If you haven’t already noticed, the All-Sky camera for Chile is up and running! The best place to see it is on the Chile Conditions page, because you can click on it to get the full-size image. This is the first working end-to-end implementation of the observatory software for SLOOH V3.0, and represents a major milestone.
The current SLOOH V2.0 system uses Java on both ends (observatory and web server) and the communications in between are a proprietary SLOOH-invented format called ROMP (Remote Observatory Messaging Protocol). The USPTO granted a patent on the V2.0 live image processing system last year. For V3.0, we have transitioned to a more “web-standard” implementation for both the observatory and web-server software. It is a novel application of proven web technology, sufficiently different and unique to apply for a new patent. This new approach is more flexible, supports multiple observatories, and has the hooks to support later features like the Advanced Observing Interface.
The All-Sky still has some work to be done: It is not yet calibrated with dark and bias frames, so you will see some noise at first. The automatic exposure adjustment needs tweaking to handle dark, twilit, and moon-lit nights. And finally, the dark mask surrounding the image and containing the SLOOH logo needs to be added. This work is ongoing.
Remember, this is not just the All-Sky camera. It is the proof-of-concept for the all-new software we are writing for the main scopes in Chile and Australia, and will soon be retrofitting to Mt. Teide. Full speed ahead!
