Related papers: Astronomy in Antarctica
Cosmic ray astronomy attempts to identify and study the sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. It is unique in its reliance on charged particles as the information carriers. While no discrete source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays has…
With the recent discovery of high-energy neutrinos of extra-terrestrial origin by the IceCube neutrino observatory, neutrino-astronomy is entering a new era. This review will cover currently operating open water/ice neutrino telescopes, the…
The cubic kilometer IceCube neutrino telescope now operating at the South Pole in a near complete configuration observes the neutrino sky with an unprecedented sensitivity to galactic and extra-galactic cosmic ray accelerators. Within the…
Compelling evidence for the existence of astrophysical neutrinos has been reported by the IceCube collaboration. Some features of the energy and declination distributions of IceCube events hint at a North/South asymmetry of the neutrino…
This is a (very) personal attempt to summarize the status of neutrino astronomy: its scientific motivations, our understanding of natural water and ice as particle detectors and, finally, the detector technology.
AMANDA-II is the largest neutrino telescope collecting data at the moment, and its main goal is to search for sources of high energy extra-terrestrial neutrinos. The detection of such sources could give non-controversial evidence for the…
Telescope and detector developments continuously enable deeper and more detailed studies of astronomical objects. Larger collecting areas, improvement in dispersion and detector techniques, and higher sensitivities allow detection of more…
Dome A, Antarctica has been thought to be one of the best astronomical sites on the earth since decades ago. From it was first visited by astronomers in 2008, dozens of facilities for astronomical observation and site testing were deployed.…
Sunspots are cool areas caused by strong surface magnetic fields inhibiting convection. Moreover, strong magnetic fields can alter the average atmospheric structure, degrading our ability to measure stellar masses and ages. Stars more…
Observations from near the Eureka station on Ellesmere Island, in the Canadian High Arctic at 80 degrees North, benefit from 24-hour darkness combined with dark skies and long cloud-free periods during the winter. Our first astronomical…
Recent results, the present status and the perspectives of high energy gamma-ray astronomy are described. Since the satellite observations by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and its precursor missions have been reviewed extensively,…
During the months when the galactic bulge is visible from the southern hemisphere, there are typically about 8 to 10 on-going microlensing events at any given time. If the lensing stars have planets around them, then the signature of the…
Radio astronomy provides a unique window on the universe, allowing us to study: non-thermal processes (galactic nuclei, quasars, pulsars) at the highest angular resolution using VLBI, with low opacity. It is the most interesting wave band…
These last years ground-based astronomy has been looking towards Antarctica, especially its summits and the internal continental plateau where the optical turbulence (OT) appears to be confined in a shallow layer close to the surface.…
ASTEP (Antarctica Search for Transiting ExoPlanets) is a pilot project that aims at searching and characterizing transiting exoplanets from Dome C in Antarctica and to qualify this site for photometry in the visible. Two instruments were…
We report on the first daytime on-sky results of a Phase Knife stellar Coronagraph operated in the visible from the French-Italian Concordia station at Dome C of Antarctica. This site has proven in the last few years to offer excellent…
We report site testing results obtained in night-time during the polar autumn and winter at Dome C. These results were collected during the first Concordia winterover by A. Agabi. They are based upon seeing and isoplanatic angle monitoring,…
The terahertz and far-infrared (FIR) band, from approximately 0.3 THz to 15 THz (1 mm to 20 micron), is important for astrophysics as the thermal radiation of much of the universe peaks at these wavelengths and many spectral lines that…
The outer solar system provides a unique, quiet vantage point from which to observe the universe around us, where measurements could enable several niche astrophysical science cases that are too difficult to perform near Earth. NASA's New…
Nighttime zenith sky spectral brightness in the 3.3 to 20 micron wavelength region is reported for an observatory site nearby Eureka, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Measurements derive from an automated Fourier-transform…