The Near-Infrared Sky Emission at the South Pole in Winter
The antarctic plateau provides superb sites for infrared astronomy, a result of the combination of low temperature, low levels of precipitable water vapour, high altitude and atmospheric stability. We have undertaken measurements of the sky background from 1--5 m at the South Pole, using a single ch...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1999
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.41.1813 http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/research/papers/irpsNov98.ps.gz |
| Summary: | The antarctic plateau provides superb sites for infrared astronomy, a result of the combination of low temperature, low levels of precipitable water vapour, high altitude and atmospheric stability. We have undertaken measurements of the sky background from 1--5 m at the South Pole, using a single channel InSb spectrometer, the `IRPS', during the winter (dark) period of 1995. The IRPS records the DC level of the sky flux through a 4 ffi beam and a variety of broad band and narrow (1%) band filters. It can be scanned in elevation from horizon to horizon through the zenith. We find a reduction in the background of thermal emission of 20--100 times from mid-latitude sites such as Siding Spring and Mauna Kea, with typical background levels of 80--200 Jy/arcsec 2 at 2.43 m, 100--300 mJy/arcsec 2 at 3.6 m and 1 Jy/arcsec 2 at 4.8 m. Airglow emission contributes significantly to the sky flux shortward of 2.4 m, which is why the K dark (2.27--2.45 m) band emission does not drop to the . |
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