Astroclimate of the Terskol Observatory

Astroclimatic conditions characterize the quality of an astronomical site. The Terskol Observatory was founded over 42 years ago in 1980. The astronomical site (coordinates 43◦16′29′′ N,42◦30′03′′ E) is located about 10km from Mt. Elbrus in the northern Caucasus Mountains. The paper presents the results of an analysis astroclimatic parameters such as total cloud cover, precipitable water vapor, and wind speed at a level of 200hPa. above the Terskol Observatory using atmospheric ERA5 Reanalysis data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast, as well as acoustic station data and optical measurements. The study of seasonal changes in the astroclimate parameters: wind speed at a level of 200mbar, as a parameter of applicability of adaptive optics (AO), altitude distribution of wind speed, which determines the requirements for AO performance, moisture content for assessing the possibility of AO operation in the IR range. The statistics of the seeing for 2023 are also provided.