Würzburg 2018 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 93: Experimentelle Methoden der Astroteilchenphysik V

T 93.4: Talk

Thursday, March 22, 2018, 17:15–17:30, Z6 - SR 2.013

Cloud Detection using All Sky Cameras — •Helena Nawrath¹ and Max Nöthe² — ¹Technische Universität Dortmund — ²Technische Universität Dortmund

The observation time of gamma ray telescopes is limited due to bad weather, e.g. clouds or rain; exact knowledge of the atmospheric conditions is therefore crucial for the development of an efficient observation schedule. In clear nights all stars in the sky are observable; with partial cloudiness only certain parts of the sky are observable. It is important to find these cloudless regions in order to make the best use of the available observation time. The search for clouds in the night sky can be carried out using all sky cameras with an opening angle of 180° mounted at the telescope sites. In this master thesis, a method for the detection of clouds in the all sky camera image is developed by searching for bright blobs in the image and comparing them with different star catalogues afterwards. In addition, the determination of the cloudiness over a long period of time is used to characterize future telescope sites with regard to the available observation time in starry nights. This presentation gives a short overview of the developed method and shows how a cloudiness level can be determined. Furthermore, the primary aim of the work, the estimation of the observation time for IceAct, is briefly motivated.