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.
20 Aug–26 Augbrowse all nights →
2026-08-26
2026-08-2688/489 · 16.5 mag/arcsec² · 6.2 bits
2026-08-25
2026-08-2534/486 · 16.7 mag/arcsec² · 6.0 bits
2026-08-24
2026-08-24386/482 · 17.7 mag/arcsec² · 4.6 bits
2026-08-23
2026-08-23375/477 · 17.8 mag/arcsec² · 4.5 bits
2026-08-22
2026-08-22445/473 · 17.8 mag/arcsec² · 4.5 bits
2026-08-21
2026-08-21253/469 · 17.8 mag/arcsec² · 4.6 bits
2026-08-20
2026-08-2096/465 · 17.8 mag/arcsec² · 4.6 bits