Mercury Venus Transit Maestro for MacOS X
Version 1.1.0 (May 4, 2016) (next minor update planned for January 2022)
Overview
Mercury Venus Transit Maestro controls up to four USB or Firewire connected cameras (Nikon and Canon DSLRs, plus Nikon Coolpix line) and up to four USB or Ethernet connected SBIG CCD cameras with their filter wheels during a Mercury or Venus solar transit, so that you can be free to concentrate on observing the event visually. You must preprogram all exposure information according to a script. Observer position (latitude and longitude coordinates, elevation and timezone) is used to calculate local circumstances, so that camera actions can be referenced to specific transit events. All features are optional, so the software can be used for as little or as much as desired. It is currently localized in English and French. More…
Mercury Venus Transit Maestro is a freeware. Commercial distribution is strictly forbidden. Please contact me first before any commercial use. For the time being this software will remain free, but you should make a donation to support my work and show your appreciation.
Application Requirements, Installation and Upgrade
There are now two versions of the software:
- the Intel one only runs under MacOS X 10.6.x (Snow Leopard) to macOS 10.14.x (Mojave).
- the Universal Binary one, meaning it runs on both Mac Intel and PPC, that runs under MacOS X 10.4.x (a.k.a. Tiger) to macOS 10.14.x (Mojave). However do note that this UB version can’t tether control DSLRs or MILCs on El Capitan or newer which means that in this case you need to use the Intel version. Major regressions in High Sierra (10.13.0 to 10.13.6) have rendered tethered control mostly unusable with this OS version. All those regressions have been fixed by Apple in Mojave, so those still using High Sierra are encouraged to move to Mojave and those running older OSes should either stay put or else skip High Sierra altogether. Mercury Venus Transit Maestro will not be compatible with macOS Catalina, the successor of Mojave, or Big Sur and newer (a complete rewrite would be necessary). Beware not to do this upgrade if you still want to run Mercury Venus Transit Maestro. However, using Parallels Desktop, VMWare or VirtualBox, you can still virtualize Mojave or an older release as a workaround or use the software under Windows and Linux using the same technique.
USB and/or Firewire port for DSLRs or MILCs (optional)
One USB port for Garmin GPS unit (optional)
All Nikon cameras (D70 up to D5)
Canon 1D Mark III up to 1DX Mark II
All SBIG CCD cameras and filter wheels
Note: under El Capitan or newer, the Intel version is mandatory when using camera tethered control
(52.1 MB)
Tiger and onward
USB and/or Firewire port for DSLRs or MILCs (optional)
One USB port for Garmin GPS unit (optional)
All Nikon cameras (D70 up to D5)
Canon 1D Mark II up to 60D
All SBIG CCD cameras and filter wheels
Note: under El Capitan or newer, the UB version can not control anymore the Nikon DSLRs (APIs removed by Apple)
(56.0 MB)
If you’re experiencing difficulties while installing Mercury Venus Transit Maestro and are running MacOS X 10.8.x (Mountain Lion), 10.9.x (Mavericks), 10.10.x (Yosemite), 10.11.x (El Capitan), 10.12.x (Sierra), 10.13.x (High Sierra) or 10.14.x (Mojave), then please take the time to understand Gatekeeper. If running 10.12.x (Sierra) or newer you will even have to allow the user to install applications from so called "unidentified developers"; please read this webpage or that one to know how to do do it.
A screen with a minimum 1024x768 resolution is recommended, although it will work with smaller screens.
Once your download is complete, double-click the .dmg file to mount it, then start the installer and follow the installation instructions. The application will be installed in your Applications folder and a folder named Scripts Mercury Venus Transit Maestro containing sample scripts will be copied to your regular Documents folder at the root of your user account. An administrator password will be required to proceed with the installation process.
When upgrading all of your preference settings and script folder will be preserved.
Read the included help thoroughly before attempting use: go directly to the Help menu the first time you launch Mercury Venus Transit Maestro.
Disclaimer: use this program at your own risk. No guarantees are made, if it doesn’t work and you come away without any photos, sorry! Extensive rehearsal and testing is recommended to ensure success.
Last you are kindly requested to make a donation and show your appreciation.
Français
Mercury Venus Transit Maestro will not be compatible with macOS Catalina, the successor of Mojave, or Big Sur and newer (a complete rewrite would be necessary). Beware not to do this upgrade if you still want to run Mercury Venus Transit Maestro. However, using 
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