Grant: Special Research Opportunity Program - Project

This NSERC SRO grant together with our collaboration with the Hertzberg Institute of Astrophysics and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), will allow us to modify an instrument for measuring atmospheric water vapour so that it will operate in the extreme cold of an Antarctic winter. The IRMA (Infrared Radiometer for Millimetre Astronomy) project has built several instruments that are currently in use at some of the world's largest telescopes. These units accurately measure the water vapour content in the atmosphere above the telescopes. Water vapour in the earth's atmosphere affects the very signals (from stars, galaxies etc) that one is trying to measure. The impact of variations in atmospheric water vapour on astronomical measurements is most profound at infrared wavelengths seriously impacting the quality of the observations that can be made. As such, the site selection process for new telescopes involves careful measuring of the amounts of water vapour (and other parameters) to ensure that the best possible location is chosen. Most of the worlds' current major observatories are located at just a few sites in Hawaii, Tenerife and Chile, which have been shown to have excellent observing characteristics. However, one location that has thus far seen limited use for astronomy is the Antarctic continent. This has locations that are both high and extremely dry which should lead to almost ideal conditions for astronomy. Astronomers have only recently started trying to characterise these sites in order to determine the best ones for future giant telescopes. This site characterisation has been pioneered by UNSW. They have cons an Australian tructed an automated site testing laboratory (AASTINO) that can be placed anywhere on the Antarctic continent and run remotely for one year, providing its own power and communications. This NSERC SRO grant will enable us to add IRMA to the AASTINO's existing suite of instruments. In order to do this, we have to make extensive modifications to IRMA so that it can survive and operate in an Antarctic winter which involves modifying many mechanical parts to allow movement at temperatures down to -85C. IRMA will be attached to the AASTINO at 'Dome C' in time for the 2006 winter.