SKYMONITOR: A Network to Monitor the State of the Night Sky at Dark Sky Sites

该项目将自动化生产，然后生产10台夜空亮度监测器(NSBM)，分发给美国主要的天文台。NSBM是一种专门配备的光度计，专为抵抗常见的室外条件而设计。该项目旨在建立一个NSBM网络，该网络将以自主方式远程操作，并将提供对美国十个主要观测站夜空亮度的连续、长期测量。NSBM由国际暗天协会(IDA)和梵蒂冈天文台开发。每一个都包括一个带有两个探测器的远程光度计头和一个基站，该基站距离探测器最远可达100米，并直接连接到网络。每个光度计对天空直径5.6度的区域进行采样，一个在天顶附近，另一个方向。探测器配备了宽带滤光片，可以准确测量天窗。光度计将进行精度和稳定性校准，它们的响应将与其他光度系统相关联。将在位于亚利桑那州图森市的开发协会总部建立一个数据收集和存档中心，并通过网络界面向公众提供这些数据。地面天文观测是我们理解宇宙的基础，因此保持我们从地面进入黑暗天空的能力是至关重要的。今天，世界面临着失去这一重要自然资源的风险，因为越来越多的天空辉光。依靠黑暗的天空进行观测的国家天文台和国际天文台都受到了城市扩张的威胁。然而，到目前为止，这些天文台对撞击的天空辉光进行的唯一研究来自偶尔的光度或光谱观测。SKYMONITOR网络的目标是改变记录和观测天空亮度的方式。数据将被传输到一个中央位置，在那里将被收集、存档，并通过网络向公众提供。这些数据将有助于评估主要天文地点和其他环境敏感地点的天空亮度的长期趋势，也将用于研究项目、教育和公众宣传。除了天文应用，这项研究创造的设备和信息还可以用于工程、城市规划和其他科学。例如，要求制定一项黑暗天空条例或法律来限制户外照明几乎总是会引发对此类控制的必要性的质疑。拥有可靠的数据来证明敏感地点的夜空质量，或光污染对这些天空质量的影响，对于建立司法当局的可信度，同时证明有必要制定或改进现有的户外照明条例是至关重要的。根据该项目获得的数据也将有助于了解光污染对动植物的影响。2009年启动该项目将把它与国际天文年的目标结合起来。

This project will automate the production of, and then produce, 10 Night Sky Brightness Monitors (NSBM), for distribution at major US astronomical observatories. The NSBM is a specially equipped photometer created to resist common outdoor conditions. The project aims to establish a network of NSBMs that will operate remotely in an autonomous fashion and that will provide continuous, long term measurements of the brightness of the night sky at ten major US observatory sites.The NSBM was developed by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) and the Vatican Observatory. Each consists of a remote photometer head with two detectors and a base station that can be located up to 100 meters from the detectors and is connected directly to the Web. Each photometer samples an area of 5.6 degrees diameter of the sky, one near the zenith and another direction. The detectors are equipped with a broadband filter that allows accurate measurements of the skylight. The photometers will be calibrated for accuracy and stability and their response will be correlated with other photometric systems. A data collection and archiving center will be established at the headquarters of the IDA located in Tucson, Arizona, and the data will be made available to the public via a web-based interface. Ground based astronomical observations are fundamental to our understanding of the Universe and consequently preserving our ability to access dark skies from the ground is critical. Today, the world is at risk of losing this important natural resource to the increasing sky glow. Both national and international astronomical observatories, which depend on the darkness of the sky to carry out their observations, are threatened by the encroaching urban expansion. However, to date, the only research by these observatories on the impinging sky glow comes from an occasional photometric or spectroscopic observation. The objective of the SKYMONITOR network is to change the way sky brightness is recorded and observed. Data will be transmitted to a central location, where it will be collected, archived, and made available via the Web to the public. Such data will allow assessing the long term trends in sky brightness at major astronomical sites and other environmentally sensitive locations, and will also be available for research projects, education and public outreach. Besides astronomical applications, the equipment and the information created by this research can be utilized in engineering, urban planning, and in other sciences. For example, requesting a dark sky ordinance or laws to limit outdoor lighting nearly always brings questions about the need for such controls. Having sound data to demonstrate the quality of night skies at sensitive sites, or the impact of light pollution on the quality of these skies is essential to establish credibility with jurisdictional authorities while justifying the need to create an outdoor lighting ordinance or to improve an existing one. Data obtained under the project will also be useful in understanding the impact of light pollution on flora and fauna. Launching the project in 2009 will integrate it with the goals of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA).