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http://dx.doi.org/10.5467/JKESS.2019.40.5.464

Measuring Night Sky Brightness over the Downtown Using a DSLR Camera  

Lee, Dongseob (Department of Earth Science Education, Kyungpook National University)
Shim, Hyunjin (Department of Earth Science Education, Kyungpook National University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean earth science society / v.40, no.5, 2019 , pp. 464-475 More about this Journal
Abstract
We measured night sky brightness (NSB) over the downtown using a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera combined to a small telescope for educational purpose, considering that most secondary schools are located in urban areas and have limitation in the equipment for astronomical observation. Raw format images from DSLR camera are not affected by various camera settings except for the ISO, and the typical photometric uncertainty including filter transformation is about 0.1 mag. Near the zenith, the NSB of the B, V, and r-band is 17.5, 17.1, and $16.9mag\;arcsec^{-2}$, respectively. The approximate limiting magnitude is derived to be 17.5 mag at B-band and 17 mag at V, r-band. A large scale artificial light close to the observation site is the dominant cause for making observing condition worse, increasing the NSB by $0.6mag\;arcseec^{-2}$ regardless of the altitude and filter.
Keywords
night sky brightness; limiting magnitude; DSLR camera;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
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