Global Site Selection for Astronomy. (arXiv:1912.01911v1 [astro-ph.IM])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Aksaker_N/0/1/0/all/0/1">N. Aksaker</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Yerli_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S.K. Yerli</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Erdogan_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M.A. Erdoğan</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kurt_Z/0/1/0/all/0/1">Z. Kurt</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kaba_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">K. Kaba</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bayazit_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Bayazit</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Yesilyaprak_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">C. Yesilyaprak</a>
A global site selection for astronomy was performed with 1 km spatial
resolution ($sim$ 1 Giga pixel in size) using long term and up-to-date
datasets to classify the entire terrestrial surface on the Earth. Satellite
instruments are used to get the following datasets of Geographical Information
System (GIS) layers: Cloud Coverage, Digital Elevation Model, Artificial Light,
Precipitable Water Vapor, Aerosol Optical Depth, Wind Speed and Land Use —
Land Cover. A Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) technique is applied to
these datasets creating four different series where each layer will have a
specific weight. We introduce for the first time a “Suitability Index for
Astronomical Sites” namely, SIAS. This index can be used to find suitable
locations and to compare different sites or observatories. Mid-western Andes in
South America and Tibetan Plateau in west China were found to be the best in
all SIAS Series. Considering all the series, less than 3 % of all terrestrial
surfaces are found to be the best regions to establish an astronomical
observatory. In addition to this, only approximately 10 % of all current
observatories are located in good locations in all SIAS series. Amateurs,
institutions or countries aiming to construct an observatory could create a
short-list of potential site locations using layout of SIAS values for each
country without spending time and budget.
A global site selection for astronomy was performed with 1 km spatial
resolution ($sim$ 1 Giga pixel in size) using long term and up-to-date
datasets to classify the entire terrestrial surface on the Earth. Satellite
instruments are used to get the following datasets of Geographical Information
System (GIS) layers: Cloud Coverage, Digital Elevation Model, Artificial Light,
Precipitable Water Vapor, Aerosol Optical Depth, Wind Speed and Land Use —
Land Cover. A Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) technique is applied to
these datasets creating four different series where each layer will have a
specific weight. We introduce for the first time a “Suitability Index for
Astronomical Sites” namely, SIAS. This index can be used to find suitable
locations and to compare different sites or observatories. Mid-western Andes in
South America and Tibetan Plateau in west China were found to be the best in
all SIAS Series. Considering all the series, less than 3 % of all terrestrial
surfaces are found to be the best regions to establish an astronomical
observatory. In addition to this, only approximately 10 % of all current
observatories are located in good locations in all SIAS series. Amateurs,
institutions or countries aiming to construct an observatory could create a
short-list of potential site locations using layout of SIAS values for each
country without spending time and budget.
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