Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine the sky quality in Colombia for astronomical observations in the optic. About 10,000 images in infrared (6.7 mu m and 10.7 mu m) were analyzed from the GOES meteorological satellites in three night times taken during a period of five years (2008 to 2014). A novel methodology was followed to determine how clear or covered was the sky in a given image. Meteorological data also were used from the weather stations network of the national meteorological institute, IDEAM. A correlation between threshold temperature and altitude was found for a historical data series of about 30 years. The results of the average percentage of nights with clear skies per year or clear sky fraction (CSF) were validated with the reports on the number of hours of astronomical observation from the logbooks of Llano del Hato Observatory in Merida-Venezuela, obtaining a cumulative percentage difference during the five years less than 10%. Annual cloud covering was computed over the whole country and it was classified the nights as clear or usable based on the definition of a quality factor.
