Coldest, Driest, Calmest Place on Earth
Wednesday, 2. September 2009, 06:38:35
Why should we at all search for the - at the same time - coldest, driest and calmest place on earth? Because this would be the perfect site to take pictures of the heavens and its stars.
A U.S.-Australian research team combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models in a study to assess the many factors that affect astronomy — cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapor, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence. And the winner is a site, known simply as Ridge A, that is 4,053 m high up on the Antarctic Plateau. Ridge A (81,5°S, 73,5°E) has an average winter temperature of -70°C and an extremely low humidity. It is so calm that there's almost no wind or weather there at all.
It is in other words perfect for an astronomical observation post: The astronomical images taken at Ridge A should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers, meaning that it would even be superior to the best existing observatories on high mountain tops in Hawaii, Chile and La Palma (Canary Islands). Researchers assert that a telescope at the site could take images nearly as good as those from the space-based Hubble telescope.
Ridge A is more than 1.200 km from the nearest coast line, so that the sky at night is completely dark, void of any “light pollution” from civilisation. It will admittedly be quite a task to transport the telescope to the site, and probably take a few weeks to get it there from the coast. On the other hand this is still easier and not least a lot cheaper than sending a telescope into space.
The finding was detailed on 31 August 2009 in the Publications of the Astronomical Society.
Reference:
Where Is the Best Site on Earth? Domes A, B, C, and F, and Ridges A and B
Saunders et al.
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 121:976–992, 2009 September
DOI: 10.1086/605780
In Danish:
A U.S.-Australian research team combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models in a study to assess the many factors that affect astronomy — cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapor, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence. And the winner is a site, known simply as Ridge A, that is 4,053 m high up on the Antarctic Plateau. Ridge A (81,5°S, 73,5°E) has an average winter temperature of -70°C and an extremely low humidity. It is so calm that there's almost no wind or weather there at all.
It is in other words perfect for an astronomical observation post: The astronomical images taken at Ridge A should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers, meaning that it would even be superior to the best existing observatories on high mountain tops in Hawaii, Chile and La Palma (Canary Islands). Researchers assert that a telescope at the site could take images nearly as good as those from the space-based Hubble telescope. Ridge A is more than 1.200 km from the nearest coast line, so that the sky at night is completely dark, void of any “light pollution” from civilisation. It will admittedly be quite a task to transport the telescope to the site, and probably take a few weeks to get it there from the coast. On the other hand this is still easier and not least a lot cheaper than sending a telescope into space.
The finding was detailed on 31 August 2009 in the Publications of the Astronomical Society.
Reference:
Where Is the Best Site on Earth? Domes A, B, C, and F, and Ridges A and B
Saunders et al.
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 121:976–992, 2009 September
DOI: 10.1086/605780
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http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/605780
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http://www.livescience.com/environment/090831-coldest-driest.html
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32635049/ns/technology_and_science-science/
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http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/bestplaceonearth/
In Danish:
WIDGETIZE
53north # 4. September 2009, 03:35