Light Pollution: A Preliminary Study in Kundasang, Sabah Based on Sky Quality Meter System

Abstract

Night sky brightness is one of the important parameters to be considered in determining the quality of a site for astronomy observation. However, light pollution acts as a major contributor to sky brightness at night. We measure the night sky brightness at Kundasang, Sabah to obtain the first preliminary sky brightness reading. In order to measure light pollution in Kundasang Sabah, Unihedron Sky Quality Meter (SQM-LU-DL) was used for the measurement with a fixed position and oriented towards the zenith. The measurements have been done during the period of July 2018 to February 2019. The measurement is taken between approximately 7 p.m. to 5.30 a.m. everyday. The best night sky brightness reading is on January 5th, 2019 with a value of 21.34 ± 0.7 mag/arcsec2. The preliminary average reading of sky brightness is 20.71 ± 0.2 mag/arcsec2. Comparison with previous similar studies for the same condition of astronomy sites in Malaysia and other locations indicate that Kundasang, Sabah is a suitable location for astronomical observation.