E. Carrasco, A. Carramiñana, L. J. Sánchez, R. Avila, I. Cruz-González
San Pedro M\'artir in the Northwest of Mexico is the site of the Observatorio
Astron\'omico Nacional. It was one of the five candidates sites for the Thirty
Meter Telescope, whose site-testing team spent four years measuring the
atmospheric properties on site with a very complete array of instrumentation.
Using the public database created by this team, we apply a novel method to
solar radiation data to estimate the daytime fraction of time when the sky is
clear of clouds. We analyse the diurnal, seasonal and annual cycles of cloud
cover. We find that 82.4 per cent of the time the sky is clear of clouds. Our
results are consistent with those obtained by other authors, using different
methods, adding support to this value and proving the potential of the applied
method. The clear conditions at the site are particularly good showing that San
Pedro M\'artir is an excellent site for optical and infrared observations.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1112.3903
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