LOOKING INTO THE SHADOW: RECORDING A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION EVENT CAMERAS
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA & UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
Fernando Cladera, Kenneth Chaney, Caroline Pritchard, M. Ani Hsieh, Vijay Kumar,
Camillo J. Taylor, Kostas Daniilidis
ABSTRACT
Event cameras are usually favored in high-dynamic scenes because of their high dynamic range compared to traditional CMOS-based cameras. Total solar eclipses are one of these high dynamic scenes. This paper presents the first recording of a total solar eclipse with a pair of high-resolution event cameras, with accompanying methodology. We propose a method to stabilize the recordings to counteract manual tripod adjustments required to track celestial bodies in-frame. We also generate a high-dynamic range image of the sun during the eclipse, showing how event cameras excel in this aspect compared to traditional CMOS-based cameras. We also share insights and lessons learned in this unique scenario. All raw data, stabilized data, and code are open-source.
