METHOD FOR ESTIMATING CLOUDINESS OF NIGHT ATMOSPHERE AND A NIGHT CLOUD SENSOR FOR IMPLEMENTATION THEREOF Russian patent published in 2019 - IPC G01W1/04 

FIELD: meteorology.

SUBSTANCE: group of inventions relates to meteorological instruments. Method for estimating cloudiness of night atmosphere, implemented using a night-field sensor, comprises forming a digital image of the entire celestial hemisphere over the observation area, image processing, estimating night clouds and identifying cloud-free zones. Digital image is mathematically processed to select cloud-free zones and clouds are selected, using the density of star images on the photodetector. Short-term forecast of changes in the position and size of clouds and cloud-free zones is performed to record the sequence of digital images of the sky in time with entry into the data bank located in the memory unit. Type of clouds is recognized according to cloud standards, which are also stored in the memory unit, wherein the forecast of change and recognition of the type of clouds are performed automatically by a series of optical images of the sky.

EFFECT: providing a method for estimating night atmosphere and a night cloud sensor implementing said method, with the function of determining the position and size of cloud zones and forecasting their change without using a star catalog, as well as being able to determine the type of clouds by comparing with cloud standards while maintaining objectivity and accuracy of night cloud estimation.

2 cl, 3 dwg