On 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse crossed the Iberian Peninsula. The AMASC01 all-sky camera was part of the equipment at our observing site near the village of Mecerreyes in the Sierra de las Mamblas highlands, helping to deliver the live eclipse broadcast prepared by Planetum.

Time-lapse from AMASC01 frames taken every 20 seconds between 20:15 and 20:45 CEST.

You can see how the Moon’s shadow passed over the observing site in Spain in the animation above.

The eclipse was hard to miss in Spain – even the highway information signs were counting down to 12 August.

Totality and the shadow in the atmosphere

The frame below was taken during totality. The sky above the site is dark, while the horizon all around glows in pink and orange – this is sunlight scattered in the atmosphere outside the Moon’s shadow. The whole extent of the shadow is visible at once, which is something only a fisheye all-sky camera can capture in a single image.

AMASC01 frame during totality (20:30 CEST) – the darkened sky inside the Moon's shadow surrounded by the bright twilight-like ring near the horizon.

Live broadcast

The stream was shown live on the large LED wall in the foyer of Planetum’s state-of-the-art Prague Planetarium and at the Žebrák Observatory, and it was also broadcast publicly on YouTube. The recording below starts at the part of the stream where the live feed from the AMASC01 all-sky camera was shown:

Everything mounted on the car

All measuring instruments needed for the expedition were mounted on the car as much as possible. This made it possible to relocate quickly if the weather required it, and it also greatly shortened unpacking and preparation on site.

Part of the preparation took place directly at our accommodation in Spain, so a set of tools – drill, bits and hex keys – was an essential part of the luggage.

Finishing the roof rack for the instruments at the accommodation in Spain.

Starlink Mini terminal, AMASC01 all-sky camera and AMSKY02 cloud sensor (from left) mounted on the roof rack.

The following instruments were used for the stream and observation:

• AMASC01 all-sky camera – live RTSP feed and full-quality frames of the whole sky,
• telescope with a Baader Continuum filter – for the partial phases; during totality it observed without a filter,
• SkyWatcher H-alpha telescope for views of the solar chromosphere and prominences,
• Omegon Pro 80/500 ED telescope for visual observation,
• AMSKY02 cloud sensor for monitoring cloud cover and sky conditions,
• THUNDERMILL02 electric field sensor for measuring the atmospheric electric field during the eclipse.

How to stream from the Spanish plains?

We wanted to choose the observing site according to the weather conditions, not according to mobile signal coverage. For this broadcast we therefore borrowed a Starlink Mini terminal, which provided a very good connection throughout the whole event. The only small drawback was that it did not work while driving – not even when mounted outside on the roof.

In the end, the site we chose turned out to have a very good 5G signal. The same, however, cannot be said about many other places in Spain.

The whole broadcast was controlled from a mobile control desk inside the car.

Two roles of the camera

During the eclipse, AMASC01 had two tasks running at the same time.

Live RTSP stream for OBS

The camera provided a continuous RTSP video stream of the whole sky. The stream was brought into OBS and used as one of the broadcast sources – for example at moments when the feed from the telescopes had to be interrupted. Viewers could then still follow the sky above the observing site, including the approaching darkness and the changing colours of the horizon.

Full-quality frame every 20 seconds

In parallel with the stream, the camera saved a full-resolution frame every 20 seconds. Because this was my first total eclipse, I expected 20 seconds to be a comfortable interval. In the end it turned out to be rather the lower limit for the event itself – the passage of the shadow and totality happen so fast that a shorter interval would capture noticeably more detail. The time-lapse at the top of this article was assembled from these frames.

Watched in Prague and Žebrák

The broadcast was followed live both in the foyer of the Prague Planetarium and at the Žebrák Observatory:

Lessons learned

• Frame cadence: 20 seconds was just enough; for the shadow passage and totality, a much shorter interval (or short video clips) is worth it.
• RTSP stream as a backup source: having an independent all-sky feed in OBS made it easy to keep the broadcast going when the telescope feeds had to be interrupted.
• Instruments mounted on the car: fast setup and the option to move quickly are invaluable when the weather is uncertain.

AMASC01 all-sky camera

The AMASC01 all-sky camera is designed for continuous, round-the-clock monitoring of the whole sky. Besides night-time applications such as aurora, meteors and cloud monitoring, it can also document daytime events such as solar eclipses – and, as this event showed, provide a live all-sky video feed for public broadcasts.

More information about the camera and other astronomical instruments is available on the AstroMeters website.

On the night of 19 January 2026, a strong geomagnetic storm produced a spectacular aurora borealis visible across much of Europe, including the Czech Republic. This northern lights event was recorded by the AMASC01 all-sky camera, a wide-field astronomical camera developed by AstroMeters for continuous night-sky monitoring.

The aurora appeared above the northern horizon shortly after 22:30 CET, forming a broad arc with distinct green and red auroral structures visible across the sky. Because strong auroras are relatively rare at this latitude, the event is a useful example of how an all-sky camera can document transient space-weather phenomena over Central Europe.

The full-night recording is available on YouTube: AMASC01 all-night aurora timelapse from 19 January 2026

Aurora timelapse, keogram and time evolution

The keogram below shows the temporal evolution of the aurora event and helps identify the onset, peak activity, and fading phase of the northern lights during the night.

Solar activity behind the January 2026 aurora

The aurora was triggered by a powerful X1.9-class solar flare that erupted on 18 January 2026 from an active region on the Sun. The flare produced a fast coronal mass ejection (CME) directed toward Earth.

CME animation. Credits: ESA/NASA (SOHO) & NASA (SDO)

When the CME reached Earth about a day later, it triggered a strong geomagnetic storm (G4). During such events, the auroral oval expands toward lower latitudes, allowing auroras to be observed far outside the polar regions, including across Central Europe and the Czech Republic.

As a result, the aurora was visible in many Central European countries including Germany, Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic, where it appeared as red and green arcs above the northern horizon.

The geomagnetic activity was so extensive that the aurora was still visible from the Czech Republic on the following night, 20 January 2026. It was noticeably weaker than on the main event night, and only its red component was visible.

Follow-up observation from the next night, showing only the weaker red auroral component.

AMASC01 all-sky camera for aurora and night-sky monitoring

The AMASC01 all-sky camera is a fish-eye all-sky camera designed for continuous monitoring of the night sky. Using a fisheye optical system, it captures the entire sky dome and allows long-term recording of transient atmospheric and astronomical phenomena.

Such cameras are particularly useful for documenting events such as:

• aurora borealis
• meteors and fireballs
• airglow
• changes in sky brightness and cloud cover

The aurora recorded on 19 January 2026 demonstrates the capability of the AMASC01 all-sky camera to document rare atmospheric phenomena visible across the whole sky, including aurora borealis events in Central Europe.

More information about the camera and other astronomical instruments is available on the AstroMeters website.

New Year’s Eve is full of fireworks. People look at the sky and enjoy colors and light. This time, I had no plan I wanted to do something interesting. I had a simple idea. Fireworks are not only light. They are set of interesting elements. Each color comes from a different element. If I can split the light into a spectrum, I should be able to see these elements. So instead of just watching the fireworks, I decided to measure them. I built a simple spectrograph from parts I had or borrowed from my work. The goal was not to build a perfect instrument. The goal was to test if this idea works in real conditions.

Building the Setup

The setup was assembled using equipment available to us, allowing to conduct measurement without the need for purchasing expensive gear. This setup was chosen as “the best”, with the idea that it could be simplified for futhure measurement based on this experiences (check observed problems at end of this document).

• 80/500 ED Telescope: An optical device with an 80 mm lens diameter and 500 mm focal length, optimized for capturing clear, detailed images.
• Spectral Grating 100 lines/millimeter: Separates light into individual spectral lines for chemical element identification (SA-100).
• Monochromatic High-Speed Camera: Records 1000-800 frames per second, important for capturing fast-moving pyrotechnic events (Chronos 1.4 monochrome).
• Tripod: A sturdy tripod under the telescope allowing for quick aiming of the setup.
• Finder Scope: A device for quickly aiming the telescope.
• Computer with sufficient storage capacity: The camera produces a large amount of data; a 6-second recording is approximately 7 GB. Data was immediately uploaded via network to the connected computer.

The following images shows the attaching of a diffraction grating to the camera. Grating was screwed to the end of a C-mount to 1.25” barrel adapter. It ensures constant sensor-grating distance within the optical system.

Cold Night Above Prague

The experiment took place during New Year’s Eve, from a higher building in Prague.

It was cold. The sky was full of random explosions. Fireworks are difficult targets:

• They appear suddenly
• They move fast
• They change brightness very quickly
• They disappear in a moment

The camera was running at high speed (up to ~1000 FPS). It recorded RAW12 data continuously. Each short recording was large. A few seconds could take several gigabytes. Data was sent directly to a computer over the network. Most of the data is useless. But sometimes, everything works. The firework is in the field of view, the focus is correct, and the spectrum is visible. These frames are the result.

From Raw Data to Spectra

After the night, the real work started. The RAW12 format is efficient, but not easy to use. Two pixels are stored in three bytes. So the first step was conversion.I used a Python script to convert RAW12 files into TIFF images. This process is slow, but necessary. Then I used FFmpeg to create preview videos. This made it easier to search for good frames. You can see these videos here:

After that, I manually selected frames with visible spectra. The analysis was done in a Jupyter Notebook. The workflow was simple and interactive. I selected a line across the spectrum. Then I calculated intensity along this line. Finally, I converted pixel position into wavelength. At this moment, the fireworks stopped being just images. They became data.

Calibration

To convert pixels to wavelength, I used geometry of the setup.

Important parameters were:

• Grating density (100 lines/mm)
• Distance between grating and sensor (not perfectly known)
• Pixel size

To improve accuracy, I used known light sources:

• Sodium street lamp
• Green laser (532 nm)

Calibration works, but it is not perfect. This part needs improvement.

What the Fireworks Reveal

When looking at the spectra, the result is clear. Fireworks do not produce continuous light. They produce lines. Each element has its own pattern:

• Sodium → yellow
• Strontium → red
• Barium → green
• Copper → blue

This confirms that the method works. However, identification is still manual. I do not have a full spectral database yet.

Problems During the Experiment

The experiment also showed many problems. Focusing was difficult. The depth of field was very small. Aiming was also difficult. The telescope has high magnification and a narrow field of view. Exposure was another issue. Some parts were too bright, others too dark. The camera also needed time to save data. During this time, new events were missed. All these problems are important. They show what needs to be improved.

Results

The main result is simple. The method works. Even with a simple setup, it is possible to measure spectra of fireworks. The data is usable and shows clear emission lines. But the process is not automated. It still requires manual work.

Interactive analysis tool: raw frame with spectral lines (top) and the extracted intensity profile (bottom).

After extracting the intensity profile along the spectral line, the pixel positions were converted to wavelengths using the calibration. The resulting spectrum clearly shows individual emission peaks. The two dominant groups correspond to strontium lines in the red region (~614 nm, ~628 nm) and a strong sodium doublet near 589 nm.

Next Steps

There are many ways to improve the system. Better aiming would help a lot. Maybe a tracking mount. Better diffraction grating would improve resolution. Faster data handling would reduce missed events. Better calibration is also needed. And finally, a spectral database is required for automatic identification.

Calibrated spectrum with labeled emission lines — visible peaks correspond to barium (green) and strontium (red) emission lines.

Related Links

• GitHub (full documentation, data, scripts): https://github.com/AstroMeters/Fireworks2023

• Full PDF report with spectra: https://github.com/AstroMeters/Fireworks2023/blob/main/media/merged.pdf

• Spectra gallery: https://github.com/AstroMeters/Fireworks2023/blob/main/gallery.md

• YouTube recordings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3olITvRKy4xV_I5JRlAe6PY4d6_L131k

Update

In the Czech Republic, from 2026, fireworks are strongly restricted. This means that similar experiments will be harder to repeat in the future.