Optical instability of the earth's atmosphere

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the optical instability of Earth's atmosphere by calculating refractive index fluctuations from meteorological data, identifying optimal observation areas and comparing astroclimate conditions globally.

Contribution

It introduces a method to assess atmospheric optical stability using meteorological data, providing a global distribution and comparison of astroclimate conditions.

Findings

Identified preferred regions for astronomical observations.

Compared astroclimate conditions across major observatories.

Provided distributions of optical instability over Earth's surface.

Abstract

Meteorological data have been used to calculate refractive index fluctuations - the indicator of optical instability of the Earth's atmosphere. The calculations were made for standard pressure levels of the atmosphere in winter and summer. They are presented as distributions over the Earth's surface. The findings enabled us to determine preferred areas for astronomical observations as well as to compare astroclimate conditions of the world's largest observatories.