Publications by year
In Press
Kyba CCM, Kuester T, Sanchez de Miguel A, Baugh K, Jechow A, Holker F, Bennie J, Elvidge CD, Guanter L, Gaston KJ, et al (In Press). Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent. Science Advances
Sanchez De Miguel A, Kyba CCM, Aube M, Zamorano J, Cardiel N, Tapia C, Bennie J, Gaston KJ (In Press). Colour remote sensing of the impact of arti cial light at night (I): the potential of the International Space Station and other DSLR-based platforms.
Remote Sensing of Environment Full text.
Bustamante-Calabria M, Sánchez De Miguel A, Martín-Ruiz S, Ortiz JL, Vílchez JM, Pelegrina A, García A, Zamorano J, Bennie J, Gaston KJ, et al (In Press). Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Light Emissions: Ground and Satellite Comparison.
Abstract:
Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Light Emissions: Ground and Satellite Comparison
’Lockdown’ periods in response to COVID-19 have provided a unique opportunity to study the impacts of economic activity on environmental pollution (e.g. NO2, aerosols, noise, light). The effects on NO2 and aerosols have been very noticeable and readily demonstrated, but that on light pollution has proven challenging to determine. The main reason for this difficulty is that the primary source of nighttime satellite imagery of the earth is the SNPP-VIIRS/DNB instrument, which acquires data late at night after most human nocturnal activity has already occurred and much associated lighting has been turned off. Here, to analyze the effect of lockdown on urban light emissions, we use ground and satellite data for Granada, Spain, during the COVID-19 induced confinement of the city’s population from March 14 until May 31, 2020. We find a clear decrease in light pollution due both to a decrease in light emissions from the city and to a decrease in anthropogenic aerosol content in the atmosphere which resulted in less light being scattered. A clear correlation between the abundance of PM10 particles and sky brightness is observed, such that the more polluted the atmosphere the brighter the urban night sky. An empirical expression is determined that relates PM10 particle abundance and sky brightness at three different wavelength bands.
Abstract.
Cox D, Sanchez De Miguel A, Dzurjak S, Bennie J, Gaston K (In Press). National scale spatial variation in artificial light at night.
Remote Sensing Full text.
Zamora S, Ocaña F, Miguel ASD, Mole M (In Press). On the frequency of the superfireballs: more than 150 years of reports.
Abstract:
On the frequency of the superfireballs: more than 150 years of reports
Superfireballs are rare phenomena for which the reports are scarce and the
estimation of their abundance has a huge margin of uncertainty. As a citizen
science project we have gathered >500 reports from newspapers in the 1850-2000
period. This database shows how some superfireball abundances are constant
during the period, though the reference newspapers have changed in the last two
centuries. We have tentatively related some fireball sources to well-known
meteor showers (Perseids, Geminids and Leonids), while superfireball sources
may be related to minor or unknown showers, probably of asteroidal origin.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Sanchez De Miguel A (In Press). Remote sensing of night lights: a review and an outlook for the future.
Remote Sensing of Environment: an interdisciplinary journal Full text.
Miguel ASD, Kyba CCM, Zamorano J, Gallego J, Gaston KJ (In Press). The nature of the diffuse light near cities detected in nighttime. satellite imagery.
Sci Rep,
10Abstract:
The nature of the diffuse light near cities detected in nighttime. satellite imagery
Diffuse glow has been observed around brightly lit cities in nighttime
satellite imagery since at least the first publication of large scale maps in
the late 1990s. In the literature, this has often been assumed to be an error
related to the sensor, and referred to as "blooming", presumably in relation to
the effect that can occur when using a CCD to photograph a bright source. Here
we show that the effect is not instrumental, but in fact represents a real
detection of light scattered by the atmosphere. Data from the Universidad
Complutense Madrid sky brightness survey are compared to nighttime imagery from
multiple sensors with differing spatial resolutions, and found to be strongly
correlated. These results suggest that it should be possible for a future
space-based imaging radiometer to monitor changes in the diffuse artificial
skyglow of cities.
Abstract.
Author URL.
2021
Bustamante-Calabria M, Sánchez de Miguel A, Martín-Ruiz S, Ortiz J-L, Vílchez JM, Pelegrina A, García A, Zamorano J, Bennie J, Gaston KJ, et al (2021). Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Light Emissions: Ground and Satellite Comparison.
Remote Sensing,
13(2), 258-258.
Abstract:
Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Light Emissions: Ground and Satellite Comparison
’Lockdown’ periods in response to COVID-19 have provided a unique opportunity to study the impacts of economic activity on environmental pollution (e.g. NO2, aerosols, noise, light). The effects on NO2 and aerosols have been very noticeable and readily demonstrated, but that on light pollution has proven challenging to determine. The main reason for this difficulty is that the primary source of nighttime satellite imagery of the earth is the SNPP-VIIRS/DNB instrument, which acquires data late at night after most human nocturnal activity has already occurred and much associated lighting has been turned off. Here, to analyze the effect of lockdown on urban light emissions, we use ground and satellite data for Granada, Spain, during the COVID-19 induced confinement of the city’s population from 14 March until 31 May 2020. We find a clear decrease in light pollution due both to a decrease in light emissions from the city and to a decrease in anthropogenic aerosol content in the atmosphere which resulted in less light being scattered. A clear correlation between the abundance of PM10 particles and sky brightness is observed, such that the more polluted the atmosphere the brighter the urban night sky. An empirical expression is determined that relates PM10 particle abundance and sky brightness at three different wavelength bands.
Abstract.
2019
Pauwels J, Le Viol I, Azam C, Valet N, Julien JF, Bas Y, Lemarchand C, Sanchez de Miguel A, Kerbiriou C (2019). Accounting for artificial light impact on bat activity for a biodiversity-friendly urban planning.
Landscape and Urban Planning,
183, 12-25.
Abstract:
Accounting for artificial light impact on bat activity for a biodiversity-friendly urban planning
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Light pollution constitutes a major threat to biodiversity by decreasing habitat quality and landscape connectivity for nocturnal species. While there is an increasing consideration of biodiversity in urban management policies, the impact of artificial light is poorly accounted for. This is in a large part due to the lack of quantitative information and relevant guidelines to limit its negative effects. Here we compared the potential of two sources of information on light pollution, remote sensing (nocturnal picture taken from the International Space Station ISS) and ground-based (location of streetlights) data, to measure its impact on bats. Our aims were to (i) evaluate how light pollution affected Pipistrellus pipistrellus activity at the city scale, (ii) determine which source of information was the most relevant to measure light pollution's effect and (iii) define a reproducible methodology applicable in land management to account for biodiversity in lighting planning. We used citizen science data to model the activity of P. pipistrellus, a species considered light tolerant, within three cities of France while accounting for artificial light through a variable based on either source of information. We showed that at the city scale, P. pipistrellus activity is negatively impacted by light pollution irrespective of the light variable used. This detrimental effect was better described by variables based on ISS pictures than on streetlights location. Our methodology can be easily reproduced and used in urban planning to help take the impact of light pollution into consideration and promote a biodiversity-friendly management of artificial light.
Abstract.
Bará S, Rodríguez-Arós, Pérez M, Tosar B, Lima RC, Sánchez de Miguel A, Zamorano J (2019). Estimating the relative contribution of streetlights, vehicles, and residential lighting to the urban night sky brightness.
Lighting Research and Technology,
51(7), 1092-1107.
Abstract:
Estimating the relative contribution of streetlights, vehicles, and residential lighting to the urban night sky brightness
© the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 2018. Under stable atmospheric conditions the brightness of the urban sky varies throughout the night following the time course of the anthropogenic emissions of light. Different types of artificial light sources (e.g. streetlights, residential, and vehicle lights) have specific time signatures, and this feature makes it possible to estimate the amount of brightness contributed by each of them. Our approach is based on transforming the time representation of the zenithal night sky brightness into a modal expansion in terms of the time signatures of the different sources of light. The modal coefficients, and hence the absolute and relative contributions of each type of source, can be estimated by means of a linear least squares fit. A practical method for determining the time signatures of different contributing sources is also described, based on wide-field time-lapse photometry of the urban nightscape. Our preliminary results suggest that, besides the dominant streetlight contribution, artificial light leaking out of the windows of residential buildings may account for a significant share of the time-varying part of the zenithal night sky brightness at the measurement locations, whilst the contribution of the vehicle lights seems to be significantly smaller.
Abstract.
de Miguel AS, Bará S, Aubé M, Cardiel N, Tapia CE, Zamorano J, Gaston KJ (2019). Evaluating human photoreceptoral inputs from night-time lights using RGB imaging photometry.
Journal of Imaging,
5(4).
Abstract:
Evaluating human photoreceptoral inputs from night-time lights using RGB imaging photometry
© 2019 by the authors. Night-time lights interact with human physiology through different pathways starting at the retinal layers of the eye; from the signals provided by the rods; the S-, L- and M-cones; and the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC). These individual photic channels combine in complex ways to modulate important physiological processes, among them the daily entrainment of the neural master oscillator that regulates circadian rhythms. Evaluating the relative excitation of each type of photoreceptor generally requires full knowledge of the spectral power distribution of the incoming light, information that is not easily available in many practical applications. One such instance is wide area sensing of public outdoor lighting; present-day radiometers onboard Earth-orbiting platforms with sufficient nighttime sensitivity are generally panchromatic and lack the required spectral discrimination capacity. In this paper, we show that RGB imagery acquired with off-the-shelf digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLR) can be a useful tool to evaluate, with reasonable accuracy and high angular resolution, the photoreceptoral inputs associated with a wide range of lamp technologies. The method is based on linear regressions of these inputs against optimum combinations of the associated R, G, and B signals, built for a large set of artificial light sources by means of synthetic photometry. Given the widespread use of RGB imaging devices, this approach is expected to facilitate the monitoring of the physiological effects of light pollution, from ground and space alike, using standard imaging technology.
Abstract.
2018
Madiedo JM, Zamorano J, Trigo-Rodriguez JM, Ortiz JL, Docobo JA, Izquierdo J, Lacruz J, Campo PP, Andrade M, Pastor S, et al (2018). Analysis of the September epsilon-Perseid outburst in 2013.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY,
480(2), 2501-2507.
Author URL.
Garcia-Saenz A, Sanchez De Miguel A, Espinosa A, Valentín A, Aragonés N, Llorca J, Amiano P, Martin Sánchez V, Guevara M, Capelo R, et al (2018). Evaluating the association between artificial light-at-night exposure and breast and prostate cancer risk in Spain (MCC-Spain study).
Environmental Health Perspectives Full text.
2017
Kyba CCM, Kuester T, Sanchez de Miguel A, Baugh K, Jechow A, Gaston KJ, Holker F, Bennie J, Elvidge CD, Guanter L, et al (2017). Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent.
Science Advances,
3 Full text.
Sanchez de Miguel A, Aube M, Zamorano J, Kocifaj M, Roby J, Tapia C (2017). Sky Quality Meter measurements in a colour-changing world.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY,
467(3), 2966-2979.
Author URL.
2016
Ocaña F, Sánchez-De-miguel A, Conde A, Team D (2016). Low cost multi-purpose balloon-borne platform for wide-field imaging and video observation.
Abstract:
Low cost multi-purpose balloon-borne platform for wide-field imaging and video observation
Abstract.
Estrada-García R, García-Gil M, Acosta L, Bará S, Sanchez-De-Miguel A, Zamorano J (2016). Statistical modelling and satellite monitoring of upward light from public lighting.
Lighting Research and Technology,
48(7), 810-822.
Abstract:
Statistical modelling and satellite monitoring of upward light from public lighting
© the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 2015. In this work, we propose an approach to estimating the amount of light wasted by being sent towards the upper hemisphere from urban areas. This is a source of light pollution. The approach is based on a predictive model that provides the fraction of light directed skywards in terms of a small set of identified explanatory variables that characterise the urban landscape and its light sources. The model, built via the statistical analysis of a wide sample of basic urban scenarios to compute accurately the amount of light wasted at each of them, establishes an optimal linear regression function that relates the fraction of wasted flux to relevant variables like the kind of luminaires, the street fill factor, the street width, the building and luminaire heights and the walls and pavement reflectances. We applied this model to evaluate the changes in emissions produced at two urban nuclei in the Deltebre municipality of Catalonia. The results agree reasonably well with those deduced from the radiance measurements made with the VIIRS instrument onboard the Suomi-NPP Earth orbiting satellite.
Abstract.
Zamorano J, Sanchez de Miguel A, Ocana F, Pila-Diez B, Gomez Castano J, Pascual S, Tapia C, Gallego J, Fernandez A, Nievas M, et al (2016). Testing sky brightness models against radial dependency: a dense two dimensional survey around the city of Madrid, Spain.
Author URL.
Aubé M, Kocifaj M, Zamorano J, Solano Lamphar HA, Sanchez de Miguel A (2016). The spectral amplification effect of clouds to the night sky radiance in Madrid.
Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer,
181, 11-23.
Abstract:
The spectral amplification effect of clouds to the night sky radiance in Madrid
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) may have various environmental impacts ranging from compromising the visibility of astronomical objects to the perturbation of circadian cycles in animals and humans. In the past much research has been carried out to study the impact of ALAN on the radiance of the night sky during clear sky conditions. This was mainly justified by the need for a better understanding of the behavior of ALAN propagation into the environment in order to protect world-class astronomical facilities. More recently, alongside to the threat to the natural starry sky, many issues have emerged from the biological science community. It has been shown that, nearby or inside cities, the presence of cloud cover generally acts as an amplifier for artificial sky radiance while clouds behave as attenuators for remote observers. In this paper we show the spectral behavior of the zenith sky radiance amplification factor exerted by clouds inside a city. We compare in-situ measurements made with the spectrometer SAND-4 with a numerical model applied to the specific geographical context of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain.
Abstract.
2015
Kyba CCM, Garz S, Kuechly H, Sanchez de Miguel A, Zamorano J, Fischer J, Hoelker F (2015). High-Resolution Imagery of Earth at Night: New Sources, Opportunities and Challenges.
REMOTE SENSING,
7(1), 1-23.
Author URL.
Bara S, Tilve V, Nievas M, Sanchez de Miguel A, Zamorano J (2015). Zernike power spectra of clear and cloudy light-polluted urban night skies.
APPLIED OPTICS,
54(13), 4120-4129.
Author URL.
2014
Madiedo JM, Ortiz JL, Trigo-Rodriguez JM, Zamorano J, Konovalova N, Castro-Tirado AJ, Ocana F, Sanchez de Miguel A, Izquierdo J, Cabrera-Cano J, et al (2014). Analysis of two superbolides with a cometary origin observed over the Iberian Peninsula.
ICARUS,
233, 27-35.
Author URL.
Sanchez de Miguel A, Gomez Castano J, Zamorano J, Pascual S, Angeles M, Cayuela L, Martin Martinez G, Challupner P, Kyba CCM (2014). Atlas of astronaut photos of Earth at night.
ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS,
55(4), 36-36.
Author URL.
Sánchez de Miguel A, Zamorano J, Gómez Castaño J, Pascual S (2014). Evolution of the energy consumed by street lighting in Spain estimated with DMSP-OLS data.
Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer,
139, 109-117.
Abstract:
Evolution of the energy consumed by street lighting in Spain estimated with DMSP-OLS data
We present the results of the analysis of satellite imagery to study light pollution in Spain. Both calibrated and non-calibrated DMSP-OLS images were used. We describe the method to scale the non-calibrated DMSP-OLS images which allows us to use differential photometry techniques in order to study the evolution of the light pollution. Population data and DMSP-OLS satellite calibrated images for the year 2006 were compared to test the reliability of official statistics in public lighting consumption. We found a relationship between the population and the energy consumption which is valid for several regions. Finally the true evolution of the electricity consumption for street lighting in Spain from 1992 to 2010 was derived; it has been doubled in the last 18 years in most of the provinces. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Abstract.
Madiedo JM, Trigo-Rodriguez JM, Zamorano J, Izquierdo J, Sanchez de Miguel A, Ocana F, Ortiz JL, Espartero F, Morillas LG, Cardenosa D, et al (2014). Orbits and emission spectra from the 2014 Camelopardalids.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY,
445(3), 3309-3314.
Author URL.
Madiedo JM, Trigo-Rodriguez JM, Zamorano J, Ana-Hernandez L, Izquierdo J, Ortiz JL, Castro-Tirado AJ, Sanchez de Miguel A, Ocana F, Pastor S, et al (2014). Trajectory, orbit, and spectroscopic analysis of a bright fireball observed over Spain on April 13, 2013.
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS,
569 Author URL.
Bará S, Nievas M, Sánchez de Miguel A, Zamorano J (2014). Zernike analysis of all-sky night brightness maps.
Appl Opt,
53(12), 2677-2686.
Abstract:
Zernike analysis of all-sky night brightness maps.
All-sky night brightness maps (calibrated images of the night sky with hemispherical field-of-view (FOV) taken at standard photometric bands) provide useful data to assess the light pollution levels at any ground site. We show that these maps can be efficiently described and analyzed using Zernike circle polynomials. The relevant image information can be compressed into a low-dimensional coefficients vector, giving an analytical expression for the sky brightness and alleviating the effects of noise. Moreover, the Zernike expansions allow us to quantify in a straightforward way the average and zenithal sky brightness and its variation across the FOV, providing a convenient framework to study the time course of these magnitudes. We apply this framework to analyze the results of a one-year campaign of night sky brightness measurements made at the UCM observatory in Madrid.
Abstract.
Author URL.
2013
Madiedo JM, Trigo-Rodriguez JM, Zamorano J, Ortiz JL, Sanchez de Miguel A, Ocana F, Izquierdo J, Castro-Tirado AJ, Morales N, Galadi D, et al (2013). Analysis of a superbolide from a damocloid observed over Spain on 2012 July 13.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY,
436(4), 3656-3662.
Author URL.
Sánchez De Miguel A, Gallego J, Pérez-González PG, Cardiel N, Zamorano J, Guzman R, González A, Gruel N (2013). Spectrophotometric study in the near-ir of a sample of mips selected galaxies ATZ∼2.
Trigo-Rodriguez JM, Madiedo JM, Williams IP, Dergham J, Cortes J, Castro-Tirado AJ, Ortiz JL, Zamorano J, Ocana F, Izquierdo J, et al (2013). The 2011 October Draconids outburst - I. Orbital elements, meteoroid fluxes and 21P/Giacobini-Zinner delivered mass to Earth.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY,
433(1), 560-570.
Author URL.
2012
Zamorano J, De Miguel AS, Alfaro E, Martínez-Delgado D, Ocaña F, Castaño JG, Nievas M (2012). NIXNOX project: Sites in Spain where citizens can enjoy dark starry skies.
Abstract:
NIXNOX project: Sites in Spain where citizens can enjoy dark starry skies
Abstract.
2010
Montes D, Caballero JA, Fernandez-Rodriguez CJ, Alloza LJ, Bertran de Lis S, Garrido-Rubio A, Greciano R, Herranz-Luque JE, Juarez-Martinez I, Manjavacas E, et al (2010). Estimating the Age of Exoplanet's Host Stars by their Membership in Moving Groups and Young Associations.
Author URL.
Gallego J, Cardiel N, Zamorano J, Gorgas J, Castillo-Morales A, Eliche-Moral MC, Gil de Paz A, Pascual S, Perez-Gonzalez PG, Guzman R, et al (2010). GUAIX: the UCM Group of Extragalactic Astrophysics and Astronomical Instrumentation.
Author URL.
Sanchez de Miguel A, Zamorano J (2010). Light Pollution in Spain: a European Perspective.
Author URL.
2008
Cardiel N, Callego J, Pascual S, Eliche-Moral MC, Castillo-Morales A, Guzman R, de Paz AG, Perez-Gonzalez PG, Gorgas J, Zamorano J, et al (2008). GUAIX: the UCM group of extragalactic astrophysics and astronomical instrumentation.
Author URL.