太阳选址全国日照条件分析

利用国家气象信息中心气象资料室整编的中国756个基本、基准气象站在1971～2000年间的日照时数和日照百分率年值、月值数据集,研究了全国范围的日照条件,结合1951～2008年间我国云量、水汽要素资料,分析了影响日照的因素.研究结果表明,我国日照时数和日照百分率的分布形势一致,东南少而西北多,从东南向西北递增.在我国东部地区日照时数由南向北逐步递增,西部地区日照条件整体好于东部,符合常规.藏西南狮泉河一带日照条件最优;40°N纬度带附近和藏南地区次之,江南华南、四川盆地以及云贵高原东部地区的日照条件较差;其余地区日照条件居中.日照时数受云量、水汽要素的影响,呈负相关关系.     

天文选址的夜间云量处理方法

云量是影响天文台址质量最重要的因素之一,对夜间云量的检测和处理尤为重要.采用地面云量相机对全天云量进行监测,所拍摄的图像需要有效的方法进行处理以量化云量.夜间云量图像受月光的影响严重,因此将夜间的云量图像分为有月夜和无月夜两类进行处理.针对无月夜情况,给出了夜间云量的处理过程.对图像中的亮星进行定位和测光,确定星等差.以晴夜图像中亮星的星等差为参照,将星等差低于阈值条件的亮星概率作为晴夜的概率标准.选取了3类图像对该方法进行测试并确定云量,分析了阈值条件对结果的影响.最后,讨论了该方法的适用范围和不确定性.     

全国大气水汽含量分布

根据1961～2008年全国210个台站的地面气象要素资料,发现地面水汽压与降水量之间的经验关系,建立了由降水量估算地面水汽压的经验表达式,由此进一步求得天文选址所需考察的大气水汽含量.研究结果表明,不同季节的地面水汽压同降水量之间存在着稳定的函数对应关系,利用各地区的降水量计算出的水汽压,符合当地水汽压的实际测量,所求得的各地区大气水汽含量也均能较好地反映当地长年平均情况.     

丽江高美古的二期选址——望远镜地面高度的确定

在丽江高美古前期选址工作的基础上^[1-2]，二期选址的望远镜地面高度的确定工作于2000年11月3日至2000年12月16日进行，采用30m铁塔的温度脉动测量装置，对6#选址观测点的近地面大气湍流进行反复多次测量，得到近地面不同高度(4-30m和8-22m)上每夜温度结构系数CT^2的平均值，对观测取得的资料作进一步处理和分析，得到高美古6#观测点的望远镜地面高度为13～15m。     

基于中国部分城市气象条件的对流层延迟分析

随着用户对卫星定位导航精度要求的提高,对流层大气延迟影响将更加明显,需要进行延迟改正.对比分析了对流层大气延迟理论的主要映射函数模型,讨论了我国部分测站NMF(Niell Mapping Function)、VMF1(Vienna Mapping Function 1)和GMF(Global Mapping Function)的静力学映射函数和湿映射函数的分布情况,分别采用上述3种映射函数研究了我国部分城市气象条件下的对流层延迟.从运算结果分布曲线可知,所选测站的VMF1和GMF静力学映射函数曲线呈年周期余弦分布且大致相同,而NMF静力学映射函数值总体大于前两者;VMF1湿映射函数受气候变化影响较大,呈近似余弦函数分布,且VMF1和GMF呈近似夏季最小、冬季最大的分布.10°高度角下,所选测站斜延迟均呈现年周期余弦曲线分布,随着纬度的增加,斜延迟呈减小趋势,且呈夏季最大、冬季最小的分布,最大、最小值差约为2 m.     

丽江高美古的二期选址--望远镜地面高度的确定

在丽江高美古前期选址工作的基础上[1～2],二期选址的望远镜地面高度的确定工作于2000年11月3日至2000年12月16日进行,采用30m铁塔的温度脉动测量装置,对6#选址观测点的近地面大气湍流进行反复多次测量,得到近地面不同高度(4～30m和8～22m)上每夜温度结构系数C2T的平均值,对观测取得的资料作进一步处理和分析,得到高美古6#观测点的望远镜地面高度为13～15m。     

天文选址中的地理信息处理

地理信息是地面望远镜天文选址研究中的重要内容.尤其是对现有地理信息系统(Geographic Information System,GIS)的有效利用,已成为现代选址中远程分析阶段最重要的手段之一.天文址点的考虑在地理条件上应遵循以下原则:相对落差较大、交通可行、尽量远离人口集中的区域.从未来建站维护和人员长期驻站的角度考虑,天文址点以海拔处于3000～5000 m的范围、距离城镇大本营1 h左右车程为最佳.以云南省大姚县百草岭地区为选址研究对象,展示了GIS数据处理能够为全面了解一个候选区域3维地形地貌、江川河流、道路村落、电力分布以及预测该地区未来人口和城市化发展趋势等方面内容提供准确、直观、定量的参考数据.通过基于GIS数据的科学分析,发现海拔3 600多米的大百草岭山顶平坦而又干旱、周围人口稀少、道路便利、无工厂污染源,是地方政府重要自然保护区;它与直线距离10 km外的乡镇之间的相对落差超过了1 500 m,与50km外的县城的相对落差达到1 800 m,是滇中彝州坝区一座名副其实的孤峰.因此,GIS数据分析对于远程选址十分有益,GIS技术是现代天文选址不可或缺的重要手段.     

高层大气密度的午夜极大值特征分析与建模

利用CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload)、GRACE-A (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-A)、SWARM-C (The Earth''s Magnetic Field and Environment Explorers-C)等3颗极轨卫星的资料, 研究360—480km高层大气密度在低纬度区域的午夜极大值(Midnight Density Maximum, MDM)现象. MDM一般出现在23:00- 02:00 LT (Local Time)之间,峰值位置在低纬度15°以内,谷值位置在中纬度35°-45°附近,整体略偏向南半球,振幅约为平均密度的26%.随着高度增大以及太阳辐射水平的增强,MDM振幅呈减小趋势;冬至和夏至日附近的季节效应会减弱MDM振幅,在春秋分日的振幅最大.用3个主流大气模型DTM2000 (Drag Temperature Model 2000), NRLMSISE00 (US Naval Research Laboratory, Mass Spectrom-eter and Incoherent Scatter radar)和JB2008 (Jacchia- Bowman 2008 model)对MDM进行模拟,JB2008没有刻画出MDM现象;另两个模型低估了MDM效应,在360km和480km两个高度DTM2000模型的振幅仅为观测的46%和53%, NRLMSISE00模型仅为观测的33%和26%;模型没有准确刻画出MDM与高度、辐射水平和季节的关系.联合3颗卫星的资料,研究了-种基于地理纬度的6阶勒让德多项式,同时融合地方时和高度因素的经验函数,在振幅和相位上可以较好地刻画MDM特征,相关系数达到0.923,可为大气密度模型的修正提供借鉴,服务于低轨道航天器高精度轨道预报.     

云南太阳选址的若干考虑

寻找好的太阳视宁度，一定程度上就是寻找经常性的白天下沉气流，在盛行风向的背风坡以及湖泊和盆地中央部位有利于找到这种气流。由于气象条件的多变和局部地形的复杂性，选址的踏勘阶段要对候选点进行有统计意义的筛选，再对其中的优选者进行定点现测。     

大气光学湍流模型计算方法

光学湍流的强弱和分布是描述天文台址优劣的重要参数.介绍了利用大气模式WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting Model)计算高美古站周围大气光学湍流参数的方法,这些参数包括C2n(大气光学湍流强度)廓线、大气相干长度、大气相干时间、视宁度、等晕角和闪烁率等.包括模型计算方法的实现过程、模型的设置和模拟结果的验证.计算结果与云南高美古观测站DIMM (Differential Image Motion Monitor)的实测数据进行了对比.     

NLST: India's National Large Solar Telescope

This article introduces the new Indian 2 m telescope which has been designed by MT Mechatronics in a detailed conceptual design study for the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. We describe the background of the project and the science goals which shall be addressed with this telescope. NLST is a solar telescope with high optical throughput and will be equipped with an integrated Adaptive Optics system. It is optimized for a site with the kind of seeing and wind conditions as they are expected at a lake site in the Himalayan mountains. The telescope can also be used for certain night time applications. We also give the scientific rationale for this class of telescope (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Site testing campaign for the Large Optical Telescope at the Ali site

The Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT) is a ground-based 12 m diameter telescope which is proposed to be built in western China.The site selection for LOT in China began in 2016,and Ali was listed as one of the three candidate sites.Remote studies and local surveys have been carried out for more than 15 years in western China,and the results show that Ali is a promising site with comprehensive quality in terms of atmospheric and supporting conditions.An overview of the site testing campaign at the Ali site from 2016 to 2019 is presented.After the two years of data collection,the overall median seeing value is found to be 1.17 arcsec,the observable nights are 81.71% and the good observable nights are 71.76%.The weather conditions as follows,the median night temperature value is-5.18℃,the median night relative humidity value is 41.25%,the median night atmospheric pressure value is 540.92 hPa,the median night wind speed value is 7.41 m s~(-1) and the mainly wind direction is southwestern(SW).The median night sky background value is 22.07 magV.We also discuss the wind speed at different locations on-site,the possibility of light pollution and the effect of wind speed on differential image motion monitor(DIMM)seeing measurements.     

Non-uniform Solar Temperature Field on Large Aperture,Fully-Steerable Telescope Structure

In this study, a 110-m fully steerable radio telescope was used as an analysis platform and the integral parametric finite element model of the antenna structure was built in the ANSYS thermal analysis module. The boundary conditions of periodic air temperature, solar radiation, long-wave radiation shadows of the surrounding environment, etc. were computed at 30 min intervals under a cloudless sky on a summer day, i.e., worstcase climate conditions. The transient structural temperatures were then analyzed under a period of several days of sunshine with a rational initial structural temperature distribution until the whole set of structural temperatures converged to the results obtained the day before. The non-uniform temperature field distribution of the entire structure and the main reflector surface RMS were acquired according to changes in pitch and azimuth angle over the observation period. Variations in the solar cooker effect over time and spatial distributions in the secondary reflector were observed to elucidate the mechanism of the effect. The results presented here not only provide valuable realtime data for the design, construction, sensor arrangement and thermal deformation control of actuators but also provide a troubleshooting reference for existing actuators.     

Site testing campaign for the Large Optical/infrared Telescope of China:overview

The Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT) is a ground-based 12 m diameter optical/infrared telescope which is proposed to be built in the western part of China in the next decade.Based on satellite remote sensing data,along with geographical,logistical and political considerations,three candidate sites were chosen for ground-based astronomical performance monitoring.These sites include:Ali in Tibet,Daocheng in Sichuan and Muztagh-ata in Xinjiang.Up until now,all three sites have continuously collected data for two years.In this paper,we will introduce this site testing campaign,and present its monitoring results obtained during the period between March 2017 and March 2019.     

Preface:Site testing campaign for the Large Optical/infrared Telescope of China

The Large Optical/infrared Telescope of China is a 12 meter diameter ground-based optical/infrared telescope which is proposed to be constructed in the western part of China in favor of its arid climate,and clear,dark nights.A site testing campaign was initiated between November 2016 and March2019 in order to investigate long term astronomical weather conditions in the western part of China,specifically,at three sites:Ali in Tibet,Daocheng in Sichuan and Muztagh-ata in Xinjiang.This is the first attempt to evaluate long term performances of three candidate sites with uniformly calibrated instruments and data collecting/processing methods for a two-year span in China.In this special issue,we present nine papers that describe the whole site testing campaign,including preparation,data collecting/processing methods,instrument set up at three candidate sites as well as detailed statistics for the measurement results from March 2017 to March 2019.     

A High-Resolution Solar Telescope Using Dark-Lens Diffractive Optics

A telescope based upon dark-lens diffractive optics would be a uniquely new instrument for solar astronomy. The image formation process in such a telescope gives an intrinsically higher resolving power and a greatly reduced image intensity compared to that of refracting or reflecting optical systems of similar lens dimension. This low image intensity would be an advantage for solar observations made using a very large imaging element. After a brief overview of the history of solar instrument development, a quantitative evaluation of the dark-lens diffracting solar telescope concept is presented, showing the potential of this imaging method to meet or even to exceed the most demanding resolution goals currently being considered for future space-borne solar telescopes.     

Advanced Technology Solar Telescope: A status report

Magnetic fields control the inconstant Sun. The key to understanding solar variability and its direct impact on the Earth rests with understanding all aspects of these magnetic fields. The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) has been design specifically for magnetic remote sensing. Its collecting area, spatial resolution, scattered light, polarization properties, and wavelength performance all insure ATST will be able to observe magnetic fields at all heights in the solar atmosphere from photosphere to corona. After several years of design efforts, ATST has been approved by the U.S. National Science Foundation to begin construction with a not to exceed cost cap of approximately $298M. Work packages for major telescope components will be released for bid over the next several months. An application for a building permit has been submitted (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)