Pre-HEAT: submillimeter site testing and astronomical spectra from Dome A, Antarctica

C. A. Kulesa; C. K. Walker; M. Schein; D. Golish; N. Tothill; P. Siegel; S. Weinreb; G. Jones; J. Bardin; K. Jacobs; C. L. Martin; J. Storey; M. Ashley; J. Lawrence; D. Luong-Van; J. Everett; L. Wang; L. Feng; Z. Zhu; J. Yan; J. Yang; X.-G. Zhang; X. Cui; X. Yuan; J. Hu; Z. Xu; Z. Jiang; H. Yang; Y. Li; B. Sun; W. Qin; Z. Shang

doi:10.1117/12.789741

Translator Disclaimer

10 July 2008 Pre-HEAT: submillimeter site testing and astronomical spectra from Dome A, Antarctica

C. A. Kulesa, C. K. Walker, M. Schein, D. Golish, N. Tothill, P. Siegel, S. Weinreb, G. Jones, J. Bardin, K. Jacobs, C. L. Martin, J. Storey, M. Ashley, J. Lawrence, D. Luong-Van, J. Everett, L. Wang, L. Feng, Z. Zhu, J. Yan, J. Yang, X.-G. Zhang, X. Cui, X. Yuan, J. Hu, Z. Xu, Z. Jiang, H. Yang, Y. Li, B. Sun, W. Qin, Z. Shang

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7012, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes II; 701249 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789741
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

Pre-HEAT is a 20 cm aperture submillimeter-wave telescope with a 660 GHz (450 micron) Schottky diode heterodyne receiver and digital FFT spectrometer for the Plateau Observatory (PLATO) developed by the University of New South Wales. In January 2008 it was deployed to Dome A, the summit of the Antarctic plateau, as part of a scientific traverse led by the Polar Research Institute of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dome A may be one of the best sites in the world for ground based Terahertz astronomy, based on the exceptionally cold, dry and stable conditions which prevail there. Pre-HEAT is measuring the 450 micron sky opacity at Dome A and mapping the Galactic Plane in the ¹³CO J=6-5 line, constituting the first submillimeter measurements from Dome A. It is field-testing many of the key technologies for its namesake -- a successor mission called HEAT: the High Elevation Antarctic Terahertz telescope. Exciting prospects for submillimeter astronomy from Dome A and the status of Pre-HEAT will be presented.

Citation Download Citation

C. A. Kulesa, C. K. Walker, M. Schein, D. Golish, N. Tothill, P. Siegel, S. Weinreb, G. Jones, J. Bardin, K. Jacobs, C. L. Martin, J. Storey, M. Ashley, J. Lawrence, D. Luong-Van, J. Everett, L. Wang, L. Feng, Z. Zhu, J. Yan, J. Yang, X.-G. Zhang, X. Cui, X. Yuan, J. Hu, Z. Xu, Z. Jiang, H. Yang, Y. Li, B. Sun, W. Qin, and Z. Shang "Pre-HEAT: submillimeter site testing and astronomical spectra from Dome A, Antarctica", Proc. SPIE 7012, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes II, 701249 (10 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789741

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE