All sky webcam

An all-sky camera is an ideal tool for capturing the majesty of the celestial sphere turning silently overhead. With it you can make timelapse videos that reveal the movement of the stars as well as record bright meteors and satellites. By Martin Lewis. The camera is linked to a computer to record images of the sky every few seconds and the resulting video is processed later to make a timelapse movie. The complicated part of this arrangement, if you want to have a go at building one yourself, is the enclosure.

A common tool in auroral science is the all-sky camera. This is simply a camera fitted with a fish-eye lens and pointed upwards. This way it is possible to image the sky from horizon to horizon in all directions. Science grade all-sky cameras are sophisticated instruments with very high light sensitivity and ability to look at single light emissions at high time resolution. The particular camera originally used was designed by Willy Stoffregen, one of the pioneers in optical instrumentation for auroral research. This camera has a sensitivity comparable to the human eye, which makes it useful to check if there is aurora outside without leaving the sofa:.

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