A research team led by researcher Wang Jiang from the China University of Science and Technology (USTC) developed the Near Infrared Sky Luminosity Monitor (NISBM) for measurements at DOME A in collaboration with the China Polar Research Institute. His work has been published. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) March 21.
With its unique climate and geographical conditions, Antarctica is considered the best candidate for observing infrared ranges on Earth. Despite extreme conditions and power supply challenges for Dome A in Antarctica, such as low temperature, high altitude, low pressure, Wang’s team completed the NISBM for Dome A in 2018 with the advantage of an InGaAs detector in the J, H, and Ks bands. .
The researchers carefully analyzed previous Antarctic observations obtained by NISBM for Dome A and concluded that once the sun elevation angle drops to a certain inflection point, the sky background density in this band will no longer depend on the sun. By calculating and analyzing the zenith angle data, the sky background density of Antarctic Dome A in the J, H, and Ks bands is 600~1100 µJ / arc second -2, 1100~2600 µJ / arc second -2, 200~900 µJ. relative to -2 per arc second.
Compared to stations at low latitudes and high altitudes, DOME A has a significantly lower luminosity in the Ks range, comparable to the South Pole. This indicates that DOME A is an excellent location for astronomical observations in the Ks range.
Source: Port Altele
