Vespera Passengers is automatically initialized in less than 5 minutes.
First, Vespera Passengers retrieves the exact GPS position, date and time of observation from the user's smartphone/tablet.
Next, Vespera Passengers will scan the sky. If the sky is sufficiently dark and transparent, it will detect the stars, take a photo and perform star field recognition. This involves analyzing the position of the stars in relation to each other, and comparing this information with its internal data to determine its orientation. This last stage is called astrometry.
If Vespera Passengers encounters an obstacle during its analysis (wall, tree, etc.), it will continue its search in other areas of the sky until it completes a full circle.
Finally, Vespera Passengers adjusts its focus using a similar approach: it takes a photo of the sky and looks for the focus position where the stars are sharpest.