ALLSky Camera

The Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic’s All Sky camera. Credit: Sylvie Beaulieu

All-sky cameras are equipped with special fisheye lenses that capture a super-wide, almost hemispherical view of the sky. Originally created for meteorology, these cameras serve a valuable role at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic. They help observatory and Sépaq staff remotely monitor sky conditions and record the entire night sky in one frame. This camera comes in handy for various purposes, including tracking weather patterns, noting sunrise and sunset times, and spotting the cosmic light show that is the aurora borealis (also known as “the northern lights”). Recording these auroras is important because they can affect astronomical observations, and their unpredictable and fast-changing nature makes them a challenging factor to account for in data analysis. Alongside other cameras on the OMM catwalk, the All-sky camera provides a real-time, comprehensive view of Mont-Mégantic’s ever-changing night sky.

Below, you can click through the most recent images taken by the OMM All-Sky camera. What can you spot?

latest1
2023-12-04 16:10:43 Exp(s) : 25.6288s
latest2
2023-12-04 16:05:52 Exp(s) : 15.8370s
latest3
2023-12-04 16:01:11 Exp(s) : 10.8395s
latest4
2023-12-04 15:56:34 Exp(s) : 8.1594s
latest5
2023-12-04 15:52:01 Exp(s) : 6.5410s
latest6
2023-12-04 15:47:30 Exp(s) : 5.2567s
latest7
2023-12-04 15:42:57 Exp(s) : 4.4105s
latest8
2023-12-04 15:38:29 Exp(s) : 3.3124s
latest9
2023-12-04 15:33:59 Exp(s) : 2.6054s
latest10
2023-12-04 15:29:30 Exp(s) : 2.2315s