Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry

Abstract Artificial skyglow is constantly growing on a global scale, with potential ecological consequences ranging up to affecting biodiversity. To understand these consequences, worldwide mapping of skyglow for all weather conditions is urgently required. In particular, the amplification of skyglo...

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Autores principales:	Andreas Jechow, Zoltán Kolláth, Salvador J. Ribas, Henk Spoelstra, Franz Hölker, Christopher C. M. Kyba
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2201c26c80004d9ab5aa545dd44063d8
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2201c26c80004d9ab5aa545dd44063d82021-12-02T11:41:12ZImaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry10.1038/s41598-017-06998-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/2201c26c80004d9ab5aa545dd44063d82017-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06998-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Artificial skyglow is constantly growing on a global scale, with potential ecological consequences ranging up to affecting biodiversity. To understand these consequences, worldwide mapping of skyglow for all weather conditions is urgently required. In particular, the amplification of skyglow by clouds needs to be studied, as clouds can extend the reach of skyglow into remote areas not affected by light pollution on clear nights. Here we use commercial digital single lens reflex cameras with fisheye lenses for all-sky photometry. We track the reach of skyglow from a peri-urban into a remote area on a clear and a partly cloudy night by performing transects from the Spanish town of Balaguer towards Montsec Astronomical Park. From one single all-sky image, we extract zenith luminance, horizontal and scalar illuminance. While zenith luminance reaches near-natural levels at 5 km distance from the town on the clear night, similar levels are only reached at 27 km on the partly cloudy night. Our results show the dramatic increase of the reach of skyglow even for moderate cloud coverage at this site. The powerful and easy-to-use method promises to be widely applicable for studies of ecological light pollution on a global scale also by non-specialists in photometry.Andreas JechowZoltán KolláthSalvador J. RibasHenk SpoelstraFranz HölkerChristopher C. M. KybaNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Andreas Jechow Zoltán Kolláth Salvador J. Ribas Henk Spoelstra Franz Hölker Christopher C. M. Kyba Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry
description	Abstract Artificial skyglow is constantly growing on a global scale, with potential ecological consequences ranging up to affecting biodiversity. To understand these consequences, worldwide mapping of skyglow for all weather conditions is urgently required. In particular, the amplification of skyglow by clouds needs to be studied, as clouds can extend the reach of skyglow into remote areas not affected by light pollution on clear nights. Here we use commercial digital single lens reflex cameras with fisheye lenses for all-sky photometry. We track the reach of skyglow from a peri-urban into a remote area on a clear and a partly cloudy night by performing transects from the Spanish town of Balaguer towards Montsec Astronomical Park. From one single all-sky image, we extract zenith luminance, horizontal and scalar illuminance. While zenith luminance reaches near-natural levels at 5 km distance from the town on the clear night, similar levels are only reached at 27 km on the partly cloudy night. Our results show the dramatic increase of the reach of skyglow even for moderate cloud coverage at this site. The powerful and easy-to-use method promises to be widely applicable for studies of ecological light pollution on a global scale also by non-specialists in photometry.
format	article
author	Andreas Jechow Zoltán Kolláth Salvador J. Ribas Henk Spoelstra Franz Hölker Christopher C. M. Kyba
author_facet	Andreas Jechow Zoltán Kolláth Salvador J. Ribas Henk Spoelstra Franz Hölker Christopher C. M. Kyba
author_sort	Andreas Jechow
title	Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry
title_short	Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry
title_full	Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry
title_fullStr	Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry
title_full_unstemmed	Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry
title_sort	imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/2201c26c80004d9ab5aa545dd44063d8
work_keys_str_mv	AT andreasjechow imagingandmappingtheimpactofcloudsonskyglowwithallskyphotometry AT zoltankollath imagingandmappingtheimpactofcloudsonskyglowwithallskyphotometry AT salvadorjribas imagingandmappingtheimpactofcloudsonskyglowwithallskyphotometry AT henkspoelstra imagingandmappingtheimpactofcloudsonskyglowwithallskyphotometry AT franzholker imagingandmappingtheimpactofcloudsonskyglowwithallskyphotometry AT christophercmkyba imagingandmappingtheimpactofcloudsonskyglowwithallskyphotometry
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Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry

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