Chinese astronomers reach the top of the Antarctic Plateau (1/18/2008)

Cstar Team

On 12 January, China scientific expedition to the Antarctica succeeded for the second time in climbing up to Dome A, the highest Antarctic icecap peak. A similar feat was made by Chinese scientists about three years ago in January 2005, leaving first human footprints there. However, this time is different, because it is the maiden trip for Chinese astronomers, Prof. ZHOU Xu with the National Astronomic Observatories at CAS (NAOC) and Prof. ZHU Zhengxi from the CAS Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO), marking a new milestone for the cosmic exploration based on the apex of the Antarctic icecap.

The Dome A, known as the most unapproachable point with an elevation up to 4,093m in the earth's southernmost region, is theoretically considered as one of the best sites for making astronomic observations.

One task of the Chinese expedition is to choose a venue for the country's first astronomical observation station on Dome A, a major project of China's action-plan for the International Polar Year. Under the leadership of the China Antarctic Astronomy Center, the site selection is the teamwork between scientists from China, Australia and the US.

For astronomers in this Antarctic expedition, the major objective is to set up an outpost for automated observation on the Plateau, including systematic determination of the site's parameters and providing detailed scientific grounds for future sky-watching activities there. The outpost is made up of a series of facilities, such as a power system, a host computer system, a system for satellite-relayed telecommunication, panels of solar cells, an automated weather station and supportive devices for spotting the spatial background, polar light, atmospheric seeing.

As soon as the conditions are ripe, it has planned to install there a complete set of observatory equipment including an array of small-aperture optical telescopes CSTAR, jointly developed by several subordinates of NAOC, including its headquarters, the CAS Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology (NIAOT) and PMO.

CSTAR will be able to monitor all celestial bodies in about 20 square degrees above the Dome A., making analyses and statistics on variable stars, locating exoplanets, and supernovas. The equipment will be the first group of sky-watching implements to be installed and operational on the Antarctic continent.

Chinese astronomers have started their preparatory work to initiate a sky-watching program in Antarctica two decades ago, says Prof. YAN Junjie, director-general of NAOC. A research team has been established, composing astronomers from PMO, NIAOT, the Polar Research Institute of China under the State Oceanic Administration, NAOC headquarters, Nanjing University, and the Tianjin Normal University. Its international partners will include co-workers from the New South Wales University in Australia, Institute of Technology of California in US, and University of California at Berkeley in US.

In order to enforce a joint venture with their US colleagues, they had successfully developed a horizontal 40cm-aperture telescope whose operation was exclusively designed to meet the extremely hostile climatic conditions in Antarctica. To our regret, the venture was of no avail because it became aborted halfway in its implementation due to some reasons.

In company with the teammates of this year's expedition, Chinese astronomers ascended the summit of the Antarctic Plateau, opening a new horizon in the history of South Pole exploration by initiating a new international project of astronomic observation hosted by China in Antarctica. The move is not only able to upgrade the scholarship of China's sky-watching projects, but also provides a rare and much-sought chance for our country to get access to the disciplinary frontiers such as those for probing the dark matter, dark energy and sighting of extra-galactic planets in the outer space.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Chinese Academy of Sciences

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