Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Aug 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002pasp..114..913m&link_type=abstract
The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume 114, Issue 798, pp. 913-917.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
2
Atmospheric Effects, Instrumentation: Miscellaneous
Scientific paper
A thermal infrared imager for mapping the changing cloud cover over a ground-based observing site has been developed. The two main components to our instrument are a 10 μm detector that produces a 120×120 pixel thermogram and a convex electroplated reflector, which is situated underneath the detector and in its field of view. The resulting image covers the sky from zenith down to about 10° elevation. Atmospheric transparency is distinguished by the difference between the sky temperature and the ambient air temperature at ground level. Clear sky is indicated by pixels that are more than 20°C cooler than ambient. The qualitative results ``clear, haze, and cloud'' have proved to be very reliable during 2 years of development and testing. This information will be very useful to observers taking photometric, photographic, and spectroscopic data at optical wavelengths. The instrument can distinguish between different degrees of cloud opacity as a result of a new and more sophisticated data-processing algorithm. Advances in infrared technology including uncooled detectors and area imaging have also made our instrument easier to use, more versatile, and faster to acquire data than previous cloud imaging detectors.
Degnan John J.
Mallama Anthony
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