Analysis of Astrotourism Potential in Maumere: a Study of Sky Brightness Using a Sky Quality Meter

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to transmit the lightness level between the night the sky in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara, in order to assess its ability as an astrotourism destination. Measurements were conducted at two locations, namely the campus of the Muhammadiyah University of Maumere (UM Maumere) and Pantai Pintar Asia, utilizing a Sky Quality Meter (SQM) LU-DL type, which records data every minute from 18:00 to 22:00 WITA. The measurement results showed an average SQM value of 21.18 MPSAS at UM Maumere and 22.40 MPSAS at Pantai Pintar Asia. These values ??were then converted into Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude (NELM) of 6.2 and 6.8, respectively. According to the Bortle scale, UM Maumere is part of the rural/urban transition category, which indicates the sky is between rural and urban areas with little impact from light pollution. In contrast, Pantai Pintar Asia is in the rural sky category with darker quality and low artificial light pollution. The map showing the distribution of light pollution also supports this finding, by showing the low intensity of artificial light around Pantai Pintar Asia compared to the UM Maumere area. Thus, Pantai Pintar Asia has better potential to be developed as an astrotourism destination because its sky conditions support astronomical observations. This the study is anticipated to serve as a foundation for the preservation of dark skies the advancement of sustainable astronomical tourism in the area.