FOG DETECTION AT THE TIMAU NATIONAL OBSERVATORY SITE FROM METEOROGICAL SATELLITE DATA

• Main Author: Gusniar, Annisa
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/42219
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Until now, Bosscha Observatory is the only major observatory in Indonesia that has remained active conducting astronomical observations and other supporting activities. Bosscha Observatory is located in Lembang that has been becoming a mass tourism area in the North Bandung region. Consequently, the environmental conditions around the Bosscha Observatory is suffering a decreasing quality due to increases in light pollution and other environmental problems. Therefore, since 2006 a research team at Bosscha Observatory - ITB has taken an initiative to search for new astronomical observatory sites that must be more suitable to host a modern observatory and has a better sky quality. One of the requirements in choosing the location of an astronomical observatory, with optical telescopes, is situated at a high mountain area far from populated regions, having high clear sky conditions and free from light pollution. Based on clear fraction studies from 15 years of meteorological data (1996-2010), capable to detect high and mid-altitude clouds, Hidayat et al. (2012) found that East Nusa Tenggara province is the best candidate site in Indonesia. Gunung Timau in Kupang Regency has a clear sky fraction per year that can reach more than 70% with uncertainty of around 10%. Various site testing measurements began to be carried out on Mount Timau since 2013, and subsequently it was found that fog also often appears in the area, that could not be detected by the previous study. This Final Project aims at examine the appearance of fog in Timau using the algorithm of Chaurasia et al. (2011). The data analyzed in this Final Project were collected by NASA Aqua satellite observations from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instruments for the period of 2016-2018 referring to the location of Mount Timau, in Timor Island. Based on the data processing and analysis carried out, it was found that 77 nights indicated haze in the region throughout 2016 to 2018, or an average of about 25 nights per year. This result needs to be continued with comparative data detected on the site and satellite data spanning a longer period. The duration of the appearance of fog per night also still needs to be determined.