PI: Nemiroff, Robert Inst: Michigan Technological University
Dr. Nemiroff is awarded funds to support the CONCAM project at Michigan Technological University. CONtinuous CAMeras (CONCAMs) are fisheye night sky web cameras that provide astronomers at major national and international observing sites with real-time images from which cloud cover, skyglow, and air transparency can be immediately recovered. Within the past two years, a global network of CONCAMs has begun to operate. The PI and his students will use the funds to write the software that will make CONCAM images available in real-time, and to design a pipeline that will eventually convert CONCAM images into real-time data products such as continuously updated all-sky maps of skyglow and transparency. These products will constitute a real service for observers and robotic telescopes needing to make observing decisions in real time. Software will also be designed for an automated bright transient search, potentially leading to significant discoveries from the CONCAM data itself.
