Topic:SkyCam

A view of the sky above Ladd Observatory showing a satellite flare from Iridium 39 (at left of center)

The SkyCam project is similar to The Night Sky Live which uses CONCAM (CONtinuous CAMera) all sky cameras to take images of the entire sky all night long. The images are then analyzed using this software and the data is made freely available for scientific and educational use. [2]

A camera with a wide-angle lens has been installed at Ladd Observatory. This project will document the setup, configuration and operation of the camera. Possible topics include meteorology (cloud cover), detecting meteors and orbiting satellites, and possibly measuring brightness changes of variable stars.

Camera system

The camera system is a commercial off-the-shelf model manufactured by Santa Barbara Instrument Group. It includes a weatherproof housing with a window that is heated to prevent condensation. The window is an optical filter that transmits light from 630 - 1000 nm (red to near infrared) and is used to block light pollution. Inside is an ST-402ME digital imaging camera which uses a monochrome 16 bit per pixel Kodak KAF-0402ME CCD chip with 9 micron pixel size. The camera body is mated to a Computar fisheye lens with 2.6mm focal length and a 1.6 focal ratio. The field of view is about 140 x 90 degrees.

See /Testing for sample images from the camera.

Plan

Note: The Sandbox Server is no longer online and the software initially selected for this project has many problems. A new plan will be implemented soon.

This all-sky image from the CONCAM at Mauna Kea, Hawaii captured a bright fireball which was part of the 2001 Leonid meteor shower. [1]

• Phase 0

1. Create domain on sandbox server to host project.
2. Start coordinating project page: Topic:SkyCam
3. Start learning project page on Wikiversity to learn how to use and modify software to process astronomy images.
4. Recruit participants to collaborate and develop project.

• Phase 0.1

1. Install binaries for wolf on sandbox server.
2. Copy a few sky images from the Night Sky Live archive to use as samples.
3. Run wolf binaries on test imags: binaries do not run. Skip to next phase...

• Phase 0.2

1. Install source code for wolf on sandbox server.
2. Build wolf and test that it runs correctly. Build failed due to corrupt tarball.

• Phase 0.3

1. Develop or modify alternative software for processing images.
2. Use original data from Ladd Observatory sky camera.
3. Output to webpage in a format suitable for an astronomy learning project.

• Phase 1.0

1. Start another learning project on Wikiversity to learn astronomy from the processed images.

Participants

• mikeu

See also

• Wikiversity:Sandbox Server
• Topic:Sandbox Server 0.5