Why Antarctica is the best stargazing site on Earth
SEP 01, 2009
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.023645
Physics Today : The search for the best observatory site in the world has lead to the discovery of what is thought to be the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth. “The astronomical images taken at the site should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers,” Will Saunders, of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) and visiting professor to University of New South Wales (UNSW), who led the study .
View Larger Map The joint US-Australian research team combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models in a study to assess the many factors that affect astronomy: cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapour, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence.The researchers pinpointed a site, known simply as Ridge A, that is 4,053m high up on the Antarctic Plateau. Located within the Australian Antarctic Territory ( 81.5° S 73.5° E ), the site (see picture above) is not the highest point on the Plateau but 144km away from it.The highest point, called Dome A, is the site of an international robotic observatory and the proposed new Chinese ' Kunlun ’ base ( 80.37° S 77.53° E ).Last year, the AAO completed the first detailed study into the practical problems of building and running the proposed optical/infra-red PILOT telescope project in Antarctica. The 2.5-metre telescope will cost over AUD$10million and is planned for construction at the French/Italian Concordia Station at Dome C by 2012.Ridge A is not only particularly remote but extremely cold and dry. The study revealed that the site has an average winter temperature of − 70°C.It is also a site that is “so calm that there’s almost no wind or weather there at all,” says Saunders. “Because the sky there is so much darker and drier, it means that a modestly-sized telescope there would equal or be far superior to the best existing observatories on high mountain tops in Hawaii and Chile,” he adds.Interest in Antarctica as a site for astronomical and space observatories has accelerated since 2004 when UNSW astronomers published a paper in the journal Nature confirming that a ground-based telescope at Dome C , another Antarctic plateau site, could take images nearly as good as those from the space-based Hubble telescope .Making use of this Antarctic sites will give Australian astronomers a chance to become major partners with Chinese or European efforts to build the first major Antarctic observatory says Saunders. Related Links Where Is the Best Site on Earth? Domes A, B, C, and F, and Ridges A and B Exceptional astronomical seeing conditions above Dome C in Antarctica Nature
View Larger Map The joint US-Australian research team combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models in a study to assess the many factors that affect astronomy: cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapour, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence.The researchers pinpointed a site, known simply as Ridge A, that is 4,053m high up on the Antarctic Plateau. Located within the Australian Antarctic Territory ( 81.5° S 73.5° E ), the site (see picture above) is not the highest point on the Plateau but 144km away from it.The highest point, called Dome A, is the site of an international robotic observatory and the proposed new Chinese ' Kunlun ’ base ( 80.37° S 77.53° E ).Last year, the AAO completed the first detailed study into the practical problems of building and running the proposed optical/infra-red PILOT telescope project in Antarctica. The 2.5-metre telescope will cost over AUD$10million and is planned for construction at the French/Italian Concordia Station at Dome C by 2012.Ridge A is not only particularly remote but extremely cold and dry. The study revealed that the site has an average winter temperature of − 70°C.It is also a site that is “so calm that there’s almost no wind or weather there at all,” says Saunders. “Because the sky there is so much darker and drier, it means that a modestly-sized telescope there would equal or be far superior to the best existing observatories on high mountain tops in Hawaii and Chile,” he adds.Interest in Antarctica as a site for astronomical and space observatories has accelerated since 2004 when UNSW astronomers published a paper in the journal Nature confirming that a ground-based telescope at Dome C , another Antarctic plateau site, could take images nearly as good as those from the space-based Hubble telescope .Making use of this Antarctic sites will give Australian astronomers a chance to become major partners with Chinese or European efforts to build the first major Antarctic observatory says Saunders. Related Links Where Is the Best Site on Earth? Domes A, B, C, and F, and Ridges A and B Exceptional astronomical seeing conditions above Dome C in Antarctica Nature
© 2009 American Institute of Physics
