Infrared Sky Brightness Monitors for Antarctica

• Main Authors: Storey Ashley Boccas, J. W. V. Storey, M. C. B. Ashley, M. Boccas, M. A. Phillips, A. E. T. Schinckel
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: Amundsen Scott South Pole Station; Amundsen-Scott; Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; Antarctic; Burton; South Pole; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; South pole
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.28.2866; http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mgb/Antbib/990028.web.pdf

. Two sky brightness monitorsone for the near-infrared and one for the mid-infraredhave been developed for site survey work in Antarctica. The instruments, which we refer to as the NISM (Near-Infrared Sky Monitor) and the MISM (Mid-Infrared Sky Monitor), are part of a suite of instruments being deployed in the Automated Astrophysical Site-Testing Observatory (AASTO). The chief design constraints include reliable, autonomous operation, low power consumption, and of course the ability to operate under conditions of extreme cold. The instruments are currently operational at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, prior to deployment at remote, unattended sites on the high antarctic plateau. 1. INTRODUCTION The antarctic plateau is recognized as having the potential to provide some of the best astronomical observing conditions on earth (see, e.g., Burton et al. 1994). Almost all the site testing to date has been carried out at the South Pole, where it has already been demonstrated t.