AMASC01
AMASC01 is the AstroMeters allsky camera — a weatherproof, single-cable camera built for permanent outdoor operation. It is designed, developed and manufactured by AstroMeters, the maintainers of caelum, and it is the hardware caelum is developed and tested against.
- Product page: astrometers.eu/products/AMASC01
- Hardware documentation (installation, focusing, maintenance): astrometers.eu/docs/AMASC01
Buying an AMASC01 funds caelum
caelum is open-source software developed by AstroMeters, and AMASC01 is what pays for it. Buying one gets you a camera that is tested with every caelum release — and funds the development that every caelum user, including DIY builders, benefits from.
Components
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| Image sensor | Sony IMX477, 12.3 MP, 1.55 µm pixels (Raspberry Pi HQ camera class) |
| Lens | 180° fisheye covering the whole sky, with a focusing mechanism accessible without disassembly |
| Computer | Raspberry Pi single-board computer inside the enclosure |
| Dome | Optical dome with a heater ring (AMASCHR01, SHT4x temperature/humidity sensor) against dew and frost |
| Ventilation | Active ventilation of the enclosure plus dedicated CPU cooling |
| Environmental sensors | Dome temperature; body temperature, humidity and pressure; optional external sensor |
| Timekeeping | Battery-backed RTC, so frames are timestamped correctly with no network |
| Network and power | Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) with PoE+ (IEEE 802.3at) — one cable. A separate power input is available on request |
| Control electronics | Custom AstroMeters board managing heating, ventilation and peripherals |
Example images
Installation
AMASC01 needs one Ethernet cable to a PoE+ switch or injector. Mounting, focusing and network setup are covered in the AMASC01 installation guide.
Running caelum on AMASC01
The camera is driven by the picamera2 backend:
{
"camera": {
"backend": "picamera2",
"resolution": [4056, 3040]
}
}[4056, 3040] is the IMX477's full resolution and already the schema default. Install as described in Getting started — the installer picks picamera2 by default on a Pi.
Thermal control is separate
Dome heating, ventilation and the environmental sensors are run by the camera's own control electronics and tooling, independently of caelum. caelum does not yet read those sensors or drive the heater.
Getting one
AMASC01 is available from AstroMeters — see the product page or write to info@astrometers.eu. Modified versions (lens and field of view, sensor, power, mounting) can be made on request.