Related papers: On the benefits of the Eastern Pamirs for sub-mm a…

The area of Chajnantor, at more than 5000 meters altitude in northern Chile, offers unique atmospheric and operational conditions which arguably make it the best site in the world for millimeter, submillimeter, and mid-infrared…

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…

Context. Interest in the use of the Chajnantor area for millimeter and submillimeter astronomy is increasing because of its excellent atmospheric conditions. Knowing the general site annual variability in precipitable water vapor (PWV) can…

For a systematic assessment of submillimeter observing conditions at different sites, we constructed tipping radiometers to measure the broad band atmospheric transparency in the window around 350 $\mu$m wavelength. The tippers were…

In this work, we present results from a long-term precipitable water vapor (PWV) study in the Chajnantor area, in northern Chile. Data from several instruments located at relevant sites for sub-millimeter and mid-infrared astronomy were…

The most important limitation for ground-based submillimetre (submm) astronomy is the broad-band absorption of the total water vapour in the atmosphere above an observation site, often expressed as the Precipitable Water Vapour (PWV). A…

With plans to build a large IR/optical telescope in the Atacama Desert, a site survey campaign has been underway since 1998 to characterize the optical seeing and the IR transparency in the Chajnantor Plateau region. Preliminary results…

Nighttime visible-light sky brightness and transparency are reported for the Polar Environment Research Laboratory (PEARL), located on a 610-m high ridge near the Eureka research station, on Ellesmere Island, Canada. Photometry of Polaris…

We discuss properties of the atmospheric water vapor above the high Andean plateau region known as the Llano de Chajnantor, in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. A combination of radiometric and radiosonde measurements indicate that the…

Over the past few years a major effort has been put into the exploration of potential sites for the deployment of submillimetre astronomical facilities. Amongst the most important sites are Dome C and Dome A on the Antarctic Plateau, and…

The Atacama Desert has long been established as an excellent site for submillimeter observations. Yet identifying potentially optimal locations for a new facility within this region can require long field campaigns that rely on the…

The Himalayan plateau region of Ladakh, India, is a potential host for a science-class submillimeter observatory, building on existing astronomical infrastructure near Hanle and Merak. Using the fifth-generation European Centre for…

To support the selection of large optical/infrared telescope sites in western China, long-term monitoring of atmospheric conditions and astronomical seeing has been conducted at the Muztagh-Ata site on the Pamir Plateau since 2017. With the…

We have developed a near-infrared camera called ANIR (Atacama Near-InfraRed camera) for the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory 1.0m telescope (miniTAO) installed at the summit of Cerro Chajnantor (5640 m above sea level) in northern…

The summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the area near Cerro Chajnantor in Chile, and the South Pole are sites of large millimeter or submillimeter wavelength telescopes. We have placed 860 GHz sky brightness monitors at all three sites and…

We set out to evaluate the potential of the Colombian Andes for millimeter-wave astronomical observations. Previous studies for astronomical site testing in this region have suggested that nighttime humidity and cloud cover conditions make…

Atmospheric water vapor is the main limiting factor of atmospheric transparency in the mm and submm wavelength spectral windows. Thus, dry sites are needed for the installation and successful operation of radio astronomy observatories…

Targeted ultra-high resolution Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of an ice core drilled in the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia (CA) records changes in seasonal patterns of atmospheric…

We report precipitable water vapor (PWV) measurements made at Las Campanas Observatory using optical spectra of H2O lines obtained with the Magellan echelle spectrograph, and calculated using a robust technique that is accurate to 5-10%.…

Precipitable water vapour (PWV) strongly affects the quality of data obtained from millimetre- and submillimetre-wave astronomical observations, such as those for cosmic microwave background measurements. Some of these observatories have…