Events of Interest at STEM Laboratory
| 2015 | ||
| List of events: | ||
| Date | Location | Description |
| June 11-13, 2015 | Ontario Airport Hotel Ontario, CA |
“Light Emitting Diodes and Astronomical Environments:
Results from in situ Field Measurements” Presented by Dr. Eric R. Craine at: Symposium on Telescope Science Joint Meeting of the SAS/AAVSO/CBA SAS Symposium [Abstract] Light emitting diode (LED) light fixtures are rapidly becoming industry standards for outdoor lighting. They are promoted on the strength of long lifetimes (hence economic efficiencies), low power requirements, directability, active brightness controls, and energy efficiency. They also tend to produce spectral shifts that are undesirable in astronomical settings, but which can be moderated by filters. LED lighting for continuous roadway and parking lot lighting is particularly popular, and many communities are in the process of retrofitting Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) and other lights by tens of thousands of new LED fixtures at a time. What is the impact of this process on astronomical observatories and on dark skies upon which amateur astronomers rely? We bypass modeling and predictions to make actual measurements of these lights in the field. We report on original ground, airborne, and satellite observations of LED lights and discuss their light budgets, zenith angle functions, and impacts on observatory environs. |
| June 11-13, 2015 | Ontario Airport Hotel Ontario, CA |
“Trends in Sky Brightness Variations: Fort Collins, CO and Tucson, AZ” Presented by Dr. Roger Culver at: Symposium on Telescope Science Joint Meeting of the SAS/AAVSO/CBA SAS Symposium [Abstract] Internet enabled sky brightness meters (iSBM), designed and manufactured by STEM Laboratory, Inc., have been operated and tested at several locations for the last few years. The iSBM units are zenith looking, single channel, broadband photometers that record sky brightness continuously at a cadence of about 40-sec. They operate every night regardless of weather, thus providing a record of sky brightness useful not only for astronomers (clear nights), but also wildlife biologists who are concerned with the real range of local sky brightness. Data logged include time, date, geographic location, elevation, sky brightness, twilight times, moonrise/set times, lunar phase, cloud cover, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and dew-point. We have examined recent archives of iSBM data for two different types of locations: Fort Collins, CO and Tucson, AZ. From the archives we have calculated statistics of sky brightness and compare the results to provide a qualitative and quantitative description of natural ranges of sky brightness trends. |
| 9 March 2015 | HudBay Minerals Rosemont Copper 2450 W Ruthrauff Rd #180 Tucson, AZ 85705 Main Conference Room 1:30 PM |
“Open-Pit Copper Mining: Evaluation of Night Lighting Associated with Test Drill Sites” |