SKYMONITOR: A Network to Monitor the State of the Night Sky at Dark Sky Sites

SKYMONITOR：监测暗天站点夜空状态的网络

• 批准号: 0901053
• 负责人: Donald Davis
• 金额: $ 15.83万
• 依托单位: International Dark Sky Association
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-06-15 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0901053&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SKYMONITOR; Network; Monitor; State; Night

This project will automate the production of, and then produce, 10 Night Sky Brightness Monitors (NSBM), for distribution at major US astronomical observatories. The NSBM is a specially equipped photometer created to resist common outdoor conditions. The project aims to establish a network of NSBMs that will operate remotely in an autonomous fashion and that will provide continuous, long term measurements of the brightness of the night sky at ten major US observatory sites.The NSBM was developed by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) and the Vatican Observatory. Each consists of a remote photometer head with two detectors and a base station that can be located up to 100 meters from the detectors and is connected directly to the Web. Each photometer samples an area of 5.6 degrees diameter of the sky, one near the zenith and another direction. The detectors are equipped with a broadband filter that allows accurate measurements of the skylight. The photometers will be calibrated for accuracy and stability and their response will be correlated with other photometric systems. A data collection and archiving center will be established at the headquarters of the IDA located in Tucson, Arizona, and the data will be made available to the public via a web-based interface. Ground based astronomical observations are fundamental to our understanding of the Universe and consequently preserving our ability to access dark skies from the ground is critical. Today, the world is at risk of losing this important natural resource to the increasing sky glow. Both national and international astronomical observatories, which depend on the darkness of the sky to carry out their observations, are threatened by the encroaching urban expansion. However, to date, the only research by these observatories on the impinging sky glow comes from an occasional photometric or spectroscopic observation. The objective of the SKYMONITOR network is to change the way sky brightness is recorded and observed. Data will be transmitted to a central location, where it will be collected, archived, and made available via the Web to the public. Such data will allow assessing the long term trends in sky brightness at major astronomical sites and other environmentally sensitive locations, and will also be available for research projects, education and public outreach. Besides astronomical applications, the equipment and the information created by this research can be utilized in engineering, urban planning, and in other sciences. For example, requesting a dark sky ordinance or laws to limit outdoor lighting nearly always brings questions about the need for such controls. Having sound data to demonstrate the quality of night skies at sensitive sites, or the impact of light pollution on the quality of these skies is essential to establish credibility with jurisdictional authorities while justifying the need to create an outdoor lighting ordinance or to improve an existing one. Data obtained under the project will also be useful in understanding the impact of light pollution on flora and fauna. Launching the project in 2009 will integrate it with the goals of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA).

该项目将实现 10 个夜空亮度监视器 (NSBM) 的自动化生产，并在美国主要天文台分发。 NSBM 是一款专门配备的光度计，专为抵抗常见的户外条件而设计。 该项目旨在建立一个 NSBM 网络，该网络将以自主方式远程运行，并对美国十个主要天文台站点的夜空亮度进行连续、长期的测量。 NSBM 由国际暗夜协会开发（IDA）和梵蒂冈天文台。每个都包含一个带有两个探测器的远程光度计头和一个基站，该基站距离探测器最远 100 米，并直接连接到网络。每个光度计对天空直径 5.6 度的区域进行采样，一个靠近天顶，另一个方向。探测器配备了宽带滤波器，可以精确测量天光。光度计将进行准确性和稳定性校准，其响应将与其他光度系统相关。位于亚利桑那州图森的 IDA 总部将建立一个数据收集和存档中心，数据将通过基于网络的界面向公众提供。地面天文观测是我们了解宇宙的基础，因此保持我们从地面进入黑暗天空的能力至关重要。如今，世界正面临着因日益增加的天空辉光而失去这一重要自然资源的风险。依靠天空的黑暗进行观测的国家和国际天文台都受到城市扩张的威胁。然而，迄今为止，这些天文台对撞击天空辉光的唯一研究来自于偶尔的光度测量或光谱观察。 SKYMONITOR 网络的目标是改变天空亮度记录和观测的方式。数据将被传输到一个中心位置，在那里数据将被收集、存档并通过网络向公众提供。此类数据将有助于评估主要天文地点和其他环境敏感地点天空亮度的长期趋势，并且还可用于研究项目、教育和公共宣传。除了天文学应用之外，这项研究产生的设备和信息还可用于工程、城市规划和其他科学。例如，要求制定黑暗天空法令或法律来限制室外照明几乎总是会带来关于是否需要此类控制的问题。拥有可靠的数据来证明敏感地点夜空的质量，或者光污染对这些天空质量的影响，对于在司法当局中建立信誉至关重要，同时证明制定户外照明条例或改进现有条例的必要性。 。该项目获得的数据也将有助于了解光污染对动植物的影响。 2009 年启动该项目将使其与国际天文年 (IYA) 的目标相结合。