Description

Aurora fans in the UK who have benefited from the University of Lancaster's AuroraWatch public alert system will soon be able to see images from a dedicated all-sky camera being installed near Aberdeen.

The camera will provide real-time colour images of the sky from the Lancaster team's magnetic observatory site in Scotland. The camera's operation will be automated, using a Raspberry Pi to determine when to take photographs and to send the images to the AuroraWatch team. Although similar all-sky systems are in operation in Canada and Svalbard, this is the first in the UK.

AuroraWatch UK hopes to include images from this camera in a citizen science project to classify aurora in photographs. The Auroral Zone, based at the University of Calgary, currently uses Canadian images, with volunteers assessing the nature of the aurora, if it is visible, bringing the human brain to bear on single and multiple arcs, diffuse aurorae and more.

http://auroralzone.org

http://aurorawatch.net