Review of Antarctic astronomy

• Published in: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
• Main Author: Storey, John W. V.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2012
• Subjects: Astronomy and Astrophysics; Space and Planetary Science; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1743921312016596; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1743921312016596

Abstract Astronomers have always sought the best sites for their telescopes. Antarctica, with its high plateau reaching to above 4,000 metres, intense cold, exceptionally low humidity and stable atmosphere, offers what for many forms of astronomy is the ultimate observing location on this planet. While optical, infrared and millimetre astronomers are building their observatories on the ice, particle physicists are using the ice itself as a detector and exploration of the terahertz region is being conducted from circumpolar long-duration balloons. Remarkable astronomical discoveries are already coming out of Antarctica, and much, much more is just around the corner.