Aboushelib, M. F., Abozaid, A. A., Nawar, S., Hendy, Y. H. M., & Morcos, A. B. (2019). Preliminary site selection for an observatory in the Egyptian Eastern Desert. Astrophys Space Sci, 364(10), 163.
Abstract: This work aims for choosing preliminary sites that can be candidates for a new astronomical observatory that will replace the Kottamia observatory. The candidate sites have been selected to be investigated after proposing a few criteria. Concerning light pollution and elevation of the sites as the main factors, we chose the candidate sites depending on the zenith sky brightness and the elevation. The night sky brightness has been measured using a Sky Quality Meter at different altitude degrees and the values of the zenith sky brightness were compared to those of different observatory sites. Our night sky brightness observations were found to be in agreement with the satellite’s data and comparable to those of dark sites, with average values of 22.07, 22.03, 21.57 and 21.58 magSQM/arcsec2. We also have obtained the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and extinction coefficient due to the aerosol for the candidate sites using satellite data (Terra/MODIS).
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den Outer, P., Lolkema, D., Haaima, M., van der Hoff, R., Spoelstra, H., & Schmidt, W. (2011). Intercomparisons of nine sky brightness detectors. Sensors (Basel), 11(10), 9603–9612.
Abstract: Nine Sky Quality Meters (SQMs) have been intercompared during a night time measurement campaign held in the Netherlands in April 2011. Since then the nine SQMs have been distributed across The Netherlands and form the Dutch network for monitoring night sky brightness. The goal of the intercomparison was to infer mutual calibration factors and obtain insight into the variability of the SQMs under different meteorological situations. An ensemble average is built from the individual measurements and used as a reference to infer the mutual calibration factors. Data required additional synchronization prior to the calibration determination, because the effect of moving clouds combined with small misalignments emerges as time jitter in the measurements. Initial scatter of the individual instruments lies between +/-14%. Individual night time sums range from -16% to +20%. Intercalibration reduces this to 0.5%, and -7% to +9%, respectively. During the campaign the smallest luminance measured was 0.657 +/- 0.003 mcd/m(2) on 12 April, and the largest value was 5.94 +/- 0.03 mcd/m(2) on 2 April. During both occurrences interfering circumstances like snow cover or moonlight were absent.
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Longcore, T., Duriscoe, D., Aubé, M., Jechow, A., Kyba, C. C. M., & Pendoley, K. L. (2020). Commentary: Brightness of the Night Sky Affects Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) Sea Turtle Hatchling Misorientation but Not Nest Site Selection. Front. Mar. Sci., 7.
Abstract: A Commentary on “Brightness of the Night Sky Affects Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) Sea Turtle Hatchling Misorientation but Not Nest Site Selection” by Stanley, T. R., White, J. M., Teel, S., and Nicholas, M. (2020). Front. Mar. Sci. 7:221. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00221
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Posudin, Y. (2014). Measurement of Light Pollution. In Methods of Measuring Environmental Parameters (Vol. Chapter 33). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Abstract: Digital photography is based on the conversion of light by sensitive matrix (array of electronic photodetectors) to capture the image which is then digitized and stored as a computer file for further processing and printing. The spectral sensitivity of the cameras is in good agreement with the spectrum of action of the photosensitive hormone melatonin. Digital photography can be used to quantify light pollution acting on the physiology of living organisms. The chapter discusses the principles of spectrophotometry. A portable spectrophotometer for the measurement of light pollution is proposed by Cinzano. It consists of a cooled CCD camera and a small spectrographic head which is equipped with a De Amici prism composed of two external crown prisms and an inner Flint prism. Sky quality meter (SQM) is a portable photometer for measuring sky brightness and for light pollution monitoring. This device collects the light from a wide solid angle.
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Schnitt, S., Ruhtz, T., Fischer, J., Hölker, F., & Kyba, C. C. M. (2013). Temperature stability of the sky quality meter. Sensors (Basel), 13(9), 12166–12174.
Abstract: The stability of radiance measurements taken by the Sky Quality Meter (SQM)was tested under rapidly changing temperature conditions during exposure to a stable light field in the laboratory. The reported radiance was found to be negatively correlated with temperature, but remained within 7% of the initial reported radiance over a temperature range of -15 degrees C to 35 degrees C, and during temperature changes of -33 degrees C/h and +70 degrees C/h.This is smaller than the manufacturer's quoted unit-to-unit systematic uncertainty of 10%,indicating that the temperature compensation of the SQM is adequate under expected outdoor operating conditions.
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