Related papers: Moon night sky brightness simulation for Xinglong …
We present a study of the night sky brightness around the extended metropolitan area of Madrid using Sky Quality Meter (SQM) photometers. The map is the first to cover the spatial distribution of the sky brightness in the center of the…
The fraction of observable nights is an essential parameter for selecting astronomical sites. In recent years, meteorological satellite data have played an essential role in recognising and providing statistics of observable nights. We…
Measuring photometric brightness is a common tool for characterizaing satellites. However, characterizing satellite mega-constellations and their impact on astronomy research requires a new approach and methodology. A few measurements of…
A high significance observation of two muon signals, the shadow of the sun and moon, have been seen by the \unit[5.4]{kt} MINOS Far Detector, at a depth of \unit[2070]{mwe}. The distribution of angular separation of muons near the moon was…
The extraction of the sky-averaged 21 cm signal from Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization faces significant challenges. The bright and anisotropic Galactic foreground, which is 4 - 5 orders of magnitude brighter than the 21 cm signal,…
We develop an improved sky background estimator which employs optimal filters for both spatial and pixel intensity distributions. It incorporates growth of masks around detected objects and a statistical estimate of the flux from undetected…
An all-sky cloud monitoring system that generates relative opacity maps over many of the world's premier astronomical observatories is described. Photometric measurements of numerous background stars are combined with simultaneous sky…
We present night sky brightness measurements performed at the Vienna University Observatory and at the Leopold-Figl-Observatorium fuer Astrophysik, which is located about 35km to the southwest of Vienna. The measurements have been performed…
The upcoming imaging survey of the Chinese Space-station Survey Telescope (CSST) will deliver high-resolution imaging of an unprecedented number of galaxies for galaxy studies. To understand CSST's capability, and to support the preparation…
Low sky brightness is crucial for ground-based astronomical observations, because it limits the observational capability to detect fainter sources. Lenghu, located on the Tibetan Plateau in China, has been identified as an high-quality…
Reliable energy delivery is a critical requirement for long-term lunar missions, particularly in regions with limited solar access, such as polar craters and during extended lunar nights. Optical Power Beaming (OPB) using high-power lasers…
The natural night sky brightness is a relevant input for monitoring the light pollution evolution at observatory sites, by subtracting it from the overall sky brightness determined by direct measurements. It is also instrumental for…
Artificial skyglow is a form of light pollution with wide ranging implications on the environment. The extent, intensity and color of skyglow depends on the artificial light sources and weather conditions. Skyglow can be best determined…
Atmospheric optical turbulence seriously limits the performance of high angular resolution instruments. An 8-night campaign of measurements was carried out at the LAMOST site in 2011, to characterize the optical turbulence. Two instruments…
The photometric sky quality of Mt. Shatdzhatmaz, the site of Sternberg Astronomical Institute Caucasian Observatory 2.5 m telescope, is characterized here by the statistics of the night-time sky brightness and extinction. The data were…
Magnitudes for the VisorSat and Original-design types were analyzed separately and by time. Mean values are compared with those from other large-scale photometric studies, and some signficant differences are noted. The illumination phase…
Contrary to some widespread intuitive belief, the night sky brightness perceived by the human eye or any other physical detector does not come (exclusively) from high in the sky. The detected brightness is built up from the scattered…
Ground-based observation at frequencies below 30 MHz is hindered by the ionosphere of the Earth and radio frequency interference. To map the sky at these low frequencies, we have proposed the Discovering the Sky at the Longest wavelength…
We present early results from a project to measure the sky-averaged (global), redshifted $21\,$cm signal from the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR), using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope. Because interferometers are not sensitive to…
The Sky Quality Meter (SQM) has become the most common device to track the evolution of the brightness of the sky from polluted regions to first class astronomical observatories. A vast database of SQM measurements already exists for many…