Related papers: A different glance to the site testing above Dome …
The results on the vertical distribution of optical turbulence above the five mountains which were investigated by the site testing for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) are reported. On San Pedro Martir in Mexico, the 13 North site on Mauna…
We describe the flattening of scientific CCD imaging data using a dome flat field system. The system uses light emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate a carefully constructed dome flat field screen. LEDs have several advantages over more…
Consistently superb observing conditions are crucial for achieving the scientific objectives of a telescope. Submillimeter astronomy is possible only at a few exceptionally dry sites, notably Mauna Kea, the Antarctic plateau, and the…
Several site-testing programs and observatories currently use combined MASS-DIMM instruments for monitoring parameters of optical turbulence. The instrument is described here. After a short recall of the measured quantities and operational…
The latest MERRA-2 reanalysis of the modern satellite measurements provides unprecedented uniformity and fidelity for the atmospheric data. In this paper, these data are used to evaluate five sites for millimeter-wave (mm-wave)…
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next high-energy gamma-ray observatory. Selection of the sites, one in each hemisphere, is not obvious since several factors have to be taken into account. Among them, and probably the most…
The three Antarctic Survey Telescopes (AST3) aim to carry out time domain imaging survey at Dome A, Antarctica. The first of the three telescopes (AST3-1) was successfully deployed on January 2012. AST3-1 is a 500\,mm aperture modified…
A site selection of potential observatory locations in Turkey have been carried out by using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) coupled with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery which in turn reduced cost and…
The redshifted 21 cm line, arising from neutral hydrogen, offers a unique probe into the intergalactic medium and the first stars and galaxies formed in the early universe. However, detecting this signal is a challenging task because of…
Intelligent scheduling of the sequence of scientific exposures taken at ground-based astronomical observatories is massively challenging. Observing time is over-subscribed and atmospheric conditions are constantly changing. We propose to…
Observation of the CMB is central to observational cosmology, and the Antarctic Plateau is an exceptionally good site for this work. The first attempt at CMB observations from the Plateau was an expedition to the South Pole in December 1986…
Current projects for large telescopes demand a proper knowledge of atmospheric turbulence to design efficient adaptive optics systems in order to reach large Strehl ratios. However, the proper characterization of the turbulence above a…
IceCube is a 1 km$^3$ neutrino observatory being built to study neutrino production in active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, supernova remnants, and a host of other astrophysical sources. High-energy neutrinos may signal the sources of…
The archives of meteorological satellites permit to find around the world dry sites well adapted to astronomical observations (in the visible, IR, and millimetric ranges), as a pre-selection of sites. The GSM (Grating Scale Monitor)…
Results of deploying a Differential Image Motion Monitor (DIMM) and a DIMM combined with a Multi-Aperture Scintillation Sensor (MASS/DIMM) are reported for campaigns in 2011 and 2012 on the roof of the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research…
The recent observational evidence for the acceleration of the universe demonstrates that canonical theories of cosmology and particle physics are incomplete - if not incorrect - and that new physics is out there, waiting to be discovered.…
Ellesmere Island, at the most northerly tip of Canada, possesses the highest mountain peaks within 10 degrees of the pole. The highest is 2616 m, with many summits over 1000 m, high enough to place them above a stable low-elevation thermal…
The IceCube collaboration has built an in-ice neutrino telescope and a surface detector array, IceTop, at the South Pole. Over 5000 digital optical modules have been deployed in a cubic kilometer of ice between 1450 and 2450 m below the…
Current thinking about the Moon as a destination has revitalized interest in lunar astronomical observatories. Once seen by a large scientific community as a highly enabling site, the dramatic improvement in capabilities for free-space…
Optical turbulence affects significantly the quality of ground-based astronomical observations. An accurate and reliable forecast of optical turbulence can help to optimise the scheduling of the science observations and to improve both the…