A daytime measurement of the lunar contribution to the night sky brightness in LSST’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">ugrizy</Emphasis> bands–initial results

We report measurements from which we determine the spatial structure of the lunar contribution to night sky brightness, taken at the LSST site on Cerro Pachon in Chile. We use an array of six photodiodes with filters that approximate the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope’s u, g, r, i, z, and y bands. We use the sun as a proxy for the moon, and measure sky brightness as a function of zenith angle of the point on sky, zenith angle of the sun, and angular distance between the sun and the point on sky. We make a correction for the difference between the illumination spectrum of the sun and the moon. Since scattered sunlight totally dominates the daytime sky brightness, this technique allows us to cleanly determine the contribution to the (cloudless) night sky from backscattered moonlight, without contamination from other sources of night sky brightness. We estimate our uncertainty in the relative lunar night sky brightness vs. zenith and lunar angle to be between 0.3–0.7 mags depending on the passband. This information is useful in planning the optimal execution of the LSST survey, and perhaps for other astronomical observations as well. Although our primary objective is to map out the angular structure and spectrum of the scattered light from the atmosphere and particulates, we also make an estimate of the expected number of scattered lunar photons per pixel per second in LSST, and find values that are in overall agreement with previous estimates.     

The artificial night sky brightness mapped from DMSP satellite Operational Linescan System measurements

We present a method to map the artificial sky brightness across large territories in astronomical photometric bands with a resolution of approximately 1 km. This is of use in quantifying the situation regarding night sky pollution, recognizing potential astronomical sites and allowing future monitoring of trends. The artificial sky brightness present in the chosen direction at a given position on the surface of the Earth is obtained by the integration of the contributions produced by every surface area in the surroundings . Each contribution is computed via detailed models for the propagation in the atmosphere of the upward light flux emitted by the area. The light flux is measured with top-of-atmosphere radiometric observations made by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System.
We have applied the described method to Europe, obtaining maps of artificial sky brightness in the V and B bands.     

Sky Brightness Measurements at Haleakala, 1955–2002

Measurements of the brightness of the clear daytime sky at Haleakala, Maui are presented for the interval 1955 through 2002. The observations are made near the direction of the Sun, where forward scattering off aerosols dominates the sky brightness. The Haleakala summit at 3054 m is normally above the inversion layer. The Haleakala sky is dark; the observed brightness per airmass has a median of 10 millionths of the solar disk and a mode of 5 millionths, with Rayleigh scattering contributing 1 millionth. There is no demonstrable long-term trend in the data.     

CCD离焦对现代日晕光度计测量结果影响分析

现代日晕光度计（Sky Brightness Monitor,SBM）是一种测定天文址点白昼大气参量的精密仪器,它已成为国际上太阳选址工作的重要设备之一。与国外同类设备不同的是,云南天文台研制的现代日晕光度计上的CCD相机系统可以被简单拆卸并保存,有利于选址踏勘阶段的携带和运输。为获取组装现代日晕光度计设备时可能存在的CCD离焦所导致的测量误差,于2011年6月在新疆奇台县和宁夏石嘴山市利用当地稳定的日照条件做了多次CCD大离焦量快变试验。统计结果表明,现代日晕光度计的CCD显著离焦可造成的相对测量误差约在6％之内。在正常情况下,即观测者基本按照物镜旋筒刻线标志在望远镜上安装CCD设备时,日晕测量的相对误差一般远小于6％。因此认为这种系统误差对优良址点的测量影响基本可以忽略。     

丽江高美古的夜天光亮度

１９９６年１月～１９９８年３月,我们用光电方法测定了丽江高美古在Ｂ、Ｖ两个波段的夜天光亮度。为便于比较,在１９９６年１月还测定了云南天文台凤凰山台址的夜天光亮度。本文给出了观测结果,同时也列出了世界上一些天文台站的数据以供参考。     

中国地区天文夜晴空概率分布

利用１９９５～１９９７年静止气象卫星（ＧＭＳ）红外通道的数据,采用综合了时间判断法、空间判断法和红外阈值法等特征的一种综合判断有云无云的方法,统计分析了中国地区较高空间分辨率（优于２０ｋｍ）和时间分辨率（优于１ｈ）的晴空概率和天文夜晴空概率的分布．分析结果表明,全年天文夜晴空概率的极值出现在我国的西部和北部．冬半年的最大天文夜晴空概率值大于夏半年．其中西藏地区１２月的天文夜晴空概率可达到９５％．     

The First Solar Seeing Profile Measurement with Two Apertures and Multiple Guide Regions

The sky brightness is a critical parameter for estimating the coronal observation conditions for a solar observatory. As part of a site-survey project in Western China, we measured the sky brightness continuously at the Lijiang Observatory in Yunnan province in 2011. A sky brightness monitor (SBM) was adopted to measure the sky brightness in a region extending from 4.5 to 7.0 apparent solar radii based on the experience of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) site survey. Every month, the data were collected manually for at least one week. We collected statistics of the sky brightness at four bandpasses located at 450, 530, 890, and 940 nm. The results indicate that aerosol scattering is of great importance for the diurnal variation of the sky brightness. For most of the year, the sky brightness remains under 20 millionths per airmass before local Noon. On average, the sky brightness is less than 20 millionths, which accounts for 40.41% of the total observing time on a clear day. The best observation time is from 9:00 to 13:00 (Beijing time). The Lijiang Observatory is therefore suitable for coronagraphs investigating the structures and dynamics of the corona.     

Effective Sensitivity of A Non-uniform Phased Array of Short Dipoles

Short dipoles are a key element in new low frequency array antennas as proposed for LOFAR and other astronomical applications. Unfortunately standard texts on short dipole antennas are based on the effective area and do not lead to an astronomically useful sensitivity formulation in a straightforward manner. The concept of maximum effective area is applied to arrays of short dipoles and allows expressing the sensitivity as the ratio of this area over the effective sky brightness temperature as long as the output noise power is dominated by the antenna input radiation. For both quantities we only need to know the array directivity pattern that includes the mutual coupling effects when the actual loading conditions of the array elements are taken into account. Short dipole elements have a constant directivity pattern for frequencies below resonance, but they exhibit strong complex impedance variations that provide only narrow band performance when power matching is applied as required in transmit applications. However, in receive applications voltage or current sensing can be realized, for example with an active balun. Assisted by the steep increase of the sky brightness with wavelength for frequencies below 300 MHz, this can provide sky noise dominated performance over at least a three to one frequency range. Still the low frequency limit is determined by the amplifier noise contribution and the losses in the antenna and in the dielectric ground surrounding the elements. We show that for a sparse array with the elements non-uniformly distributed according to an exponential shell model, a constant sensitivity can be obtained over a frequency range of at least two octaves. In addition, such a configuration has a factor of six greater sensitivity than a rectangular array for a large part of the frequency band.     

How the extinction of extragalactic background light affects surface photometry of galaxies, groups and clusters

The faint regions of galaxies, groups and clusters hold important clues about how these objects formed, and surface photometry at optical and near-infrared wavelengths represents a powerful tool for studying such structures. Here, we identify a hitherto unrecognized problem with this technique, related to how the night sky flux is typically measured and subtracted from astronomical images. While most of the sky flux comes from regions between the observer and the target object, a small fraction – the extragalactic background light (EBL) – comes from behind. We argue that since this part of the sky flux can be subjected to extinction by dust present in the galaxy/group/cluster studied, standard reduction procedures may lead to a systematic oversubtraction of the EBL. Even very small amounts of extinction can lead to spurious features in radial surface brightness profiles and colour maps of extended objects. We assess the likely impact of this effect on a number of topics in extragalactic astronomy where very deep surface photometry is currently attempted, including studies of stellar haloes, starburst host galaxies, disc truncations and diffuse intragroup/intracluster light. We argue that EBL extinction may provide at least a partial explanation for the anomalously red colours reported for the haloes of disc galaxies and for the hosts of local starburst galaxies. EBL extinction effects also mimic truncations in discs with unusually high dust opacities, but are unlikely to be the cause of such features in general. Failure to account for EBL extinction can also give rise to a non-negligible underestimate of intragroup and intracluster light at the faintest surface brightness levels currently probed. Finally, we discuss how EBL extinction effects may be exploited to provide an independent constraint on the surface brightness of the EBL, using a combination of surface photometry and direct star counts.     

Light pollution and night sky brightness at the site of Kottamia Observatory

Photoelectric measurements of the night sky brightness and the light pollution of Kottamia Observatory have been carried out and the deduced results are expressed in mag/sec². The maximum brightness of the sky in the direction of Cairo city at zenith distance 45° and azimuth 70° when the sun is almost 60° below the horizon are 22.68; 21.54 and 19.82 mag/sec² for blue, yellow and red colours respectively. The corresponding values of night sky background are 22.94; 21.85 and 20.14 mag/sec² respectively.The isophotes of the sky brightness at Kottamia Observatory have been drawn for blue, yellow and red colours. The variations of the night sky brightness and the (B-V) colour index with altitude of the observed point have been studied.The light pollution and the night sky brightness at the site of Kottamia Observatory is compared with that deduced by different investigators at other sites. It has been shown that the sky brightness at zenith distance 45° at Kottamia Observatory site is similar to Kitt Peak and Palomar Observatory sites. Kottamia Observatory site is slightly brighter than Junipero Serra while it is darker than Mount Hamilton and San Jose sites. The comparative results have been carried out at blue and yellow colours. No comparison is obtained at red as there is no data published for the red colour.     

On the radio emission of Callisto

A model of an icy surface and interior for Callisto gives a predicted thermal radio emission in good agreement with experimental radio astronomical data. The radio brightness temperature of an icy surface will not depend on wavelength. This may be a method to test icy surface hypotheses. The brightness temperatures of other satellites with icy surfaces will be equal to 200–220°K and will not depend on wavelength.     

Night Sky Brightness and Colour at Different Zenith Distances at Abu-Simbel Site

Photoelectric observations of night sky brightness at different zenith distances in blue, yellow and red colours have been carried out at Abu-Simbel site. Variations in the night sky brightness and (B-V) colour index with time are detected. These variations have been explained by the change of the galactic latitude of the observed point with time. The deduced results of night sky brightness have been compared with that obtained before at other sites. It has been found for both blue and yellow colours, that Abu-Simbel is the darkest site especially for zenith distances equal or greater than 60°. The present values of night sky brightness and colour have been obtained for the first time at Abu-Simbel site. The average night sky brightness at the galactic plane is 22.58 mag/arc sec² for blue and 21.66 mag/arc sec² for yellow. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

全天相机在多设备巡天中的应用

天文观测站夜天空星像星等信息和天区分布信息可用于指导多设备巡天观测.建立全天相机监测系统(Monitoring all-sky system)对本地天区夜天空实时监测,获取的监测图像需要有效的方法进行处理以提取全天图像星像信息.由于全天图像视场大和高阶扭曲的影响,采用天顶等距投影与多项式函数组合的方法计算图像的底片常数.天文定位的均方根残差约为0.15个像素.通过对图像中亮星部分测光得到的星等差,改正大气消光误差.最后使用HEALPix (Hierarchical Equal Area isoLatitude Pixelation)方法实现天区划分和每个天区可观测极限星等值的存储.     

Using a New Sky Brightness Monitor to Observe the Annular Solar Eclipse on 15 January 2010

For the future development of Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST) in Western China, a new sky brightness monitor (SBM) has been produced for the site survey for CGST. To critically examine the performance and sensitivity of SBM, we used it in the observation of the annular solar eclipse in Dali City, Yunnan, on 15 January 2010. The observation met good weather conditions with an almost clear sky during the eclipse. The SBM measurement translates into the solar illuminance changes at a level of 2.4×10^?4 I?s^?1 during the eclipse. The time of the minimal sky brightness in the field of view (FOV) is found consistent with the time of maximum eclipse. Two local sky regions in the FOV are chosen to make a time series of the calibrated skylight profiles. The evolution of the sky brightness thus calibrated also shows good consistency with the eclipse, particularly between the second and the third contacts. The minimal sky brightness in each local sky region took place within half a minute from the corresponding predicted contact time. Such small time delays were mainly caused by occasional cirri. The minimal sky brightness measured during the eclipse is a few millionths of I _?? with standard deviation of 0.11 millionths of I _??. The observation supports that the single-scattering process (optically thin conditions) is the main contributor to the atmospheric scattering. We have demonstrated that many important aerosol optical parameters can be deduced from our data. We conclude that the new SBM is a sensitive sky photometer that can be used for our CGST and coronagraph site surveys.     

Variation of Spectral Radiance of the Zenith Sky During the Annular Eclipse on May 21, 2012

The absolute brightness of the zenith sky was measured using a simple calibrated spectrometer during the annular solar eclipse event on May 21, 2012 in Fujioka City, Japan (36.2924°N, 139.0823°E). The sensitivity of the spectrometer was calibrated as a function of wavelength between 400 and 700 nm with an integral sphere. The brightness of the sky decreased to 6 % of its usual condition at the maximum magnitude of the annular eclipse of 0.95 for all wavelengths. The curve describing the variation of sky brightness accords well with the total luminosity of the solar disk estimated by a simple model that accounts for the limb darkening effect. This study provides zenith sky radiance as a function of wavelength and solar elevation angle, which is useful for the investigation of new optical instruments for atmospheric studies.     

日晕测量与日晕光度计外缘杂散光抑制试验

为配合大型太阳设备西部选址工作,研制了一架现代日晕光度计(Sky Brightness Monitor,SBM).前期实验对日晕光度计性能进行了测试,同时积累了云南部分址点的日晕数据.资料分析结果显示,轿子雪山正午前后的日晕水平最低可至日面中心强度百万分之几的量级(蓝波段).这表明该日晕光度计内部杂散光水平已达到了国际同类产品的标准.日晕光度计的内部杂散光源主要来自两部分:镜筒前端中性滤光片(ND4)固定套圈的边缘衍射(视场靠内区域)和镜筒内置光阑的边缘衍射(视场靠外区域).针对后者进行的变换光阑孔径大小试验结果证实,适当缩小光阑孔径可有效减小数据中视场靠外区域的衍射光干扰.     

Night Sky Brightness and Atmospheric Extinction at Kottamia Observatory Site

Photoelectric measurements have been carried out at Kottamia Observatory site to study night sky brightness and the atmospheric extinction at different wavelengths. The results show that the mean extinction coefficients are k = 0.41, k = 0.28< and k = 0.17 mag/air mass during autumn season. These values are almost the same as that obtained by Mikhail (1979) at the same site during the same season. Results of night sky brightness at different altitudes above the horizon have been obtained. Complete scan each five degrees step in azimuth have been done at altitudes 50°, 60° and 70° to complete the previous measurements given by Nawar et al. (1995). Far from the diffuse galactic light, slight variations in night sky brightness with azimuth have been detected. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Zur Aufhellung des Nachthimmels über dem KARL-SCHWARZSCHILD-Observatorium Tautenburg

The measurements of the sky brightness show during a partial cut off of the outdoor lighting at Jena a decreasing of the sky brightness at Tautenburg by 20%.     

现代日晕光度计多波段测光系统初步测试结果分析

现代日晕光度计是用于精确测定监测址点的多种大气参量的精密仪器,它已列为我国西部太阳设备选址工作中的重要设备。利用同一架日晕光度计首先对昭通大山包进行了多波段数据采集。在仔细分析初步测光结果的基础上,进一步完善日晕光度计的光学系统。使用改进后的设备对昆明凤凰山址点进行了多次数据采集,都获得了理想数据。这表明日晕光度计的多波段测光系统已能够用于西部太阳选址工作中。     

Novel Algorithms for Astronomical Plate Analyses

Powerful computers and dedicated software allow effective data mining and scientific analyses in astronomical plate archives. We give and discuss examples of newly developed algorithms for astronomical plate analyses, e.g., searches for optical transients, as well as for major spectral and brightness changes.