Aðaldalshraun All-Sky Camera

News: March 2026

Winter has refused to release its grip on northern Iceland. March and the beginning of April have brought persistent snowfall and difficult conditions around the cabin in Aðaldalshraun. The area is currently only accessible on foot, and even getting close by vehicle has been challenging — the 4×4 has already become stuck more than once trying to get up there.

The cold has also been severe enough that the water supply at the cabin has remained frozen for roughly two months. Its never done before. I've tried allsorts to fix it but stubbornly stuck 17M upstream. I have a 30M long endoscope I'm hoping to feed upstream to take a proper look. This has made any work at the site largely impractical and the cabin itself effectively shut down until temperatures begin to rise.

Because of this I think the Huldufólk have been playing games in my absence. A POE splitter decided to go intermittent causing the INDI-Allsky system to randomly restart and one of the Sony Starlight cameras developed cataracts so I had to change the YouTube feed. At the same time, weeks of persistent cloud cover have meant that opportunities for aurora observations have been extremely limited.

For now the systems continue running where possible, waiting for clearer skies and the gradual transition toward spring conditions in the north.

So that said, the aurora season is coming to an end but its not completely over yet. Remember if you're in the north drop by and say hi, I'll make coffee, you bring cake

tim@netnurds.com