N.I.N.A.

What is NINA

N.I.N.A. (Nighttime Imaging ‘N’ Astronomy) is a free, open-source Windows application designed for astrophotography. It provides advanced sequencing capabilities, equipment control, and image capture automation. NINA supports a wide range of cameras, mounts, filter wheels, focusers, and other observatory equipment through ASCOM and native drivers.

Why Use NINA with CitraSense

NINA’s robust API and sequencing engine make it an excellent platform for automated telescope tasking. You’ll choose NINA if your telescope control stack in Windows-based.

Prerequisites

Note: Presently only Planewave telescopes supported, more scopes coming soon.

Before integrating NINA with CitraSense, ensure you have:

  • Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit recommended)
  • NINA 3.2 or later installed (download here)
  • NINA Advanced API plugin enabled
  • JOKO Orbitals plugin enabled
  • Planewave tools enabled
  • Your telescope hardware already configured and working in NINA
  • Network connectivity between the NINA system and CitraSense

Installation

Enable NINA Advanced API

  1. Open NINA
  2. Navigate to Options → Plugins
  3. Find and enable the Advanced API plugin
  4. Configure the API to listen on a specific port (default: 1888)
  5. Restart NINA to activate the plugin

Install CitraSense

If you haven’t already installed CitraSense, follow the Getting Started guide.

Configuration

In NINA

  1. Enable the Advanced API Plugin
    • Go to Options → Plugins → Advanced API
    • Check Enable Advanced API
    • Set the port (default: 1888)
    • Note the hostname/IP address of your NINA system
  2. Configure Your Equipment Profile
    • Ensure all your hardware is properly configured in NINA
    • Test that you can successfully slew your mount and capture images
    • Verify plate solving is working if you plan to use it
  3. Set Up Your Camera Settings
    • Configure camera gain, offset, and other imaging parameters
    • These will be used as defaults for CitraSense tasks

In CitraSense Web Interface

  1. Navigate to the Hardware Configuration Page
    • Open CitraSense web interface (default: http://localhost:24872)
    • Go to Hardware Settings
  2. Select NINA Adapter
    • Choose NINA from the hardware adapter dropdown

    The following settings are available:

    Setting Default Required/Optional Description
    N.I.N.A. API URL http://nina:1888/v2/api Required Base URL for the NINA Advanced HTTP API. Must start with http:// or https://.
    Bypass Autofocus False Optional Skip autofocus routine when initializing. When enabled, CitraSense will use cached focus positions if available.
  3. Save Configuration
    • Save your settings and Citrasense will try to connect to your hardware.

Supported Features

The NINA adapter supports the following capabilities:

  • ✅ Mount Control - Slew to coordinates, track, park/unpark
  • ✅ Camera Control - Exposure control, gain, offset, binning
  • ✅ Image Capture - Single and multiple exposures
  • ✅ Filter Wheel - Automatic filter selection with automatic focus offset on filter change
  • ✅ Focuser Control - Move, abort, and status via NINA Advanced API; manual controls work in the CitraSense web UI
  • ✅ Cooling Control - Camera temperature management
  • ✅ Sequence Execution - Custom NINA sequences triggered by tasks
  • ✅ Plate Solving - Position verification and sync
  • ✅ Autofocus - Full autofocus support via NINA; triggered by CitraSense’s autofocus scheduler
  • ⚠️ Guiding - Integration depends on your guiding setup

Limitations

Known Limitations

  • Windows Only - NINA is Windows-specific; Linux/Mac users should use INDI or KStars
  • API Dependency - Requires the Advanced API plugin to be installed and running
  • Network Access - Both NINA and CitraSense must be network accessible to each other
  • Focuser move events - NINA does not emit a WebSocket event when a focuser move completes; CitraSense polls the focuser position until the move finishes
  • Guiding - PHD2/NINA guiding state is not currently surfaced in the CitraSense web UI

Performance Considerations

  • NINA should be running continuously for CitraSense to execute tasks
  • Large image files may take time to upload depending on network bandwidth
  • Ensure your system has adequate resources for both NINA and CitraSense

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Problem: CitraSense cannot connect to NINA

Solutions:

  • Verify NINA is running and the Advanced API plugin is enabled
  • Check that the N.I.N.A. API URL is correct in CitraSense settings
  • Ensure Windows Firewall allows connections on the API port
  • Test connectivity with telnet <hostname> <port> from the CitraSense system
  • Restart both NINA and CitraSense

API Errors

Problem: API commands fail or return errors

Solutions:

  • Check the NINA log files for detailed error messages
  • Verify all equipment is properly connected and powered on in NINA
  • Ensure equipment profiles are correctly configured
  • Update NINA and the Advanced API plugin to the latest versions

Image Capture Problems

Problem: Images aren’t captured or uploaded correctly

Solutions:

  • Verify camera settings in NINA (gain, offset, cooling)
  • Check available disk space on both NINA and CitraSense systems
  • Ensure the camera is properly cooled and stabilized
  • Review exposure settings for the task
  • Check network bandwidth for upload issues
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