Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic
We present the first measurements of the near-infrared (NIR), specifically the J-band, sky background in the Canadian High Arctic. There has been considerable recent interest in the development of an astronomical observatory in Ellesmere Island; initial site testing has shown promise for a world-cla...
Published in: | SPIE Proceedings, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV |
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2012
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926251 https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=2c149875-a5f9-401c-8445-6514eff6e96f https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=2c149875-a5f9-401c-8445-6514eff6e96f |
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ftnrccanada:oai:cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.ca:cistinparc:21270166 2023-05-15T13:54:10+02:00 Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic Sivanandam, Suresh Graham, James R. Abraham, Roberto Tekatch, Anthony Steinbring, Eric Ngan, Wayne Welch, Doug L. Law, Nicholas M. 2012-09-24 text https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926251 https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=2c149875-a5f9-401c-8445-6514eff6e96f https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=2c149875-a5f9-401c-8445-6514eff6e96f eng eng issn:0277-786X Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, July 1-6, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands, ISBN: 9780819491473, Publication date: 2012-09-24 doi:10.1117/12.926251 article 2012 ftnrccanada https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926251 2021-09-01T06:26:12Z We present the first measurements of the near-infrared (NIR), specifically the J-band, sky background in the Canadian High Arctic. There has been considerable recent interest in the development of an astronomical observatory in Ellesmere Island; initial site testing has shown promise for a world-class site. Encouragement for our study came from sky background measurements on the high Antarctic glacial plateau in winter that showed markedly lower NIR emission when compared to good mid-latitude astronomical sites due to reduced emission from the Meinel bands, i.e. hydroxyl radical (OH) airglow lines. This is possibly a Polar effuect and may also be present in the High Arctic. To test this hypothesis, we carried out an experiment which measured the the J-band sky brightness in the High Arctic during winter. We constructed a zenith-pointing, J-band photometer, and installed it at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) near Eureka, Nunavut (latitude: 80° N). We present the design of our ruggedized photometer and our results from our short PEARL observing campaign in February 2012. Taken over a period of four days, our measurements indicate that the J-band sky brightness varies between 15:5-15:9 mag arcsec2; with a measurement uncertainty of 0.15 mag. The uncertainty is entirely dominated by systematic errors present in our radiometric calibration. On our best night, we measured a fairly consistent sky brightness of 15:8 ± 0:15 mag arcsec2: This is not corrected for atmospheric extinction, which is typically < 0:1 mag in the J-band on a good night. The measured sky brightness is comparable to an excellent mid-latitude site, but is not as dark as claimed by the Antarctic measurements. We discuss possible explanations of why we do not see as dark skies as in the Antarctic. Future winter-long sky brightness measurements are anticipated to obtain the necessary statistics to make a proper comparison with the Antarctic measurements. Peer reviewed: Yes NRC publication: Yes Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Nunavut National Research Council Canada: NRC Publications Archive Antarctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka ENVELOPE(-85.940,-85.940,79.990,79.990) Nunavut The Antarctic SPIE Proceedings, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV 8446 844643 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
National Research Council Canada: NRC Publications Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnrccanada |
language |
English |
description |
We present the first measurements of the near-infrared (NIR), specifically the J-band, sky background in the Canadian High Arctic. There has been considerable recent interest in the development of an astronomical observatory in Ellesmere Island; initial site testing has shown promise for a world-class site. Encouragement for our study came from sky background measurements on the high Antarctic glacial plateau in winter that showed markedly lower NIR emission when compared to good mid-latitude astronomical sites due to reduced emission from the Meinel bands, i.e. hydroxyl radical (OH) airglow lines. This is possibly a Polar effuect and may also be present in the High Arctic. To test this hypothesis, we carried out an experiment which measured the the J-band sky brightness in the High Arctic during winter. We constructed a zenith-pointing, J-band photometer, and installed it at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) near Eureka, Nunavut (latitude: 80° N). We present the design of our ruggedized photometer and our results from our short PEARL observing campaign in February 2012. Taken over a period of four days, our measurements indicate that the J-band sky brightness varies between 15:5-15:9 mag arcsec2; with a measurement uncertainty of 0.15 mag. The uncertainty is entirely dominated by systematic errors present in our radiometric calibration. On our best night, we measured a fairly consistent sky brightness of 15:8 ± 0:15 mag arcsec2: This is not corrected for atmospheric extinction, which is typically < 0:1 mag in the J-band on a good night. The measured sky brightness is comparable to an excellent mid-latitude site, but is not as dark as claimed by the Antarctic measurements. We discuss possible explanations of why we do not see as dark skies as in the Antarctic. Future winter-long sky brightness measurements are anticipated to obtain the necessary statistics to make a proper comparison with the Antarctic measurements. Peer reviewed: Yes NRC publication: Yes |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sivanandam, Suresh Graham, James R. Abraham, Roberto Tekatch, Anthony Steinbring, Eric Ngan, Wayne Welch, Doug L. Law, Nicholas M. |
spellingShingle |
Sivanandam, Suresh Graham, James R. Abraham, Roberto Tekatch, Anthony Steinbring, Eric Ngan, Wayne Welch, Doug L. Law, Nicholas M. Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic |
author_facet |
Sivanandam, Suresh Graham, James R. Abraham, Roberto Tekatch, Anthony Steinbring, Eric Ngan, Wayne Welch, Doug L. Law, Nicholas M. |
author_sort |
Sivanandam, Suresh |
title |
Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic |
title_short |
Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic |
title_full |
Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic |
title_fullStr |
Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the Canadian high arctic |
title_sort |
characterizing near-infrared sky brightness in the canadian high arctic |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926251 https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=2c149875-a5f9-401c-8445-6514eff6e96f https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=2c149875-a5f9-401c-8445-6514eff6e96f |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-85.940,-85.940,79.990,79.990) |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Nunavut The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Nunavut The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Nunavut |
op_relation |
issn:0277-786X Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, July 1-6, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands, ISBN: 9780819491473, Publication date: 2012-09-24 doi:10.1117/12.926251 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926251 |
container_title |
SPIE Proceedings, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV |
container_volume |
8446 |
container_start_page |
844643 |
_version_ |
1766259832767119360 |