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Telescope

Weather and Related Image-Quality Issues

Predictions for some of these factors are summarized in the following table made by Attilla Danko using data from the Canadian Meteorological Center. (Click for Expanded View & Details, but generally, the darker the background color, the better)

Cloud Cover: Clearly we are unlikely to open the dome if it is cloudy. Even if it is not obviously cloudy, high level clouds may degrade the quality of images.

Transparency: This is mainly related to the amount of water vapour in the air. Low transparency will result is poor quality images.

Seeing: This is related to the amount of turbulence around and above the dome. The primary mirror of the UMBC telescope has a diameter of 0.8m, and hence in theory has sub-arcsec resolution. However the atmospheric conditions (and "poor seeing") at the site greatly degrade the image quality, such that objects appear to 'jiggle' around and get smeared out, making some of the finer details invisible.

Darkness: Clearly the darker the sky, the better. However, while the above table does include the affects such as whether there is full moon, it not include the affects of the huge amout of light pollution from the rest of the campus, and especially Baltimore & environs. This can greatly decrease our ability to see faint & diffuse objects.

Wind/Rain: For safety reason, the dome will not be opened if the wind is considered too strong (including gusts). The dome will not be opened if there is the good chance of rain or any other inclemental weather.