Cameras Make it Easy and closing tags for paragraphs.
Anyone with web access can view the night sky live through a wide-angle lens, thanks to rooftop cameras being installed at astronomical observatories in the United States and overseas. The portable instruments consist of a Fisheye lens, CCD camera and laptop computer in a suitcase-sized weatherproof case, designed to be bolted to a rooftop and connected to a power supply and Ethernet. The first instrument, installed at NSF s Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, has been recording the night sky since May 2000. It has documented several unanticipated events, including the spectacular March 31 aurorae, rarely seen so far south. Penn State University senior Zachary Battles has been blind since infancy.