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.
6 Aug–12 Augbrowse all nights →
2026-08-12
2026-08-12396/431 · 4.6 bits
2026-08-11
2026-08-11394/426 · 4.6 bits
2026-08-10
2026-08-10367/422 · 4.8 bits
2026-08-09
2026-08-09365/418 · 4.6 bits
2026-08-08
2026-08-08327/413 · 4.7 bits
2026-08-07
2026-08-07378/409 · 4.5 bits
2026-08-06
2026-08-06376/405 · 4.6 bits