Astronomy from 80 Degrees North on Ellesmere Island, Canada
Abstract Site testing carried out on Ellesmere Island over recent years has shown that mountainous coastal terrain there can provide high clear-sky fractions in the long dark season, with low precipitable water-vapour column and prospects for excellent seeing. This presents new possibilities for tim...
| Published in: | Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2012
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1743921312016869 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1743921312016869 |
| Summary: | Abstract Site testing carried out on Ellesmere Island over recent years has shown that mountainous coastal terrain there can provide high clear-sky fractions in the long dark season, with low precipitable water-vapour column and prospects for excellent seeing. This presents new possibilities for time-domain and survey-mode science in the northern hemisphere, allowing uninterrupted high-precision photometry in the optical/near-infrared, but also gains in the submillimetre/millimetre. Efforts underway at the Eureka research station, at 80 degrees latitude, are reviewed. This location provides year-round access to a nearby site being developed as a pathfinder observatory. A program of variable-star and transient searches involving a wide-field imaging system has begun, with some early results. Plans include extrasolar-planet hunting via transit surveys, and future directions are discussed. |
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