Related papers: Moon night sky brightness simulation for Xinglong …
We present here the All Sky Transmission MONitor (ASTMON), designed to perform a continuous monitoring of the surface brightness of the complete night-sky in several bands. The data acquired are used to derive, in addition, a subsequent map…
We use the GEANT4 Monte Carlo framework to calculate the gamma-ray albedo of the Moon due to interactions of cosmic ray (CR) nuclei with moon rock. Our calculation of the albedo spectrum agrees with the EGRET data. We show that the spectrum…
The rapid development of mega-constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO) severely impacts ground-based optical astronomical observations. By combining WorldWide Telescope (WWT) simulations with 2019 and 2023 observational data from the…
We present the main characteristics of the proposed location for the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory. The measurements have been obtained from spectrophotometric, photometric and seeing data obtained with different monitors and…
In July 5th 2014 an occultation of Mars by the Moon was visible in South America. Citizen scientists and professional astronomers in Colombia, Venezuela and Chile performed a set of simple observations of the phenomenon aimed to measure the…
The population of artificial satellites and space debris orbiting the Earth imposes non-negligible constraints on both space operations and ground-based optical and radio astronomy. The ongoing deployment of several satellite…
Megaconstellations of thousands to tens of thousands of artificial satellites (satcons) are rapidly being developed and launched. These satcons will have negative consequences for observational astronomy research, and are poised to…
We present simulations for interferometer arrays in Earth orbit and on the lunar surface to guide the design and optimization of space-based Ultra-Long Wavelength missions, such as those of China's Chang'E program. We choose parameters and…
Site-testing is crucial for achieving the goal of scientific research and analysis of meteorological and optical observing conditions is one of the basic tasks of it. As one of three potential sites to host 12-meter Large Optical/infrared…
Before and after every 12 hour synthesis observation, the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) measures the flux densities of ~5 compact extragalactic radio sources, chosen from a list of 55 calibrators. From 1984 to 1996, the…
Daylight-linked controls (DLCs) have significant potential for energy savings in buildings, especially when abundant daylight is available and indoor workplane illuminance can be accurately predicted in real time. Most existing studies on…
We report on luminance measurements of the summer night sky at a field site on a freshwater lake in northeastern Germany (Lake Stechlin) to evaluate the amount of artificial skyglow from nearby and distant towns in the context of a planned…
An effort towards understanding of the stray light problems for the Xinglong 2.16-m telescope was presented to estimate the stray light performance of the telescope itself and provide a method for improving the stray light suppression. The…
The apparent brightness of satellites is calculated as a function of satellite position as seen by a ground-based observer in darkness. Both direct illumination of the satellite by the Sun as well as indirect illumination due to reflection…
In 2016, an exposure meter was installed on the Lijiang Fiber-fed High-Resolution Spectrograph to monitor the coupling of starlight to the science fiber during observations. Based on it, we investigated a method to estimate the exposure…
This article describes the characterization activities of the landing sites currently envisaged for the Lunar Lander mission of the European Space Agency. These sites have been identified in the South Pole Region (-85{\deg} to -90{\deg}…
The Profiler of Moon Limb is a recent instrument dedicated to the monitoring of optical turbulence profile of the atmosphere. Fluctuations of the Moon or the Sun limb allow to evaluate the index refraction structure constant C_n^2(h) and…
The Starlink satellites are shaped like flat panels. The flat sides face zenith and nadir during normal operations. Their brightness is determined by the product of the solar illumination on the downward facing side of the panel multiplied…
Using over 40 million muons collected since 1989 by the MACRO detector we have searched for a depletion of muons coming from the direction of the Moon due to primary cosmic rays striking the Moon. We observe this Moon shadow in the expected…
A proof of concept for a frost detection imager using reflected starlight is presented; the limitations of this technique are explored experimentally. An ice-covered lunar surface is simulated inside a vacuum chamber, which is then…