LSST site evaluation

Sebag, Jacques; Krabbendam, Victor L.; Claver, C. F.; Barr, J.; Barr, Joshua; Kantor, J.; Saha, A.; Erasmus, D. André

doi:10.1117/12.670615

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…We adopt methodology described in Erasmus & Sarazin (2002). Similar study has been made for many astronomical observatories (see, for example, Erasmus & van Rooyen 2006, Sebag et al 2007, della Valle et al 2010, Cavazzani et al 2011. Motivation of this study and the use of satellite data are outlined in the following.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…With the availability of such data, cloud cover studies have been reported by many authors (Sagar et al 2000, using INSAT satellite;Erasmus & van Rooyen 2006, using Meteosat satellite; Sebag et al 2007;della Valle et al 2010;Cavazzani et al 2011, using GOES satellite) and subsequently can be compared to the existing in situ measurement of the corresponding sites. As also mentioned in Cavazzani et al (2011), data analyses also provide homogeneous methodology since it is not dependent on different judgement based on observer logbooks or on different instruments.…”

Section: Satellite Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Clear sky fraction above Indonesia: an analysis for astronomical site selection

Hidayat

Mahasena

Dermawan

et al. 2012

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We report a study of cloud cover over Indonesia based on meteorological satellite data spanning 15 years (from 1996 to 2010) to aid in the selection of a new astronomical site capable of hosting a multi-wavelength astronomical observatory. High-spatial-resolution meteorological satellite data acquired from Geostationary Meteorological Satellite 5 (GMS 5), Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 9 (GOES 9) and Multi-functional Transport Satellite-1R (MTSAT-1R) are used to derive yearly average clear fractions over various regions of Indonesia. This parameter is determined from temperature measurements in the IR3 channel (water vapour, 6.7 µm) for high-altitude clouds (cirrus), and from the IR1 channel (10.7 µm) for lower-altitude clouds. An algorithm is developed to detect the corresponding clouds. The results of this study were used to select the best possible sites in Indonesia, which will be analysed further by performing in situ measurements in the future. The results suggest that regions of East Nusa Tenggara, located in southeastern Indonesia, are the most promising candidates for such an astronomical site. The yearly clear sky fraction of this region may reach better than 70 per cent, with an uncertainty of 10 per cent.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Satellite Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Clear sky fraction above Indonesia: an analysis for astronomical site selection

Hidayat

Mahasena

Dermawan

et al. 2012

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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“…The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be located on Cerro Pachón in Chile on the El Peñon site not far from the Gemini South Telescope [1]. During the LSST site characterization campaign that followed its selection, measurements were taken to determine the optical turbulence profile (OTP) on El Peñon up to 30m above ground using microthermal sensors and a lunar scintillometer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface layer turbulence measurements on the LSST site El Peñon using microthermal sensors and the lunar scintillometer LuSci

et al. 2012

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Results from determining the optical turbulence profile (OTP) on the LSST site, El Peñon, located on Cerro Pachón (Chile) are presented. El Peñón appears to be an excellent observatory site with a surface layer seeing contribution on the order of 0.15" with most of this seeing being produced below 20m. These measurements also helped to confirm that the telescope is elevated high enough above ground. As part of the LSST site characterization campaign, microthermal measurements were taken in order to determine the contribution of the surface layer turbulence to the atmospheric seeing. Such measurements are commonly used for this purpose where pairs of microthermal sensors mounted on a tower measure atmospheric temperature differences. In addition, the lunar scintillometer LuSci was installed on El Peñon for short campaigns near full moon for the same purpose. LuSci is a turbulence profiler based on measuring spatial correlation of moonlight scintillations. The comparison of the results from both instruments during simultaneous data acquisition showed a remarkable temporal correlation and very similar mean OTPs.

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