Further work on the #AllSkyCamera revamp: new casing, as the old one is starting to crumble under UV and Scottish weather. But forgot, buying new casing, that the top surface needs to be flat to mate to the dome. So 3D printed an adaptor (fun high school maths challenge) and then needed a stand to hold the camera in position: brainwave, I've got a knackered Peltier fan for the stove, and what an astrocam wants in a stand is a really good heatsink.

Astronomers can now view real-time conditions at the observatory from our AllSky camera! Whether you’re planning observations, checking cloud cover, or just enjoying the night sky, you can access the live feed any time on our website.
Live AllSky View: https://www.yorku.ca/science/observatory/observers/
Clear skies and happy observing!
#AllSkyCamera #Astrophotography #Astronomy #Astronomer #Space #YorkU #Observatory #AllanICarswellObservatory #Stargazing #Telescope #Planets #Stars #Science #Physics #Toronto #YorkUObservatory #ClearSkies #FreeEvents #FamilyFriendly #ScienceOutreach #Tour #AICO

Astronomers can now view real-time conditions at the observatory from our AllSky camera! Whether you’re planning observations, checking cloud cover, or just enjoying the night sky, you can access the live feed any time on our website.
Live AllSky View: https://www.yorku.ca/science/observatory/observers/
Clear skies and happy observing!
#AllSkyCamera #Astrophotography #Astronomy #Astronomer #Space #YorkU #Observatory #AllanICarswellObservatory #Stargazing #Telescope #Planets #Stars #Science #Physics #Toronto #YorkUObservatory #ClearSkies #FreeEvents #FamilyFriendly #ScienceOutreach #Tour #AICO

Oh my sweet baby, what have the years done to your once beautiful features?
To be fair, it's been 4 years on the highest point for miles around, 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, in the worst weather the Northern Highlands can throw at electronics. Yet it persists.
Main problems are plastic, internal camera mount has degraded/slipped, the dome is seriously clouded by age and the quarter turn screws are NOT coming out despite my best brute force and ignorance.
#AllSkyCam #AllSkyCamera

Really bright flare on the #AllSkyCamera about 01:20 this morning. Meteor-bright, but covered about 10 degrees of arc and showed up in 3 frames of 20 second each. Guessing it's something orbital and a good bit higher than the ISS etc, but big/reflective. Best match I can find is the SL-16 rocket, but that doesn't seem high enough, orbital period is only ~10 mins longer than ISS.
Any ideas?
(Sorry, not got copies of the pics, will tomorrow.)

Caught a nice burst of #aurora on the school #allSkyCamera last night. North is the 9 o'clock position.

The #SpaceX #Falcon9 #RocketPlume was captured on 3 of our #RaspberryPi #MeteorCameras, #auroracam + #AllSkyCamera. I've put the clips into one video with extra DSLR photos. Oxfordshire, UK 19:55-20:05UT 24 March '25. Watch here: https://youtu.be/-BH_Eg4hWaw

The usual problem with an #AllSkyCamera is the sensor pumps out a lot of heat. When the temperature rapidly plummets to minus 10C however...
(Aurora flickers still visible near the bottom)
https://youtu.be/dPeAGEnecUU