Accuracy in starphotometry

Abstract: Starphotometry, or stellar spectrophotometry, is a passive remote sensing method for retrieving the spectral optical depth of the atmosphere, and a night counterpart of sunphotometry. Despite all the technological advances, robust and accurate starphotometry remains a challenge that has limited its evolution. The general objective in this work is to inspire trust and interest in starphotometry by improving its reliability, its measurement accuracy and by identifying particular cases where it outperforms sunphotometry (which is in fact starphotometry with the star being our Sun). In order to achieve such an objective we need to better understand the detailed nature of specific starphotometry attributes: the different spectral classes of stars, the properties of weaker reference sources, the consequences of a larger telescope aperture, a smaller Field of View (FOV)