Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau
Abstract The Antarctic Plateau holds great promise for optical astronomy. One relatively unstudied feature of the polar night sky for optical astronomical observing is the potential contamination of observations by aurorae. In this study we analyse auroral measurements at South Pole Station and show...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1071/as04036 2023-05-15T14:09:58+02:00 Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau Dempsey, J. T. Storey, J. W. V. Phillips, A. 2005 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/as04036 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1323358000003854 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia volume 22, issue 2, page 91-104 ISSN 1323-3580 1448-6083 Space and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics journal-article 2005 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1071/as04036 2022-04-07T08:53:03Z Abstract The Antarctic Plateau holds great promise for optical astronomy. One relatively unstudied feature of the polar night sky for optical astronomical observing is the potential contamination of observations by aurorae. In this study we analyse auroral measurements at South Pole Station and show that during an average winter season, the auroral contribution to the B band sky brightness is below 21.9 B mag arcsec −2 for 50% of the observing time. In V band, the median sky brightness contribution is 20.8 mag arcsec −2 during an average winter. South Pole Station is situated within the auroral zone and experiences strong and frequent auroral activity. The Antarctic locations of Dome C and Dome A are closer to the geomagnetic pole where auroral activity is greatly reduced compared with that of South Pole Station. Calculations based on satellite measurements of electron flux above the Antarctic Plateau are used to show that at Dome C, the contribution to sky background in the B and V bands is up to 3.1 mag less than that at the South Pole. The use of notch filters to reduce the contribution from the strongest auroral emission lines and bands is also discussed. The scientific potential of an extremely large telescope located at Dome C is discussed, with reference to the effect that auroral emissions would have on particular astronomical observations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Geomagnetic Pole polar night South pole South pole Cambridge University Press (via Crossref) Antarctic South Pole The Antarctic Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 22 2 91 104 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Space and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics |
spellingShingle |
Space and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics Dempsey, J. T. Storey, J. W. V. Phillips, A. Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau |
topic_facet |
Space and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics |
description |
Abstract The Antarctic Plateau holds great promise for optical astronomy. One relatively unstudied feature of the polar night sky for optical astronomical observing is the potential contamination of observations by aurorae. In this study we analyse auroral measurements at South Pole Station and show that during an average winter season, the auroral contribution to the B band sky brightness is below 21.9 B mag arcsec −2 for 50% of the observing time. In V band, the median sky brightness contribution is 20.8 mag arcsec −2 during an average winter. South Pole Station is situated within the auroral zone and experiences strong and frequent auroral activity. The Antarctic locations of Dome C and Dome A are closer to the geomagnetic pole where auroral activity is greatly reduced compared with that of South Pole Station. Calculations based on satellite measurements of electron flux above the Antarctic Plateau are used to show that at Dome C, the contribution to sky background in the B and V bands is up to 3.1 mag less than that at the South Pole. The use of notch filters to reduce the contribution from the strongest auroral emission lines and bands is also discussed. The scientific potential of an extremely large telescope located at Dome C is discussed, with reference to the effect that auroral emissions would have on particular astronomical observations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dempsey, J. T. Storey, J. W. V. Phillips, A. |
author_facet |
Dempsey, J. T. Storey, J. W. V. Phillips, A. |
author_sort |
Dempsey, J. T. |
title |
Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau |
title_short |
Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau |
title_full |
Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau |
title_fullStr |
Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau |
title_full_unstemmed |
Auroral Contribution to Sky Brightness for Optical Astronomy on the Antarctic Plateau |
title_sort |
auroral contribution to sky brightness for optical astronomy on the antarctic plateau |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/as04036 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1323358000003854 |
geographic |
Antarctic South Pole The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic South Pole The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Geomagnetic Pole polar night South pole South pole |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Geomagnetic Pole polar night South pole South pole |
op_source |
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia volume 22, issue 2, page 91-104 ISSN 1323-3580 1448-6083 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1071/as04036 |
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia |
container_volume |
22 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
91 |
op_container_end_page |
104 |
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1766281975737352192 |