Near-infrared sky brightness monitor for the South Pole

• Main Authors: Michael Ashley Michael, Michael G. Burton, James P. Lloyd, John W. V. Storey
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: near-infrared Antarctica astronomy site-testing 1. THE ENVIRONMENT AT THE SOUTH POLE; Amundsen Scott South Pole Station; Amundsen-Scott; Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; Antarctic; South Pole; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; South pole
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.28.2509; http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mgb/Antbib/irpsspie.ps.gz

The antarctic plateau has the potential for being the best site on Earth for conducting astronomical observations from the near-infrared to the sub-millimeter. Particular gains are expected in the 1 to 5 micron region, where the high altitude, low water vapour content, and low thermal emission from the atmosphere combine to create observing conditions unequalled elsewhere on the surface of the earth. We describe an instrument, the Infrared PhotometerSpectrometer (IRPS), that we are using to quantify site conditions at the South Pole by measuring the near-infrared sky brightness. We also describe some of the unique problems associated with building instruments to work in Antarctica. Keywords: near-infrared Antarctica astronomy site-testing 1. THE ENVIRONMENT AT THE SOUTH POLE The US Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is located within a few hundred meters of the Geodetic South Pole, at an altitude of 2900 m. Centrifugal and temperature effects reduce the air-pressure to the equivalent.