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| (Local New Zealand date & time of last image displayed.) |
MOA2‘s environmental monitoring system graciously provides us with weather data for Mount John (follow this link). It also produces the all-sky image shown above, generated by a sensitive video camera equipped with a fisheye lens that is mounted outside the MOA2 dome.
What will it show?
The image depicts the whole sky visible from Mount John with overhead at the centre and the horizon around the edge. It is updated every 30 seconds, but only during the hours of twilight and darkness at the observatory.
When stars and planets are visible, or the Moon is in the sky, these objects will tend to move from the top of the image to the bottom over course of a night. Objects to the left of the image — including the Southern Cross and its pointer stars, Alpha and Beta Centauri — are deemed circumpolar, so they will be visible all night.
Just occasionally you will see the streak of a brilliant meteor (‘shooting star’), an Iridium satellite flare, or the International Space Station crawling across the sky! (Click here for predictions.)
What star is that?
If you’d like to identify some of the stars shown, please look at our interactive starchart. (Please note that the interactive starchart is orientated north up, whereas the Astrocam has north to the right of the screen.) Detailed sky data is available in our customisable Almanac.
Is that water on the lens? Why’s it all black?
Just occasionally the protective dome above the lens will be covered with droplets of moisture. If the picture is black then it was cloudy when the last image was captured.
Earth & Sky Ltd., P.O. Box 112, Lake Tekapo 7945, New Zealand.
E-mail: info@earthandsky.co.nz
Phone: +64 (0)3 6806960 Fax: +64 (0)3 6806950
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