An optical to IR sky brightness model for the LSST

Peter Yoachim; Michael Coughlin; George Z. Angeli; Charles F. Claver; Andrew J. Connolly; Kem Cook; Scott Daniel; Željko Ivezić; R. Lynne Jones; Catherine Petry; Michael Reuter; Christopher Stubbs; Bo Xin

doi:10.1117/12.2232947

15 July 2016 An optical to IR sky brightness model for the LSST

Peter Yoachim, Michael Coughlin, George Z. Angeli, Charles F. Claver, Andrew J. Connolly, Kem Cook, Scott Daniel, Željko Ivezić, R. Lynne Jones, Catherine Petry, Michael Reuter, Christopher Stubbs, Bo Xin

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9910, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VI; 99101A (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232947
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

To optimize the observing strategy of a large survey such as the LSST, one needs an accurate model of the night sky emission spectrum across a range of atmospheric conditions and from the near-UV to the near-IR. We have used the ESO SkyCalc Sky Model Calculator^{1, 2} to construct a library of template spectra for the Chilean night sky. The ESO model includes emission from the upper and lower atmosphere, scattered starlight, scattered moonlight, and zodiacal light. We have then extended the ESO templates with an empirical fit to the twilight sky emission as measured by a Canon all-sky camera installed at the LSST site. With the ESO templates and our twilight model we can quickly interpolate to any arbitrary sky position and date and return the full sky spectrum or surface brightness magnitudes in the LSST filter system. Comparing our model to all-sky observations, we find typical residual RMS values of ±0.2-0.3 magnitudes per square arcsecond.

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Peter Yoachim, Michael Coughlin, George Z. Angeli, Charles F. Claver, Andrew J. Connolly, Kem Cook, Scott Daniel, Željko Ivezić, R. Lynne Jones, Catherine Petry, Michael Reuter, Christopher Stubbs, and Bo Xin "An optical to IR sky brightness model for the LSST", Proc. SPIE 9910, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VI, 99101A (15 July 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232947

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