First Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome A
Located at the highest point on the Antarctic Plateau’s ice sheet, Dome A is generally believed to be one of the best places on Earth for nighttime astronomy in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) bands. Daytime optical/NIR site characteristics are yet to be quantified, however. Here we report the f...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adbd0e |
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| author | Chenwei Yang Tuo Ji Zhengyang Li Jiannan Cong Chao Chen Michael C. B. Ashley Zhixu Wu Haimeng Li Yuhan Luo Liang Xi Yipeng Zhou Yaqi Zhao Xingyu Zhou Lei Hao Zhongping Zhang Hongyan Zhou Peng Jiang |
| author_facet | Chenwei Yang Tuo Ji Zhengyang Li Jiannan Cong Chao Chen Michael C. B. Ashley Zhixu Wu Haimeng Li Yuhan Luo Liang Xi Yipeng Zhou Yaqi Zhao Xingyu Zhou Lei Hao Zhongping Zhang Hongyan Zhou Peng Jiang |
| author_sort | Chenwei Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Located at the highest point on the Antarctic Plateau’s ice sheet, Dome A is generally believed to be one of the best places on Earth for nighttime astronomy in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) bands. Daytime optical/NIR site characteristics are yet to be quantified, however. Here we report the first daytime observations of bright stars at the J band during the austral summer of 2023/2024. The experiments were conducted using a 150 mm telescope with a field of view of 0 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x000b0}}$ 87 × 0 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x000b0}}$ 69 and a pixel size of 2 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x02033}}$ 5. The sky brightness at zenith was measured to be ∼5.2 mag arcsec ^−2 at noon when the solar elevation was ∼27°, and it slightly darkened to ∼5.8 mag arcsec ^−2 at midnight with a solar elevation angle of ∼10°. Stars as faint as J = 10.06 mag were significantly detected at 5 σ levels with an effective exposure time of 175 s around midnight. The pathfinding experiments indicate that a sensitivity ∼2 mag deeper can be reached by the planned 1 m class telescopes, taking advantage of the small free atmosphere seeing. Considering the high latitude and the extremely high fraction of clear days at this site, valuable bright transients with J ≲ 12 mag, such as (super)novae in the local universe and space debris at low orbits, within ∼1/4 of the whole sky around the south celestial pole can be timely discovered and continuously monitored throughout the year. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e708efcfb8cc48ef90981305663e9f7b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-e708efcfb8cc48ef90981305663e9f7b2025-08-20T02:40:48ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169422810.3847/1538-3881/adbd0eFirst Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome AChenwei Yang0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4975-2433Tuo Ji1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9000-4915Zhengyang Li2Jiannan Cong3Chao Chen4Michael C. B. Ashley5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1412-2028Zhixu Wu6Haimeng Li7Yuhan Luo8Liang Xi9Yipeng Zhou10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2021-4287Yaqi Zhao11Xingyu Zhou12Lei Hao13Zhongping Zhang14Hongyan Zhou15Peng Jiang16Polar Research Institute of China , 451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai 200136, People’s Republic of China ; jituo@pric.org.cn; Key Laboratory for Polar Science, MNR, Polar Research Institute of China , Shanghai, 200136, People’s Republic of ChinaPolar Research Institute of China , 451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai 200136, People’s Republic of China ; jituo@pric.org.cn; Key Laboratory for Polar Science, MNR, Polar Research Institute of China , Shanghai, 200136, People’s Republic of ChinaNanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210042, People’s Republic of China ; zyli@niaot.ac.cn; CAS Key Laboratory of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology , Nanjing 210042, People’s Republic of ChinaNanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210042, People’s Republic of China ; zyli@niaot.ac.cn; CAS Key Laboratory of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology , Nanjing 210042, People’s Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaNanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210042, People’s Republic of China ; zyli@niaot.ac.cn; CAS Key Laboratory of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology , Nanjing 210042, People’s Republic of China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Physics, University of New South Wales , Sydney, 2052, AustraliaInstitute of Space Science and Technology, Nanchang University , 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute of Space Science and Technology, Nanchang University , 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Environmental Optics and Technology, Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics , Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Environmental Optics and Technology, Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics , Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaPolar Research Institute of China , 451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai 200136, People’s Republic of China ; jituo@pric.org.cn; Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 200030 Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaPolar Research Institute of China , 451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai 200136, People’s Republic of China ; jituo@pric.org.cn; Key Laboratory for Polar Science, MNR, Polar Research Institute of China , Shanghai, 200136, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 200030 Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 200030 Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaPolar Research Institute of China , 451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai 200136, People’s Republic of China ; jituo@pric.org.cn; Key Laboratory for Polar Science, MNR, Polar Research Institute of China , Shanghai, 200136, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaPolar Research Institute of China , 451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai 200136, People’s Republic of China ; jituo@pric.org.cn; Key Laboratory for Polar Science, MNR, Polar Research Institute of China , Shanghai, 200136, People’s Republic of ChinaLocated at the highest point on the Antarctic Plateau’s ice sheet, Dome A is generally believed to be one of the best places on Earth for nighttime astronomy in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) bands. Daytime optical/NIR site characteristics are yet to be quantified, however. Here we report the first daytime observations of bright stars at the J band during the austral summer of 2023/2024. The experiments were conducted using a 150 mm telescope with a field of view of 0 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x000b0}}$ 87 × 0 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x000b0}}$ 69 and a pixel size of 2 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x02033}}$ 5. The sky brightness at zenith was measured to be ∼5.2 mag arcsec ^−2 at noon when the solar elevation was ∼27°, and it slightly darkened to ∼5.8 mag arcsec ^−2 at midnight with a solar elevation angle of ∼10°. Stars as faint as J = 10.06 mag were significantly detected at 5 σ levels with an effective exposure time of 175 s around midnight. The pathfinding experiments indicate that a sensitivity ∼2 mag deeper can be reached by the planned 1 m class telescopes, taking advantage of the small free atmosphere seeing. Considering the high latitude and the extremely high fraction of clear days at this site, valuable bright transients with J ≲ 12 mag, such as (super)novae in the local universe and space debris at low orbits, within ∼1/4 of the whole sky around the south celestial pole can be timely discovered and continuously monitored throughout the year.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adbd0eAstronomical site protectionAntarctic observatoriesNear infrared astronomyInfrared photometry |
| spellingShingle | Chenwei Yang Tuo Ji Zhengyang Li Jiannan Cong Chao Chen Michael C. B. Ashley Zhixu Wu Haimeng Li Yuhan Luo Liang Xi Yipeng Zhou Yaqi Zhao Xingyu Zhou Lei Hao Zhongping Zhang Hongyan Zhou Peng Jiang First Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome A The Astronomical Journal Astronomical site protection Antarctic observatories Near infrared astronomy Infrared photometry |
| title | First Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome A |
| title_full | First Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome A |
| title_fullStr | First Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome A |
| title_full_unstemmed | First Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome A |
| title_short | First Daytime Near-infrared Photometric Observations at Antarctic Dome A |
| title_sort | first daytime near infrared photometric observations at antarctic dome a |
| topic | Astronomical site protection Antarctic observatories Near infrared astronomy Infrared photometry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adbd0e |
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