RESPONSES TO PANEL QUESTIONS 1. What are the existing facilities at South Pole?

• Main Authors: South Pole, Observatory Infrastructure
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; South Pole; The Antarctic; Antarc*; South pole
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.593.4499; http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/research/decadal/decadal-ir.pdf

unique conditions at the geographic South Pole and to lay the foundation for an ongoing national observatory. A small prototype user-facility instrument has demonstrated that very sensitive imaging in the thermal infrared can be routinely performed at the South Pole. The site should be further developed with a larger, more sensitive telescope. The Antarctic Infrared Observatory (AIRO), a 2-meter infrared telescope optimized for wide-field imaging, queue observing, and standardized data processing, will provide a productive and reliable resource for the astronomical community through the coming decade. Because the mean annual temperature is-50 C, the thermal background at the South Pole in the 2.4-5 micron spectral range is 20-50 times smaller than that at temperate sites. This enormous advantage in thermal background translates directly into increased observing speed. A small, inexpensive telescope at the South Pole can outperform larger telescopes at other sites for studies requiring wide-field imaging. Such studies in the thermal infrared can give important new insights into the evolution of stars and galaxies and the physics of the interstellar medium. AIRO's capabilities will complement ground-based 8-m telescopes, SOFIA, SIRTF, and NGST.