The stations will be located throughout the island and will mainly cover the network of astronomical viewpoints.
Palma Smart Island, will create a network of stations composed of 40 photometers, sensors for online monitoring of night sky quality parameters on the island of La Palma. The stations will be located throughout the island and will mainly cover the network of astronomical viewpoints, as these are the most frequented points by astronomy enthusiasts to observe the firmament.
As Pascual explains, “the objective of this sensor network is to monitor the quality of the night sky for stargazing, offering citizens, especially those interested in astronomy, a public access tool that allows them to see in real time the quality of the night sky for their observations”.
The councilor recalls that during the last few years the Innovation Service of the Island Council of La Palma has been developing the La Palma Smart Island project in a clear commitment to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as mechanisms of transformation and economic and social development. “Within this framework, we intend to progressively provide the whole island with infrastructures, resources, incentives and programs, so that each municipality has within reach the resources that allow citizens to make technology the engine that ensures the improvement of public services and a more equitable and sustainable economic and social growth”, Gonzalo Pascual assures.
One of the fundamental pillars of La Palma Smart Island is precisely to have a network of sensors that allows to capture certain parameters in real time. The network is integrated into the system, which contains several areas of action that will be implemented progressively.
In this case, 40 TESS photometers (tess.stars4all.eu) will be installed in the coming days, which will measure in real time night sky quality parameters, as well as meteorological parameters such as temperature and cloudiness. Two types of sensors will be installed, 20 TESS-W type devices, a standard sensor with wifi connection that has been successfully used by Universities and Research Centers; and 20 TESS-Lora devices, a new prototype developed by the IAC within the European project EELabs (eelabs.eu) that uses the Lora Network of the Cabildo and is self-sufficient in energy with a small solar panel.
For this project the Cabildo de La Palma has had the collaboration of the European project EELabs coordinated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.
The data can be downloaded from the open data portal, and consulted in real time on a specific web portal (https://tess.dashboards.stars4all.eu/).
The Innovation Service has already predetermined several points on the island to establish the network, whose locations have been consulted with astronomy professionals, although requests or suggestions for establishing new points in other locations are open to those who wish to participate via email to servicio.innovacion@cablapalma.es.