A meteorological and photometric study of the Oukaimeden site. Comparison with the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos using Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle data

Jabiri, A.; Benkhaldoun, Z.; Vernin, J.; Muñoz-Tuñón, C.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement, v.147, p.271-284

Advertised on:
12
2000
Number of authors
4
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
14
Refereed citations
13
Description
In this paper, we present meteorological and photometric studies of the Oukaimeden astronomical site in Morocco. The meteorological measurements were obtained over 537 days. The photometric data were measured by both FIP and GONG instruments over 1182 days. We have also analysed the weather parameters at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) in the Canary Islands. More than ten years of measurements with the Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle (CAMC) are included, corresponding to 2931 nights of atmospheric extinction measurements. These different data sets demonstrate photometric sky quality, wind speed and direction, local relative humidity, temperature and other parameters, such as the barometric pressure at the ORM and the precipitation at Oukaimeden. We have separated the day- and night-time data to provide information relevant to solar and stellar observations. Data from the Oukaimeden site have been compared to the ORM site, recognized as one of the best astronomical sites in the world and the results from our data confirm that Oukaimeden constitutes an excellent potential site for astronomical observations.
Type