Dec=+38 25 15.27
   Resolution: 0.5682805986761558
Starting StarAlignment iteration

Downloading Vizier data:
http://vizier.ast.cam.ac.uk/viz-bin/asu-tsv?-source=I/317&-c=303.124196 38.420908&-c.r=0.630034&-c.u=deg&-out.form=|&-out.max=200000&-out=PPMXL&-out=RAJ2000&-out=DEJ2000&-out=pmRA&-out=pmDE&-out=Jmag&-out=Hmag&-out=Kmag&-out=b1mag&-out=b2mag&-out=r1mag&-out=r2mag&-out=imag&r1mag=<16.27
1227 bytes transferred in 0.18 s @ 6.81 KiB/s
fov:0.630034 actual:0.000000
Catalog PPMXL size: 0 objects

Using the triangle similarity algorithm

StarAlignment: Processing view: RGB
/var/folders/v0/1gsx52jj2mv8qz_x6hl3bjtr0000gp/T/stars.csv:
Scanning star data: done
0 stars.
*** Error: /var/folders/v0/1gsx52jj2mv8qz_x6hl3bjtr0000gp/T/stars.csv: 0 star(s) found - need at least six stars.
<* failed *>
*** Error: The image could not be aligned with the reference star field
Please check the following items:
The initial coordinates should be inside the image.
The initial resolution should be within a factor of 2 from the correct value.
Adjust the star detection sensitivity parameter, so that the script can detect most of the stars in the image without mistaking noise for stars.
The catalog should be matched to the image. Choose the appropriate catalog and magnitude filter, so that the number of stars extracted from the catalog can be similar to the number of stars detected in the image.
*** The image could not be solved.
This is usually because the initial parameters are too far from the real metadata of the image.


Is this due to some common maintenance across all these servers at the moment?

thanks,
Richard

I, am having the same proble today as well.  I have done all the same steps as above and getting the same results. Frustrating as I enjoy using this PMC tool.

Richard H.

[mspruce]

Looks like the services are still down. I tried the Cambridge service and if you trap the returned data from them it is actually an error and not catalogue data:

Content-Type: text/html
DocumentRef: VOTx20698
{\html {\head
#Title:   VOTable Error {\body  The (Sybase) database is not currently reachable.
****
**** -- no connection
**** Report from: stdb_pg,     Status: STDB_ERR
****Postgres connect error
****
**** -- no connection
**** Report from: stdb_pg_conn,     Status: STDB_ERR
****Couldn't connect with server
****
**** -- no connection
**** Report from: stdb_pg,     Status: STDB_ERR
****Postgres connect error
****
**** -- no connection
**** Report from: stdb_pg_conn,     Status: STDB_ERR
****Couldn't connect with server
****
**** -- no connection
**** Report from: stdb_conn_dbms,     Status: STDB_ERR
****No server is available for connection
****Can't connect to ReferenceDirectory 'metaviz@UK'
} }}

Going directly to the site (http://vizier.ast.cam.ac.uk/vizier/index.gml) there is no announcement about the service being down Lets hope they get things up and running soon.
Lets hope they get th

[mspruce]

Looks like the main server is back up now as I have just managed to use PCC again