weather3 – Astropage

Allsky Camera Station EN-903

Allsky camera station with code EN-903, based on the island of Terschelling in the small town Oosterend. The camera is placed in Dark Sky area “de Boschplaat”, a perfect spot for stargazing and spotting meteors.
The camera has an extreme fisheye lens, showing the sky in one view. The camera runs 24/7 and the image is updated every 2 minutes.
Some tech stuff: It’s a 20 megapixel camera. Inside the camera is a shutter mounted, blocking the lightpath from lens to camera sensor 16 times a second. Fast moving objects like meteors therefor show up as a dotted line in the picture (image right). As a result we can determine the speed of the meteor. Combining mutiple stations in the Netherlands (and even abroad) it’s possible to calculate the path of the meteor though the Earth’s atmosphere.

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a Bright meteor, or fireball, on a clear night. Over 45 breaks, so almost 3 seconds of visibility!

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Zooming in with a telescope and camera, with very long exposure time.

Stargazing is at its best in a dark area. Being under the stars in quiet environment and in nature is a truly amazing experience. Dark skies are important for the best observation conditions and that is where you find observatories for instance.
If you’re planning to visit a dark area you definitely need to go outside during the night. A simple pair of binoculars can make this experience even better. Bring warm clothes, a hot drink and a RED light to navigate on the ground. Go far away from artificial lights.
Clear skies!

Startrail of all images. All images of one night in one view shows the rotation of the Earth. a Decent result is possible on a clear night.

Keogram. a Tiny vertical slice of each image is placed on a timeline, producing a visual of a timespan.

Video of all images taken. This movie represents a full night in less than a minute.

Gallery of captured events

Gallery of images with events recorded since May 18th 2022, when the camera saw its first light.

Wanted & unwanted events

Sometimes less obvious items appear in the frame. Birds, spiders, but also satellites like the International Space Station pop up!