An imaging instrument that can replace mechanically scanning photometers in ground based auroral photometry has been developed. The instrument utilizes a Reticon photodiode array, 1*1024 pixels, coupled with fiber optics to a second generation image intensifier. The optics are a telecentric design allowing for 170° field of view (FoV) with narrow‐band interference filters. Peltier element cooling is found to be sufficient to neglect dark current noise for 1‐s integration time. The whole system is controlled by a computer via the IEEE‐488 bus. Initial results and instrument performance are reported.