[Previous] | [Session 38] | [Next]
R. J. Nemiroff, L. Shamir (Michigan Tech), CONCAM Collaboration
A major goal of the global CONtinuous CAMera (CONCAM) network is to support astronomical observing sites with real-time all-sky images and information. To date, this aim has been fulfilled mostly by CONCAM's role as an optical cloud monitor -- creating rapid ground-truth fisheye images that can be visually inspected so that real-time observing decisions can be made. These images are available immediately over the web through http://concam.net/, where they are also archived The high quality of raw CONCAM data, however, allows us to go further and build a data pipeline from which automated stellar photometry can be done for a few hundred of the brightest stars. When combined with CONCAM all-sky brightness data, we show that a simultaneous solution for sky opacity and emissivity is possible at stellar positions. These data can then be interpolated into all-sky maps. With current CONCAM3 equipment, maps with a broadband accuracy of about 0.25 magnitudes for altitudes above 25 degrees is demonstrated. Such maps might contribute to a more quantitative assessment of the brightness, clarity, and variability of the night sky background above the world's largest telescopes both in real time and in subsequent data reduction. Progress on creating these maps as part of the CONCAM data processing pipeline will be discussed.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://concam.net/. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
[Previous] | [Session 38] | [Next]
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.