The following table are not HET skybrightness values and represent very clear sky dark site magnitudes. The HET is currently performing worse than these numbers but we keep them listed here for reference.

DO NOT USE THE THEORETICAL SKY BRIGHTNESS NUMBERS

The table above can be used to judge how lunar phase and different band passes will interrelate. The R and I band passes are dominated by the bright OH emission lines so the sky brightness is less affected by the scattered moon light.

The following table represents a very small sample (1) of HET sky brightness in the different HET filters.

The above numbers are brighter than the "normal" McDonald numbers as measured from the 30" and yield dark time numbers in the range of 21.3-21.8. The source is likely scatter from the HET mirrors.

We are now collecting sky brightness numbers from the LRS g1 and g2 spectra using absolute spectral photometry. This has been done since August 2008. The typical sky brightness numbers are consistent with the numbers given in the HET table above.

PI Applicable Sky Brightness Magnitudes

The PI should base their sky brightness criteria on the actual HET sky brightness values not the theoretical values.

It is very important that the PI's remember that with slit and fiber spectroscopy the size of the slit or fiber must be considered. For example, the 3" slit will have 7"" of area over which to collect sky thus the affective sky brightness in the fiber aperture will be 2.1 magnitudes brighter. So if a PI wants only a 1% contamination from sky for a 14th magnitude object with the 3" HRS fibers then the sky must be

14 (object mag) + 5 (1 part in 100) + 2.1 (skyfiber size)

21.1 magnitude per square arcsecond. This means the object would not be observed in bright time. The PI could reduce the contamination a bit by using a smaller science fiber 2" has only 3.1"" of collecting area but also will collect a less flux from the science target.

Also please keep in mind the actual HET sky brightness numbers measured above are brighter by about a magnitude than the theoretical numbers. Please do not exceed the default maximum V sky brightness figure of 21.0 in your target constraints, which HET software employs to signify as fully dark.