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.
13 Aug–19 Augbrowse all nights →
2026-08-19
2026-08-19256/460 · 4.4 bits
2026-08-18
2026-08-18340/456 · 7.5 bits
2026-08-17
2026-08-17210/452 · 4.7 bits
2026-08-16
2026-08-1655/447 · 5.7 bits
2026-08-15
2026-08-15326/443 · 4.7 bits
2026-08-14
2026-08-14182/439 · 5.3 bits
2026-08-13
2026-08-13403/435 · 4.6 bits