NSF Award
8818384
It is the purpose of this project to develop and use a new facility at the South Pole for the purpose of making astronomical and atmospheric observations in the sub-millimeter wavelength region of the spectrum. This new telescope will have a aperture of 1.2 meters, a state-of-the art superconducting-insulating- superconducting hetrodyne receiver and an acousto-optic spectrometer. The instrument will take advantage of the very low water vapor content of the cold polar atmosphere, conditions that are unique to the polar plateau. It is normally the water vapor that limits the sensitivity of observations in this spectral region. The project is called Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (ASTRO). Some specific science objectives are: Atomic carbon and carbon monoxide surveys of selected regions of the southern skies; Observations of star-forming clouds, nearby galaxies and envelopes of mass-losing stars; Measuring the profiles of atmospheric ozone, carbon monoxide and possibly other trace gases to further understanding of the polar stratosphere and the causes of the annual ozone hole, and; A search for protogalaxies. The project will be jointly supported by NSF's Division of Polar Programs, Division of Astronomical Sciences, AT&T Bell Laboratories, The University of Illinois and Boston University. The telescope will eventually be made available for observations by investigators from institutions other than the original three.
