Influence of Illumination Parameters on Night Sky Observation in Rural Areas
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Experimental Design
2.2. Research Area
2.3. Data Collection
- Power: Three different power values were set at 30, 60, and 90 W, corresponding to a lighting power of 4800, 7200, and 12,000 lumens, respectively. These values were selected based on the commonly used commercial lighting equipment values.
- Height: Two different heights at which the emitting lamp was placed were established. The first position was at the same level as the photometer (0.7 m above ground level, a in Figure 4). This position made it possible to evaluate the influence on the observer of lighting placed at the same height, for example, ones that are used to mark a road or emergency signs. The second position (b in Figure 4) was raised to 1.6 m, simulating the effect that the light emitted by a street lamp would have on an observer.
- Tilt: The commonly used tilts for street lamps and lighting equipment were used. In the first position (a in Figure 5), the lantern was pointed directly towards the ground. In the second position (b inFigure 5), it was also pointed towards the ground but with a slight inclination of 10 degrees in the opposite direction of the observation point.
- Distance to the observation point: Before the start of the experiments, different distances were tested until three representative positions were reached. The closest distance at which the luminaire was placed was 3 m from the sensor (a in Figure 6). Closer distances to the sensor caused a drastic decrease in MDL and were thus discarded. The second position was set at an intermediate distance of 7 m (b in Figure 6). Finally, the furthest distance was 11 m (c in Figure 6) as other more distant measurements (15 and 20 m) showed little influence and were therefore discarded.
- Illumination due to the Moon: The level of affection due to the presence of the Moon was evaluated as well as the influence of the change in its relative position throughout the night. Two complete experimental series were carried out for this purpose. During the first series, the Moon was present and its position changed as the experiment progressed, causing a variation in the brightness of the area. By the time the second series was performed, the Moon had disappeared. The position of the Moon was recorded using the Oculus All Sky camera (Appendix A). Using this recording, the position of the Moon was determined for each of the measurements taken. By comparing both experimental series, the influence of the level of darkness in the area was made.
- Direct illumination: The lighting equipment was aimed directly at the sensor, increasing the distance between both equipments to 20 (a in Figure 7) and 50 m (b in Figure 7). The illumination power was 90 W, keeping the light vertical. This simulates the effect that direct illumination of the area, for example, the type of lighting used in the vicinity of a heritage building, would have on the observation [39].
- Presence of elements that produce a light shielding effect in nearby areas: A white reflective screen (dimensions of 150 × 200 cm, described in Appendix A) was placed around the sensor at a distance of 1.5 m. This screen caused the reflection of part of the light emitted by the lighting equipment, which was positioned at a distance of 3 m (a in Figure 8) and 7 m (b in Figure 8). This experiment simulated the presence of a vehicle or building close to the observation site.
- Photometer above the emission point: The photometer was raised above the lighting equipment. The lamp was held horizontally toward the ground. The distance, power, and tilt were successively varied (Figure 10). This experiment simulated the effect of placing the observation point at an elevated location, e.g., on a mountain or on the roof of a building.
3. Results
4. Discussion
4.1. Analysis of the Lighting Parameters Evaluated
4.2. Development of a Predictive Model Based on the Parameters Evaluated
4.3. Analysis of the Influence of Environmental Lighting Elements
4.3.1. Illumination Due to the Presence of the Moon
4.3.2. Direct Lighting of the Observation Site
4.3.3. Environmental Illumination of the Observation Site
4.3.4. Presence of Light-Shielding Elements in the Proximity of the Observation Site
4.3.5. Photometer above the Emission Point
5. Conclusions
5.1. Practical Value
5.2. Future Research Lines
5.3. Limitations of the Study
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
- Solar panel: BlueSolar 175 W–12 V Poly [49]
- Charge controller: BlueSolar PWM Light 12/24 V [50]
- Inverter: Phoenix 12 I 375 [51]
- Battery: Gel 12 V–90 A BAT 412800104 [52]
- Weather station: Davis Vantage Vue + Weatherlink Live [53]
- Luminous flux: 4800 lm (30 W)/7200 lm (60 W)
- Protection rating: IP65
- Colour: Neutral white
- Voltage: 230 Volt
- EU energy label: A+
- Colour temperature: 5200 K
- Colour rendering index: 80.00
Appendix B
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Distance | Experimental Value (mag/arcsec2) | Reference Value (mag/arcsec2) |
---|---|---|
20 m | 18.65 | 21.06 |
50 m | 20.43 | 21.04 |
Distance | Experimental Value (mag/arcsec2) | Reference Value (mag/arcsec2) |
---|---|---|
20 m | 20.78 | 21.00 |
50 m | 21.05 | 21.07 |
Origin | Type III of Sum of Squares | Degrees of Freedom | Root Mean Square | F | Sig. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corrected model | 121.047 a | 6 | 20.175 | 16.932 | 0.000 |
Interception | 27,925.917 | 1 | 27,925.917 | 23,438.100 | 0.000 |
Power | 3.069 | 2 | 1.534 | 1.288 | 0.281 |
Distance | 65.014 | 2 | 32.507 | 27.283 | 0.000 |
Height | 50.110 | 1 | 50.110 | 42.057 | 0.000 |
Inclination | 28.905 | 1 | 28.905 | 24.260 | 0.000 |
Error | 106.041 | 89 | 1.191 | ||
Total | 38,279.479 | 96 | |||
Total corrected | 227.088 | 95 |
MDL | Power | Distance | Height | Inclination | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MDL | 1 | −0.115 | 0.418 ** | −0.353 ** | 0.329 ** |
Power | −0.115 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
DistancE | 0.418 ** | 0 | 1 | 0.236 | −0.044 |
Height | −0.353 ** | 0 | 0.236 | 1 | 0 |
Inclination | 0.329 ** | 0 | −0.044 | 0 | 1 |
Parameter | Estimate | Standard Error | Lower Bound a | Upper Bound a |
---|---|---|---|---|
a0 | 23.860 | 0.960 | 21.952 | 25.769 |
a1 | −5.257 × 10−5 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
a2 | −0.284 | 0.134 | −0.551 | −0.017 |
a3 | −4.493 | 0.662 | −5.810 | −3.176 |
a4 | 0.013 | 0.064 | −0.114 | 0.140 |
a5 | 1.506 × 10−5 | 0.000 | −2.635 × 10−6 | 3.275 × 10−5 |
a6 | −9.024 × 10−5 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 2.617 × 10−5 |
a7 | 4.281 × 10−6 | 0.000 | −5.586 × 10−6 | 1.415 × 10−5 |
a8 | 0.446 | 0.075 | 0.297 | 0.595 |
a9 | −0.038 | 0.005 | −0.049 | −0.027 |
a10 | 0.227 | 0.035 | 0.157 | 0.297 |
Parameter | Estimate | Standard Error | Lower Bound a | Upper Bound a |
---|---|---|---|---|
a0 | 19.367 | 0.000 | 19.367 | 19.367 |
a1 | 5.286 × 10−5 | 0.035 | −0.070 | 0.070 |
a2 | 0.102 | 0.006 | 0.089 | 0.114 |
a3 | 1.000 | 0.015 | 0.970 | 1.030 |
a4 | 1.000 | 0.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
a5 | 2.606 × 10−5 | 0.203 | −0.403 | 0.403 |
a6 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
a7 | 8.777 × 10−6 | 1.369 | −2.723 | 2.723 |
a8 | 0.154 | 0.087 | −0.019 | 0.326 |
a9 | −0.034 | 0.000 | −0.034 | −0.034 |
a10 | 0.186 | 0.000 | 0.186 | 0.186 |
a11 | 1.066 × 10−8 | 0.000 | −0.001 | 0.001 |
a12 | −0.007 | 0.000 | −0.007 | −0.007 |
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Martínez-Martín, A.; Bocho-Roas, A.; Carmona-Fernández, D.; Calderón-Godoy, M.; Jaramillo-Morán, M.Á.; González, J.F. Influence of Illumination Parameters on Night Sky Observation in Rural Areas. Sustainability 2023, 15, 9359. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129359
Martínez-Martín A, Bocho-Roas A, Carmona-Fernández D, Calderón-Godoy M, Jaramillo-Morán MÁ, González JF. Influence of Illumination Parameters on Night Sky Observation in Rural Areas. Sustainability. 2023; 15(12):9359. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129359
Chicago/Turabian StyleMartínez-Martín, Alejandro, Adrián Bocho-Roas, Diego Carmona-Fernández, Manuel Calderón-Godoy, Miguel Ángel Jaramillo-Morán, and Juan Félix González. 2023. "Influence of Illumination Parameters on Night Sky Observation in Rural Areas" Sustainability 15, no. 12: 9359. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129359
APA StyleMartínez-Martín, A., Bocho-Roas, A., Carmona-Fernández, D., Calderón-Godoy, M., Jaramillo-Morán, M. Á., & González, J. F. (2023). Influence of Illumination Parameters on Night Sky Observation in Rural Areas. Sustainability, 15(12), 9359. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129359