Sky Quality Meter - SQM-LU
| Article number: | SQM-LU |
| Availability: | More on the Way to us |
| Delivery time: | More on the Way to us |
| "You've got to kick at the brightness 'til it bleeds starlight." - with apologies to Bruce Cockburn |
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A USB SQM model for night-time sky brightness monitoring! An affordable meter for continual, connected measuring of sky brightness for astronomers! The "Sky Quality Meter - LU" measures the brightness of the night sky in magnitudes per square arcsecond. Designed by Dr. Doug Welch and Anthony Tekatch |
Uses:
- Find out how good the night or site REALLY is.
- Compare the sky brightness at different sites quantitatively.
- Document the evolution of light pollution in your area.
- Set planetarium dome illumination to mimic the skies people are likely to experience elsewhere in the city.
- Monitor sky brightness through the night, night-to-night, and year-to-year.
- Determine which nights show the greatest promise for finding the 'faintest fuzzies'!
- Calibrate the effect of sky brightness on qualitative measures such as the Bortle Scale.
- Investigate how sky brightness correlates with the solar cycle and month-to-month sunspot activity.
- Help provide local ground truth for future sky brightness prediction with the Clear Sky Clock.
- CCD users can make a correlation between the SQM reading and when the background reaches some ADC level.
Features:
- Sky brightness reported in visual magnitudes per square arcsecond.
- Infrared blocking filter restricts measurement to visual bandpass.
- Sensor temperature, model number, and serial number are provided.
- Precision readings at even the darkest sites.
- Field-upgradeable firmware.
- Open protocol document.
Specifications:
- USB connectivity
- Included applications for reading data in Perl.
- The Half Width Half Maximum (HWHM) of the angular sensitivity is ~10°. The Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) is then ~20°. The sensitivity to a point source ~19° off-axis is a factor of 10 lower than on-axis. A point source ~20° and ~40° off-axis would register 3.0 and 5.0 magnitudes fainter, respectively.
- Size 3.6 x 2.6 x 1.1 in.
- Maximum light sampling time: 80 seconds.
- Minimum light sampling time: 1 seconds.
- Specifications are subject to change without notice.
What you get:
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Price $189.99US plus Shipping & Handling.
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What you get:
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Price $229.94US plus Shipping & Handling.
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Details:
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Reports including the SQM:
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SQM-LE/LU tripod adaptor option |
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 Example |
This adaptor kit was designed specifically for the SQM-LE/LU meters and includes a wire guide to hold the cables in place. The adaptor screws into the back of the SQM-LE or LU and allows the meter to be mounted on a tripod with a 1/4-20 thread. The kit includes one tripod adaptor, 3D-printed plastic, and two longer screws (to replace two short screws already in the meter). |
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