An Australian autonomous observatory, PLATO at Dome A
Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 3137 See the link below for public details on this project. Robotic Science from the High Plateau Australia's astronomers are exceptionally well placed to lead and to partner major international programs in Antarctic astronomy. These bring Australian i...
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Australian Antarctic Data Centre
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| Online Access: | https://researchdata.ands.org.au/an-australian-autonomous-plato-dome/700135 https://doi.org/10.4225/15/514A619A36F5C https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/ASAC_3137_SUMMIT_DOMEA_PLATO http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-617536 |
| Summary: | Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 3137 See the link below for public details on this project. Robotic Science from the High Plateau Australia's astronomers are exceptionally well placed to lead and to partner major international programs in Antarctic astronomy. These bring Australian industry increased access to cutting edge technology, and create business opportunities in the infrastructure and support of Antarctic research. This project aims to capture the lead for Australia in Antarctic astronomy, allowing us to fully capture the benefits of future international investment. Australia's participation in these programs also ensures continued technology exchange, and builds our knowledge base in robotics, harsh-environment engineering and computational fluid dynamics, while creating important new astronomical opportunities. It serves to demonstrate robotic science from the high plateau. Data from the first year of the project is available for download from the provided URL. Project objectives: Within the next decade, the first major optical/infrared telescopes will be built on the Antarctic Plateau, taking advantage of the remarkable conditions known to exist at established sites such as Dome C. In January 2008 our autonomous observatory, PLATO, was deployed by a Chinese team to Dome A, the highest point on the Antarctic Plateau and potentially the best observing site on earth. With Dome A now accessible for the first time, we will lead a detailed multi-year study to compare Dome A and Dome C, creating an improved understanding of the Antarctic atmosphere and providing the essential data needed by designers of Antarctic telescopes, interferometers and adaptive optics systems. This project makes use of robotic technologies in order to gather the data needed for its science. It is a prime example of the way to conduct science from remote locations, such as the Antarctic plateau, where human presence is limited. It can serve as a model for the way other such investigations could be carried out in the future - robotic science from the high plateau. Public summary of the season progress: Dome A is the highest point on the Antarctic plateau, and lies within the Australian Antarctic Territory. It is likely the coldest and driest location on the surface of the Earth, and possibly the finest site to make sensitive observations of the faint light from the distant Cosmos. A Chinese scientific station is now under construction there, Kunlun Station. An Australian autonomous observatory, PLATO (PLATeau Observatory), built at the University of New South Wales, was installed at Dome A in 2008. It has now completed two seasons of operations, completely unattended following the departure of the Chinese commissioning expedition. A suite of instruments operated by PLATO are now returning data on the atmospheric conditions at Dome A, in particular relating to the sensitivity that future telescopes could have. These are remarkable achievements and demonstrate Australian leadership and ingenuity in the development of the Antarctic plateau for frontier scientific investigations. |
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