Abstract

We present a new approach for the analysis of high-resolution digital camera photographs taken by photographers who have fortuitously been able to capture rare events such as the glowing sky phenomenon known as STEVE. This method is especially effective with a time lapse series of images of the night sky taken under constant camera settings with a steady pointing. Stars, planets and satellites seen in such images can be used to determine precise and accurate registration of camera pixels to coordinates of angular altitude and azimuth. The location of satellites in the image enables precise and accurate synchronization of the images. Observation of the zenith airglow enables an accurate intensity calibration of the images. We apply these techniques to the series of photographs of STEVE taken on July 25, 2016. We confirm the altitude structure previously found for STEVE. Finally, we extract novel information about the energy flux and spectrum of the particles responsible for the production of STEVE luminosity in this particular event.