Night Sky Brightness Measurements Research Articles

Sky-brightness measurements inJ, H, andKs bands at DOME A with NISBM and early results

ABSTRACTThe radiance of sky brightness differs principally with wavelength passband. Atmospheric scattering of sunlight causes the radiation in the near-infrared band. The Antarctic is a singular area of the planet, marked by an unparalleled climate and geographical conditions, including the coldest temperatures and driest climate on Earth, which leads it to be the best candidate site for observing in infrared bands. At present, there are still no measurements of night-sky brightness at DOME A. We have developed the Near-Infrared Sky Brightness Monitor (NISBM) in the J, H, and Ks bands for measurements at DOME A. The instruments were installed at DOME A in 2019 and early results of NIR sky brightness from 2019 January–April have been obtained. The variation of sky background brightness with solar elevation and scanning angle is analysed. The zenith sky flux intensity for the early night at DOME A in the J band is in the 600–1100 μJy arcsec−2 range, that in the H band is between 1100 and 2600 μJy arcsec−2, and that in the Ks band is in the range ∼200–900 μJy arcsec−2. This result shows that the sky brightness in J and H bands is close to that of Ali in China and Mauna Kea in the USA. The sky brightness in the Ks band is much better than that in Ali, China and Mauna Kea, USA. This shows that, from our early results, DOME A is a good site for astronomical observation in the Ks band.

Towards an absolute light pollution indicator

The growing concern about the negative impact of artificial light at night on biodiversity and human health increases the need of defining a general indicator that could be used for characterizing light pollution as well as performing both spatial and temporal comparisons. In this paper, we show that the traditional indicators based on direct numerical measurements of sky brightness suffer from significant limitation due to calibration bias and lack of reproducibility. Furthermore, these measures are most often performed in periods of clear sky. They do not reflect the wide variety of meteorological conditions that can produce highly inhomogeneous levels of light pollution on a given site. To overcome these issues, we propose a statistical indicator called NSB Dispersion Ratio. This indicator is derived from a statistically significant number of individual night sky brightness measurements, under various meteorological conditions. It is independent of any absolute photometer calibration. It only requires on-time precise corrections of the contribution of natural light sources such as the Galactic plane.

Remote Sensing of Aerosols at Night with the CoSQM Sky Brightness Data

Aerosol optical depth is an important indicator of aerosol particle properties and their associated radiative impacts. AOD determination is very important to achieve relevant climate modelling. Most remote sensing techniques to retrieve aerosol optical depth are applicable to daytime given the high level of light available. The night represents half of the time but in such conditions only a few remote sensing methods are available. Among these approaches, the most reliable are moon photometers and star photometers. In this paper, we attempt to fill gaps in the aerosol detection performed with the aforementioned techniques using night sky brightness measurements during moonless nights with the novel CoSQM, a portable, low-cost and open-source multispectral photometer. In this paper, we present an innovative method for estimating the aerosol optical depth using an empirical relationship between the zenith night sky brightness measured at night with the CoSQM and the aerosol optical depth retrieved during daytime from the AErosol Robotic NETwork. Although the proposed method does not measure the AOD directly, an empirical relationship with the CE318-T is shown to give good results at the location of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Such a method is especially suited to light-polluted regions with light pollution sources located within a few kilometres of the observation site. A coherent day-to-night aerosol optical depth and Ångström Exponent evolution in a set of 354 days and nights from August 2019 to February 2021 was verified at the location of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife, Spain. The preliminary uncertainty of this technique was evaluated using the variance under stable day-to-night conditions, set at 0.02 for aerosol optical depth and 0.75 for the Ångström Exponent. These results indicate the set of CoSQM and the proposed methodology appear to be a promising tool, adding new information on the optical properties of aerosols at night, which could be of key importance in improving climate predictions.

Optical Night Sky Brightness Measurements from the Stratosphere

Abstract This paper presents optical night sky brightness measurements from the stratosphere using CCD images taken with the Super-pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT). The data used for estimating the backgrounds were obtained during three commissioning flights in 2016, 2018, and 2019 at altitudes ranging from 28 to 34 km above sea level. For a valid comparison of the brightness measurements from the stratosphere with measurements from mountain-top ground-based observatories (taken at zenith on the darkest moonless night at high Galactic and high ecliptic latitudes), the stratospheric brightness levels were zodiacal light and diffuse Galactic light subtracted, and the airglow brightness was projected to zenith. The stratospheric brightness was measured around 5.5 hr, 3 hr, and 2 hr before the local sunrise time in 2016, 2018, and 2019, respectively. The B, V, R, and I brightness levels in 2016 were 2.7, 1.0, 1.1, and 0.6 mag arcsec−2 darker than the darkest ground-based measurements. The B, V, and R brightness levels in 2018 were 1.3, 1.0, and 1.3 mag arcsec−2 darker than the darkest ground-based measurements. The U and I brightness levels in 2019 were 0.1 mag arcsec−2 brighter than the darkest ground-based measurements, whereas the B and V brightness levels were 0.8 and 0.6 mag arcsec−2 darker than the darkest ground-based measurements. The lower sky brightness levels, stable photometry, and lower atmospheric absorption make stratospheric observations from a balloon-borne platform a unique tool for astronomy. We plan to continue this work in a future midlatitude long duration balloon flight with SuperBIT.

On the beginning of the morning twilight based on sky brightness measurements

We present the results of 83 measurements of night sky brightness with portable photometers for five locations, namely the Bosscha Observatory, Cimahi, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Kupang during the moonless days from years 2011 to 2018. In the first place, instead of the zenith direction, we also evaluated the night sky brightness in various angles of the zenith distances. At the beginning of the morning twilight, solar dips were significantly affected by light and air pollution. It can cause a pseudo night effect, resulting from absorption by particles of low atmospheric height, which is due to air pollution. The duration of twilight is also influenced by the pollution level. A new tool to determine the boundaries of astronomical, nautical, and civil twilight using sky brightness difference was introduced. We also recommend a preferred solar dip of 18.5° for Islamic fajr prayer in Indonesia with twilight duration at 70.5 minutes.

Sensor Technology for Night Sky Brightness Measurements in Malaysia

Artificial light at night is apparently showing to be a major contributor to the increase of sky brightness at night. The natural darkness in large regions of the world including Malaysia currently is at risk. Hence, some Night Sky Brightness (NSB) measurements in Malaysia were conducted by using several types of light sensors in order to serve quantitative data and spread awareness on this issue. This paper aims to analyze the sensor technology that have been used in night sky brightness measurement in Malaysia as well as to identify recent or significant advances and discoveries in this field of study. In this paper, the author adopted qualitative method through literature review from numerous conducted studies by other researchers in order to perceive better understanding on the use of dedicated light sensor in NSB related research. Starting from 2005 until now, it is noticeable that most of the light sensor used in the NSB studies in Malaysia was Sky Quality Meter (SQM) photometer, equipped with TSL237 sensor which has high irradiance responsivity 2.3kHz/(μW/cm2) @ λp = 524nm and 5 Milion:1 input dynamic range as well as able to sense down to 0.00002 Lux and has typical dark frequency down to 0.1 Hz. The result indicates the relative frequency of the SQM usage in NSB studies was 76% compared to PBM, APC, PMT and CDD of only 4% respectively. SQM has always been the choice of researchers in Malaysia to carry out their sky brightness measurements due to user-friendly implementation besides its reliable data obtained from TSL237 sensor which capable to convert the light directly to frequency without an amplifier or data converter. Thus, the nonlinearities and voltage offsets in the data can be circumvented. A fairly good development of sensor that have been utilized in NSB studies can be discerned patently besides NSB studies will always look forward for a better sensor to further enhance the efforts to map sky brightness for preserving the potential dark sky areas for the sake of astronomy.

Measurements of Night Sky Brightness in the Veneto Region of Italy: Sky Quality Meter Network Results and Differential Photometry by Digital Single Lens Reflex.

In this paper, we present the implementation of a monitoring network for artificial light at night (ALAN), based on Sky Quality Meter devices (SQM) installed in seven locations of the Veneto region. The system is coordinated by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA-Veneto) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Padova, in collaboration with a local dark-sky association, Venetostellato. A new centralized database containing zenith night sky brightness (NSB) data was implemented to collect data from all SQM stations of the regional territory, not only in real time (since 2017), but in some stations since 2011. We now have a dataset to determine how light pollution is affecting astronomical observatories. A WEB portal was created to offer different downloads from these NSB data. We present the results of some elaborations for the 2018 dataset (statistics, histograms, annual and cumulative plots) for seven monitoring sites. For Ekar and Pennar sites, we also present the NSB monthly trend from 2014 until the time of the study. We purchased a reflex camera with a fish eye lens, appropriately calibrated with the software (SW) Sky Quality Camera, which allowed us to study ALAN using differential photometry. Here, we present our first results obtained by studying the night evolution of light pollution in the urban location of Padova.

PePSS - A portable sky scanner for measuring extremely low night-sky brightness

A new portable sky scanner designed for low-light-level detection at night is developed and employed in night sky brightness measurements in a rural region. The fast readout, adjustable sensitivity and linear response guaranteed in 5–6 orders of magnitude makes the device well suited for narrow-band photometry in both dark areas and bright urban and suburban environments. Quasi-monochromatic night-sky brightness data are advantageous in the accurate characterization of spectral power distribution of scattered and emitted light and, also allows for the possibility to retrieve light output patterns from whole-city light sources. The sky scanner can operate in both night and day regimes, taking advantage of the complementarity of both radiance data types. Due to its inherent very high sensitivity the photomultiplier tube could be used in night sky radiometry, while the spectrometer-equipped system component capable of detecting elevated intensities is used in daylight monitoring. Daylight is a source of information on atmospheric optical properties that in turn are necessary in processing night sky radiances. We believe that the sky scanner has the potential to revolutionize night-sky monitoring systems.

Retrieval of angular emission function from whole-city light sources using night-sky brightness measurements

The radiant-intensity function of a ground-based light source, otherwise called here the city emission function (CEF), is a pivotal modulator of night-sky radiance and is one of the key factors affecting light pollution propagation in a nighttime environment. It is difficult or rather impossible to compute a CEF from databases that are usually incomplete in their description of artificial sources other than public lighting. However, we have developed an indirect remote-sensing method to retrieve the CEF from sky-brightness measurements made at a local meridian that intersects a horizontal circle at the azimuthal position of a city or town. The inversion algorithm is validated for sensitivity and specificity in the reproduction of the initial emission functions, and demonstrates that the solution model succeeds in reconstructing different types of CEFs. The numerical inversion of the integral equation was successful even under extreme conditions, including elevated ground reflectance or zero uplight cases. The good numerical convergence and applicability of the model to experimental data is demonstrated by processing the radiance patterns obtained under natural conditions. The model provides a great opportunity for systematic retrievals of CEF needed by astronomers, physicists, environmental designers, city and suburban planners, as well as biologists and illumination engineers who deal with public lighting systems and must recognize the potentially adverse effects of night-lighting characteristics on the environment.

Night Sky Brightness at San Pedro Martir Observatory

We present optical UBVRI zenith night sky brightness measurements collected on 18 nights during 2013 to 2016 and SQM measurements obtained daily over 20 months during 2014 to 2016 at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional on the Sierra San Pedro Mártir (OAN-SPM) in México. The UBVRI data is based upon CCD images obtained with the 0.84 m and 2.12 m telescopes, while the SQM data is obtained with a high-sensitivity, low-cost photometer. The typical moonless night sky brightness at zenith averaged over the whole period is U = 22.68, B = 23.10, V = 21.84, R = 21.04, I = 19.36, and SQM = 21.88 , once corrected for zodiacal light. We find no seasonal variation of the night sky brightness measured with the SQM. The typical night sky brightness values found at OAN-SPM are similar to those reported for other astronomical dark sites at a similar phase of the solar cycle. We find a trend of decreasing night sky brightness with decreasing solar activity during period of the observations. This trend implies that the sky has become darker by = 0.7, = 0.5, = 0.3, mag arcsec−2 since early 2014 due to the present solar cycle.

Light pollution: Assessment of sky glow on two dark sky regions of Portugal

ABSTRACTArtificial light at night (ALAN), producing light pollution (LP), is not a matter restricted to astronomy anymore. Light is part of modern societies and, as a consequence, the natural cycle day–night (bright–dark) has been interrupted in a large segment of the global population. There is increasing evidence that exposure to certain types of light at night and beyond threshold levels may produce hazardous effects to humans and the environment. The concept of “dark skies reserves” is a step forward in order to preserve the night sky and a means of enhancing public awareness of the problem of spread of light pollution worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the skyglow at two sites in Portugal, the Peneda-Gerês National Park (PNPG) and the region now known as Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve. The latter site was classified as a “Starlight Tourism Destination“ by the Starlight Foundation (the first in the world to achieve this classification) following a series of night sky measurements in situ described herein. The measurements at PNPG also contributed to the new set of regulations concerning light pollution at this national park. This study presents the first in situ systematic measurements of night sky brightness, showing that at the two sites the skies are mostly in levels 3 to 4 of the Bortle 9-level scale (with level 1 being the best achievable). The results indicate that the sources of light pollution and skyglow can be attributed predominantly to contamination from nearby urban regions.

Zernike analysis of all-sky night brightness maps.

All-sky night brightness maps (calibrated images of the night sky with hemispherical field-of-view (FOV) taken at standard photometric bands) provide useful data to assess the light pollution levels at any ground site. We show that these maps can be efficiently described and analyzed using Zernike circle polynomials. The relevant image information can be compressed into a low-dimensional coefficients vector, giving an analytical expression for the sky brightness and alleviating the effects of noise. Moreover, the Zernike expansions allow us to quantify in a straightforward way the average and zenithal sky brightness and its variation across the FOV, providing a convenient framework to study the time course of these magnitudes. We apply this framework to analyze the results of a one-year campaign of night sky brightness measurements made at the UCM observatory in Madrid.

Night sky photometry and spectroscopy performed at the Vienna University Observatory

We present night sky brightness measurements performed at the Vienna University Observatory and at the Leopold-Figl-Observatorium für Astrophysik, which is located about 35km to the southwest of Vienna. The measurements have been performed with Sky Quality Meters made by Unihedron. They cover a time span of roughly one year and have been carried out every night, yielding a luminance value every 7s and thus delivering a large amount of data. In this paper, the level of skyglow in Vienna, which ranges from 15 to 19.25magSQMarcsec−2 is presented for the very first time in a systematic way. We discuss the influence of different environmental conditions on the night sky brightness and implications for human vision. We show that the circalunar rhythm of night sky brightness is almost extinguished at our observatory due to light pollution.Additionally, we present spectra of the night sky in Vienna, taken with a 0.8m telescope. The goal of these spectroscopic measurements was to identify the main types of light sources and the spectral lines which cause the skyglow in Vienna. It turned out that fluorescent lamps are responsible for the strongest lines of the night sky above Vienna (e.g. lines at 546nm and at 611nm).

Measuring and mapping the night sky brightness of Perth, Western Australia

In order to study the light pollution produced in the city of Perth, Western Australia, we have used a hand-held sky brightness meter to measure the night sky brightness across the city. The data acquired facilitated the creation of a contour map of night sky brightness across the 2400 km2 area of the city – the first such map to be produced for a city. Importantly, this map was created using a methodology borrowed from the field of geophysics – the well proven and rigorous techniques of geostatistical analysis and modelling. A major finding of this study is the effect of land use on night sky brightness. By overlaying the night sky brightness map on to a suitably processed Landsat satellite image of Perth we found that locations near commercial and/or light industrial areas have a brighter night sky, whereas locations used for agriculture or having high vegetation coverage have a fainter night sky than surrounding areas. Urban areas have intermediate amounts of vegetation and are intermediate in brightness compared with the above-mentioned land uses. Regions with a higher density of major highways also appear to contribute to increased night sky brightness. When corrected for the effects of direct illumination from high buildings, we found that the night sky brightness in the central business district (CBD) is very close to that expected for a city of Perth’s population from modelling work and observations obtained in earlier studies. Given that our night sky brightness measurements in Perth over 2009 and 2010 are commensurate with that measured in Canadian cities over 30 years earlier implies that the various lighting systems employed in Perth (and probably most other cities) have not been optimised to minimize light pollution over that time. We also found that night sky brightness diminished with distance with an exponent of approximately −0.25 ± 0.02 from 3.5 to 10 km from the Perth CBD, a region characterized by urban and commercial land use. For distances from 10 out to about 40 km from the CBD the radial variation of night sky brightness steepens to have an exponent value of approximately −1.8 ± 0.2. This steepening is associated with land use because vegetation cover increases with further distance from the CBD.

Measurement of night sky brightness in southern Australia

Night sky brightness is a major source of noise both for Cherenkov telescopes as well as for wide-angle Cherenkov detectors. Therefore, it is important to know the level of night sky brightness at potential sites for future experiments. The measurements of night sky brightness presented here were carried out at Fowler’s Gap, a research station in New South Wales, Australia, which is a potential site for the proposed TenTen Cherenkov telescope system and the planned wide-angle Cherenkov detector system HiSCORE. A portable instrument was developed and measurements of the night sky brightness were taken in February and August 2010. Brightness levels were measured for a range of different sky regions and in various spectral bands. The night sky brightness in the relevant wavelength regime for photomultipliers was found to be at the same level as measured in similar campaigns at the established Cherenkov telescope sites of Khomas, Namibia, and at La Palma. The brightness of dark regions in the sky is about 2 × 10 12 photons/(s sr m 2) between 300 nm and 650 nm, and up to four times brighter in bright regions of the sky towards the galactic plane. The brightness in V band is 21.6 magnitudes per arcsec 2 in the dark regions. All brightness levels are averaged over the field of view of the instrument of about 1.3 × 10 −3 sr. The spectrum of the night sky brightness was found to be dominated by longer wavelengths, which allows to apply filters to separate the night sky brightness from the blue Cherenkov light. The possible gain in the signal to noise ratio was found to be up to 1.2, assuming an ideal low-pass filter.

UBVRInight sky brightness during sunspot maximum at ESO-Paranal

In this paper we present and discuss for the first time a large data set of UBVRI night sky brightness measurements collected at ESO-Paranal from April 2000 to September 2001. A total of about 3900 images obtained on 174 different nights with FORS1 were analysed using an automatic algorithm specifically designed for this purpose. This led to the construction of an unprecedented database that allowed us to study in detail a number of effects such as differential zodiacal light contamination, airmass dependency, daily solar activity and moonlight contribution. Particular care was devoted to the investigation of short time scale variations and micro-auroral events. The typical dark time night sky brightness values found for Paranal are similar to those reported for other astronomical dark sites at a similar solar cycle phase. The zenith-corrected values averaged over the whole period are 22.3, 22.6, 21.6 20.9 and 19.7 mag arcsec-2 in U, B, V, R and I respectively. In particular, there is no evidence of light pollution either in the broadband photometry or in the high-airmass spectra we have analysed. Finally, possible applications for the exposure time calculators are discussed.

Sky Brightness and Atmospheric Extinction at A.N.R.A.O., Parkes and Siding Spring Observatory

AbstractIn May 1984 site testing began for the Automated Patrol Telescope. A series of atmospheric extinction and night sky brightness measurements were made over the following year at Parkes and Siding Spring Mountain using B and V filters. Parkes revealed an extinction greater than that of Siding Spring and more prone to variation. Results for the night sky brightness indicated Parkes has a sky slightly brighter than that at Siding Spring. The paper discusses the procedures used for obtaining the results and their limitations.