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Measuring Night-Sky Brightness with a Wide-Field CCD Camera

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Measuring Night-Sky Brightness with a Wide-Field CCD Camera Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific ᭧ Measuring Night-Sky Brightness with a Wide-Field CCD Camera Dan M. Duriscoe Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, CA; [email protected] Christian B. Luginbuhl US Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station, Flagstaff, AZ; [email protected] and Chadwick A. Moore Bryce Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon, UT; [email protected] Received 2006 November 13; accepted 2006 December 26; published 2007 February 13 ABSTRACT. We describe a system for rapidly measuring the brightness of the night sky using a mosaic of CCD images obtained with a low-cost automated system. The portable system produces millions of independent photometric measurements covering the entire sky, enabling the detailed characterization of natural sky conditions and light domes produced by cities. The measurements are calibrated using images of standard stars contained within the raw data, producing results closely tracking the Johnson V astronomical standard. The National Park Service has collected hundreds of data sets at numerous parks since 2001 and is using these data for the protection and monitoring of the night-sky visual resource. This system also allows comprehensive characterization of sky conditions at astronomical observatories. We explore photometric issues raised by the broadband measurement of the complex and variable night-sky spectrum, and potential indices of night-sky quality. 1. INTRODUCTION (such as the TASCA camera at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory [Schwarz et al. 2003] and the network of contin- The National Park Service’s mission of preservation of na- uous night-sky cameras known as CONCAM [Pereira & Nem- tional park resources and values requires accurate information iroff 1998]), but such images are difficult to calibrate to known on past, present, and future conditions. The protection of night- standards of sky brightness measurement. Calibrated broadband sky quality, or “lightscape management,” has been mandated sky brightness measurements have traditionally been made at in the agency’s management policies (NPS 2006). While the major observatories at specific points in the sky, either with a Moon produces by far the greatest amount of natural illumi- single-channel photoelectric photometer or a narrow-field (i.e., nation, many nocturnal species have evolved to take advantage astronomical telescope) CCD detector (e.g., see Walker 1970, of moonless nights between dusk and dawn (sometimes referred 1973; Pilachowski et al. 1989; Mattila et al. 1996; Nawar 1998; to by astronomers as “dark time”). In addition, a significant Lockwood et al. 1990; Patat 2003). The approach described in component of the natural visual scene in many national parks this paper represents an innovative use of wide-field CCD im- is the appearance of the night sky on a dark night, and the ages for panoramic sky brightness photometry, with an image National Park Service is charged with the duty of conserving scale that is sufficient to perform the accurate stellar photom- the scenery and the wildlife within parks (16 U.S.C., chaps. 1, etry required for calibration to known standards. A similar 2, 3, and 4). Monitoring sky brightness and the sources con- system is under development by Cinzano & Falchi (2003). Our tributing to it can best be accomplished by measurements of system provides all-sky coverage with the ability to combine the entire sky; that is, from the zenith to the horizon in all data from multiple images into a single representation similar azimuthal directions. This is because light from the entire sky to that obtained with a fish-eye lens, while maintaining suffi- contributes to illumination of the land, and visitors to natural cient precision and accuracy to assess quantitative effects and areas such as these will easily perceive light domes from distant long-term trends of light pollution. This product is achieved cities as degradation of the natural night sky, even if they affect entirely with off-the-shelf, commercially available hardware at only a small portion of the sky that is of little interest to a cost of under $15,000 US. astronomers. Previous researchers of this subject have not discussed the All-sky images obtained with fish-eye lenses have been em- complexity of measuring a night-sky spectrum characterized ployed by astronomical observatories for cloud monitoring and by emission lines using a broadband system calibrated with qualitative or semiquantitative representations of sky quality continuous stellar spectra. In addition, the relationship of such 2 TABLE 1 List of Equipment for Field Portable Sky Brightness Measurements Weight Item (kg) Brand Name and Model Tripod .......................... 4 Celestron NexStar Robotic telescope mount ...... 6 Celestron NexStar 5i CCD camera ................... 2–4 Apogee AP260EP Finger Lakes Instruments MaxCam CM9 SBIG STL 1001E Finger Lakes Instruments IMG 1001E Camera lens .................... 0.5–1 Nikon 35 mm, f/1.4 Nikon 50 mm, f/1.8 Camera filter ................... 0.1 Custom Scientific Bessell V Notebook computer ............ 3 Dell Inspiron IBM ThinkPad Cables (three) .................. 1 USB, serial, 12 V DC power Power supply ................... 2–4 Regulated DC-to-DC converter powered by a 15 V, 12 Ah Ultralife Lithium-ion battery (varies with camera; SBIG STL camera does not require regulated DC supply) GPS receiver ................... 0.3 Garmin Etrex Hand-held weather meter ...... 0.1 Kestrel 3500 Total weight: 19–24 measurements to the visual perception of night-sky brightness 2. Experiments with the equipment described herein revealed under the darkest 10%ע by the dark-adapted human eye has received little attention. that to achieve precision greater than We provide a discussion that is pertinent to our photometric of conditions (greater precision is easily attained under mod- system and the V band of the Johnson UVB system. erately bright and bright skies), modifications to the method An important tool in managing light pollution is the use of would not allow several of the other objectives described to models of the propagation of light in the atmosphere from be met, particularly the completion of an all-sky data set within sources on the ground. This work will contribute significantly 40 minutes. to the validation of such models by providing numerous data 3. The Johnson V band is an acceptable estimator of human points throughout the hemisphere of the sky (see Cinzano & visual perception of night-sky brightness, and the Johnson UVB Elvidge 2004). Its field portability also allows for the collection photometric system is well established, with published stellar of data from many locations in the vicinity of a light source. magnitudes in many star catalogs. 4. Sky brightness resulting from distant ground sources is 2. THE DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM AND strongly dependent on atmospheric extinction, and any analysis DATA PROCESSING or model validation will require a measurement of the extinc- 2.1. Data Quality Objectives tion coefficient as a covariable. 5. The need for as brief an interval as possible between the We set the following objectives for data quality for this mon- beginning and ending of an all-sky data set is predicated on itoring effort: the fact that the brightness of portions of the sky, illuminated 1. Sky background brightness measurements must cover the from both natural and artificial sources, can change rapidly— entire sky with a resolution of no less than 2Њ. 40 minutes was considered an acceptable compromise between 2. Under the darkest of natural conditions, measurements a true “snapshot” and the limitations of the equipment. .or better 10%ע must have a precision and accuracy of 3. Measurements must be related to a known astronomical 2.2. Hardware system to allow calibration of the data using stellar sources, and must closely approximate the human visual perception of A suite of equipment required for field data collection was brightness. selected based on the following criteria: relatively low cost, 4. The extinction coefficient of the atmosphere must be de- transportable by one or two persons via foot, off-the-shelf avail- termined for each data set. ability, and durability. The equipment sets evaluated in this 5. The time interval between the beginning and ending of a study are listed in Table 1. single all-sky data set must not exceed 40 minutes. 2.2.1. Camera The reasons for setting these objectives are as follows: The heart of this system is the camera, including the CCD 1. Higher resolution observations allow the size, shape, and detector, associated electronics, and thermoelectric cooler. total brightness of light domes to be characterized accurately. Cameras used in the development of these methods employed 2007 PASP, 119:192–213 3 TABLE 2 Properties of the CCD Detectors Array Size Pixel Size Full-Well Depth Gain Zero Point Color Term Plate Scale Camera Detector (pixels) (mm) (eϪ) (eϪ ADUϪ1) (mag) (mag) (arcsec pixelϪ 1) 231.5 0.005 ע Ϫ0.035 0.03 ע Apogee AP260EP* ........... KAF 261E 256 # 256 40 # 40 800,000 1.8 14.00 231.5 0.005 ע Ϫ0.035 0.03 ע FLI MaxCam CM9 #1* ...... KAF 261E 256 # 256 40 # 40 800,000 3.85 13.40 231.5 0.005 ע Ϫ0.035 0.03 ע FLI MaxCam CM9 #2* ...... KAF 261E 256 # 256 40 # 40 800,000 1.47 14.40 93.6 0.006 ע Ϫ0.045 0.03 ע SBIG STL .................... KAF 1001E 1024 # 1024 24 # 24 200,000 1.96 14.79 93.6 0.006 ע Ϫ0.045 0.03 ע FLI IMG ...................... KAF 1001E 1024 # 1024 24 # 24 200,000 2.35 14.69 Note.—Asterisks denote cameras whose values reflect 2 # 2 on-chip binning. two different detectors (hereafter referred to as “small format” ufacturers (Apogee Instruments, Santa Barbara Instrument and “large format,” respectively): the 512 # 512 pixel Kodak Group [SBIG], and Finger Lakes Instrumentation [FLI]) were KAF 261E and the 1024 # 1024 pixel Kodak KAF 1001E; purchased and tested.
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