Software Tools for Engineering Dark Skies

Abstract

Atmospheric scattering of outdoor nighttime electric illumination produces the principal component of background sky luminance that seriously affects ground-based optical astronomy. The sources for this scattering are Tight emitted skyward directly from luminaires, and light reflected off the ground and other illuminated objects. Careful illumination engineering can thus significantly reduce background sky luminance in two ways: 1) by providing outdoor electric lighting equipment that controls the directions in which light is emitted, and; 2) by proper design of outdoor lighting systems which make efficient use of the east amount of light. Recent developments in applied mathematics and computer software have produced computational tools that are being used to design lighting equipment and lighting systems. The software system for luminaire design significantly reduces the cost of this process by eliminating the need for extensive prototyping and provides for inexpensive experimentation with new designs. The system for outdoor lighting calculations permits the design of highly controlled lighting systems that eliminate glare and upward directed light while providing light appropriate for the visual task. These two software systems are described, along with examples of their use in areas that directly affect astronomical observations.