Development of An Atmospheric Extinction LIDAR for the CCD/Transit Instrument

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AST-0421087 -- McGraw, University of New MexicoA compact, rugged, eye safe, low-cost lidar will be developed, specifically to measure atmospheric extinction at the New Mexico sky survey site at McDonald Observatory in West Texas to support the scientific programs of the CCD/Transit Instrument (CTI). The observing program of the CTI will accomplish a precise time-domain imaging photometric survey in multiple optical and near-infrared bandpasses of approximately 1% of the sky per night. The lidar data will enable more precise photometry by providing real-time measurements of the amount of atmopsheric extinction as well as its cause, i.e. low-lying aerosols, dust or smoke in the free troposphere, or high cirrus.