Related papers: Wide Field Astronomy at Dome C: two IR surveys com…

Atmospheric seeing is one of the most important parameters for evaluating and monitoring an astronomical site. Moreover, being able to predict the seeing in advance can guide observing decisions and significantly improve the efficiency of…

The image quality from Ground-Layer Adaptive Optics (GLAO) can be gradually increased with decreased contiguous field of view. This trade-off is dependent on the vertical profile of the optical turbulence (Cn2 profiles). It is known that…

We present a reanalysis of several years of DIMM data at the site of Dome C, Antarctica, to provide measurements of the coherence time $\tau_0$. Statistics and seasonal behaviour of $\tau_0$ are given at two heights above the ground, 3m and…

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 recent discovery of exceptional seeing conditions at Dome C, Antarctica, raises the possibility of constructing an optical observatory there with unique capabilities. However, little is known from an astronomer's perspective about the…

ASTEP South is an Antarctic Search for Transiting Exo- Planets in the South pole field, from the Concordia station, Dome C, Antarctica. The instrument consists of a thermalized 10 cm refractor observing a fixed 3.88\degree x 3.88\degree…

The Antarctic Multiband Infrared Camera (AMICA) is a double channel camera operating in the 2-28 micron infrared domain (KLMNQ bands) that will allow to characterize and exploit the exceptional advantages for Astronomy, expected from Dome C…

We present Cryoscope--a new 50 deg$^2$ field-of-view, 1.2 m aperture, $K_{dark}$ survey telescope to be located at Dome C, Antarctica. Cryoscope has an innovative optical-thermal design wherein the entire telescope is cryogenically cooled.…

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 South is the first phase of the ASTEP project that aims to determine the quality of Dome C as a site for future photometric searches for transiting exoplanets and discover extrasolar planets from the Concordia base in Antarctica.…

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…

We describe technical aspects of an astrometric and photometric survey of the North Celestial Cap (NCC), from the Pole (DEC=90 deg) to DEC=80 deg, in support of the TAUVEX mission. This region, at galactic latitudes from ~ 17 deg to ~ 37…

IRAC excels at detecting distant objects. Due to a combination of the shapes of the spectral energy distributions of galaxies and the low background achieved from space, IRAC reaches greater depth in comparable exposure time at 3.6 and 4.5…

PILOT (the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope) is a proposed 2.5 m optical/infrared telescope to be located at Dome C on the Antarctic plateau. The atmospheric conditions at Dome C deliver a high sensitivity, high…

In a recent paper the authors presented an extended study aiming at simulating the classical meteorological parameters and the optical turbulence at Dome C during the winter with the atmospherical mesoscale model Meso-NH. A statistical…

From the South Pole, microthermal turbulence within a narrow surface boundary layer some 200m thick provides the dominant contribution to the astronomical seeing. We present results for the seeing at a wavelength of 2.4um. The narrow…

The atmospheric properties above three sites (Dome C, Dome A and the South Pole) on the Internal Antarctic Plateau are investigated for astronomical applications using the monthly median of the analyses from ECMWF (the European Centre for…

Atmospherical mesoscale models can offer unique potentialities to characterize and discriminate potential astronomical sites. Our team has recently completely validated the Meso-Nh model above Dome C (Lascaux et al. 2009, 2010). Using all…

The proposed SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) mission will have a two-meter class telescope delivering diffraction-limited images to an instrumented 0.7 square-degree field sensitive in the visible and near-infrared wavelength regime. We…

The all sky surveys done by the Palomar Observatory Schmidt, the European Southern Observatory Schmidt, and the United Kingdom Schmidt, the InfraRed Astronomical Satellite and the 2 Micron All Sky Survey have proven to be extremely useful…