No Penguins! Astronomy in Antarctica
The Douglas Mawson Telescope
Michael Burton John Storey Michael Ashley
Astronomy is not done on the coast... Contour map of Antarctica
X Dome A South Pole X X Vostok X Dome C McMurdo X X Casey
USGS image http://sung3.ifsi.rm.cnr.it/~dargaud/
The Antarctic plateau is:
¥ High (3000 Ð 4000m)
¥ Dry (<250µm ppt H2O) ¥ Cold (-60° to -90°C) ¥ Stable (little wind!) ¥ And offers continuous observing.
1 Arrival at the South Pole! South Pole Astronomy
Infrastructure Communications Telescopes
Unloading the Hercules Geodesic Dome
South Pole Site Conditions The New South Pole Station ¥ Compared to good temperate sites: Ð Infrared Sky Background is ~20Ð100 x smaller Ð Water Vapour is ~5 x smaller Ð Isoplanatic Angle is ~30 x larger Australia
Pole
Infrared Sky Brightness
2 “IRPS” Near–IR Sky Monitor The MAPO Building, South Pole
The IRPS was here through 1995 and 1996 We started in 1994…..
Viper Cosmic Microwave AST/RO SubÐmm Telescope Background Radiation Experiment
SPIREX: South Pole Infrared Explorer 30 Doradus in the LMC A 60 cm telescope with AAT SPIREX
1024 x 1024 InSb Embedded infrared detector array. Protostars It demonstrated that the benefits of Antarctica could be translated into unique science.
B V R (Malin) H K L (Depoy et al)
3 NGC 6334 The AASTO Massive Star Forming Complex AAT SPIREX
Organic molecules in space B V R (Malin) PAHs L Brα (Burton et al)
The GTOWER and Sundogs
AASTO and Hercules
A French-Italian collaboration
The next step: Dome C http://sung3.ifsi.rm.cnr.it/~dargaud/
4 Equipment and Wind Speed Statistics at Dôme C materials for Dome C are first brought to Dumont -d’Urville by ship…
http://sung3.ifsi.rm.cnr.it/~dargaud/
Personnel, however, are flown first to Terra Nova Bay by Hercules...
…then by helicopter to the nearby skiway...
... then by tractor traverse to Dome C.
http://sung3.ifsi.rm.cnr.it/~dargaud/
...then by Twin Otter to Dome C.
Accommodation at Dome C is “basic”...
http://sung3.ifsi.rm.cnr.it/~dargaud/
5 The AASTINO Concordia Station Automated Astrophysical Site Testing Infant Observatory February 2003 2003
A permanent, winter station is currently under construction.
Power Sub-mm SUMMIT Supply Sky Turbulence Concordia Station Ð with no-one present! sub-mm sky brightness February 12, 2003, via Webcam + Iridium Phone
www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mcba/aastino
The Douglas Further Information: Mawson Telescope www.phys.unsw.edu.au/astro/research/antarctica.html ¥ The first Antarctic meteorite found in ¥ South Pole Diaries 1912 on Mawson’s 3- ¥ Antarctic Picture Gallery year Australasian ¥ South Pole Webcam Antarctic Expedition. ¥ The AASTO ¥ 2004 is the fiftieth ¥ The Douglas Mawson Telescope anniversary of the establishment of ¥ JACARA Bibliography Mawson station.
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