It is very difficult to predict aurora activity. There are so many great resources out there, space weather, auroral predictions still involve some unpredictability. In some cases, all you can do is wait and see. Architect and technology expert Frank Prince has a tool to make the “waiting and watching” part more bearable: aurora detection, which can send you an alert when you see the aurora borealis (or australis). We have developed an all-sky camera.
The camera discovered hackadayruns on a Raspberry Pi and has a total component cost of less than 275 euros (less than $300).
“An all-sky camera out of the box costs at least 2,000 euros, and even more, so that's not an option for me,” Prince writes on his website.
“So my plan is very simple: build our own budget-friendly all-sky camera, install it on the island, and build an app that provides real-time alerts. This post covers the first part. and provides all the information you need to build your own. Also included is a cost breakdown and STL/F3D files to print your custom parts.”
The island Prince is talking about is Svalbard in Norway, which he recently visited during the winter. Many tourists come to see the Northern Lights, but there are many factors that can make it difficult to see the beautiful night sky, including unpredictable solar activity and weather. It's also too cold for people to wait outside for long periods of time.
So instead of physically going outside and staring at the sky, Prince's all-sky camera will do the observation. The housing is waterproof and can withstand temperatures down to -50 degrees Celsius (nearly -60 degrees Fahrenheit).
To reduce the number of cables, Prins turned to Power over Ethernet (PoE). His computer onboard is a Raspberry Pi 4, paired with a Raspberry Pi HQ camera (M12 mount) and an ultra-wide-angle lens that provides a 184.6 degree field of view. This is large enough to observe vast areas of the night sky.
There are many other parts, detailed in Prince's blog post, which brings the total cost of the part, including the 3D printed parts, to $294.40 at current exchange rates.
In an upcoming blog post, Prince will explain exactly how his new camera detects the aurora borealis.
This is an affordable and elegant solution that could be an absolute boon for photographers who live in areas where the Northern Lights are visible but don't necessarily want to freeze or even stay awake all night. . It must be so nice to wake up to an alarm because you're warm and comfortable indoors and can see the Northern Lights outside.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.