Instrumentation for comparing night sky quality and atmospheric conditions of CTA site candidates
Many atmospheric and climatic criteria have to be taken into account for the selection of a suitable site for the next generation of imaging air-shower Cherenkov telescopes, the "Cherenkov Telescope Array" CTA. Such data are not available with sufficient precision, thus a comparison of the proposed sites and final decision based on a comprehensive characterization is impossible. Identical cross-calibrated instruments have been developed which allow for precise comparison between sites, the cross-validation of existing data, and the ground-validation of satellite data. The site characterization work package of the CTA consortium opted to construct and deploy 9 copies of an autonomous multi-purpose weather sensor, incorporating an infrared cloud sensor, a newly developed sensor for measuring the light of the night sky, and an All-Sky-Camera, the whole referred to as Autonomous Tool for Measuring Observatory Site COnditions PrEcisely (ATMOSCOPE). We present here the hardware that was combined into the ATMOSCOPE and characterize its performance.