We present here the All Sky Transmission MONitor (ASTMON), designed to
perform a continuous monitoring of the surface brightness of the complete
night-sky in several bands. The data acquired are used to derive, in addition,
a subsequent map of the multiband atmospheric extinction at any location in the
sky, and a map of the cloud coverage. The instrument has been manufactured to
afford extreme weather conditions, and remain operative. Designed to be fully
robotic, it is ideal to be installed outdoors, as a permanent monitoring
station. The preliminary results based on two of the currently operative units
(at Do\~nana National Park - Huelva- and at the Calar Alto Observatory -
Almer\'ia -, in Spain), are presented here. The parameters derived using ASTMON
are in good agreement with previously reported ones, what illustrates the
validity of the design and the accuracy of the manufacturing. The information
provided by this instrument will be presented in forthcoming articles, once we
have accumulated a statistically amount of data.Comment: 12 Figures, Accepted for publishing in PAS
