Astro Camera

night-by-night colour sweeps and stacks with a camera facing north and towards the pole and zenith
The Astro Camera: a clear plastic box taped shut, on a wooden arm outside the window above the garden
Pi 4 and v3 camera in a sandwich box from an upstairs window. The white triangle is a lens cover driven by the Pi with an SG90 servo (not visible, far outside of box). The lens is covered with a phone protector glass.
per-night brightness curves overlaid
astrocam v3
brightness curves (and an old reference) for a week. Clouds are bright in the suburbs and overcast is about 8, deep darkness about 4. 4 stops or bits is 16x more photons. The pedestal is 6 bits and must be greater than the electrical noise of the sensor.
October 2026browse all nights →
2026-10-21
2026-10-211561/2874 · 4.4
2026-10-20
2026-10-201244/2862 · 4.3
2026-10-19
2026-10-193/2845 · 7.1
2026-10-18
2026-10-18418/2345 · 4.5
2026-10-17
2026-10-172322/2817 · 4.7
capture 19:10-19:21
46 frames, not stacked (twilight only)
2026-10-140/46
2026-10-13
2026-10-132269/2757 · 4.4
capture 19:14-19:46
129 frames, not stacked (twilight only)
2026-10-120/129
2026-10-11
2026-10-111419/2729 · 4.2
2026-10-10
2026-10-101570/2712 · 4.4
2026-10-09
2026-10-092378/2697 · 4.3
2026-10-08
2026-10-08183/484 · 7.1
2026-10-07
2026-10-07611/662 · 4.2
2026-10-06
2026-10-06219/659 · 4.9
2026-10-05
2026-10-05546/655 · 4.2
2026-10-04
2026-10-04420/651 · 4.4
2026-10-03
2026-10-03448/647 · 4.4
2026-10-02
2026-10-02476/643 · 5.0
2026-10-01
2026-10-01575/640 · 4.6