Astronomy at Dome C: Concordia Station and the ARENA Network

The
 European
 Commission
 has
 been
 particularly
 helpful
 in
 sponsoring
 the
 ARENA
 network,
 a
 coordination
 action
 under the
 Sixth
 Framework
 Programme
 (FP6).

The
 European
 Commission
 has
 been
 particularly
 helpful
 in
 sponsoring
 the
 ARENA
 network,
 a
 coordination
 action
 under the
 Sixth
 Framework
 Programme
 (FP6).

© D.
 Mekarnia

The International Polar Foundation

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Full Gallery

  • Part
 of
 the
 astronomical
 equipment
 of
 the
 Concordia
 Station
 as
 it
 appeared
 in
 the austral summer of
 2008‐09.

  • Site
 assessment
 instruments
 at
 Dome
 C
 
with
 
 the
 two
 main towers of Concordia
 Station
 in
 the
 background.
  • 
Concordia
 Station
, located
 at 
Dome
C
 on the Antarctic Plateau, is 
a 
French
-Italian
 joint
 venture

 operated
 by
 IPEV
 and
 PNRA.
 It
 has offered researchers
 year
-round
 research facilities since
 2005
 as well as exceptional
 conditions
 for
 their
 investigations
 in
to various
 disciplines
 from
 glaciology
 to
 astronomy.

  • A
 crane
 handling

 and
 setting
 up
 one
 of
 the
 station's towers.
  • The

  • A
 close
-up
 view
 of
 a
 DIMM
 telescope
 on
 top
 of
 the
 station's tower.

  • IRAIT
 (InfraRed
 Antarctic
 International
 Telescope).
 It
 is
 an
 80
 cm
 aperture
 telescope
 aimed
 at
 exploring
 the
 astronomical
 breakthroughs
 
 offered
 by


 the
 site
 in
 the
 infrared
 range
 from
 1 
t o
350
 microns (µm).
  • The
 COCHISE
 radiotelescope,
 built
 by
 the
 University
 of
 Rome,
 
is
 aimed
 at
 exploring
 the
 
millimetre
 wave
 range
 from
 Dome
 C.
 It
 is
 also
 used
 by
 a
 team
 from
 CEA
 Saclay
 to
 conduct experiments with techniques
 used to counter the freezing
 of
 optical
 and
 mechanical
 devices.

  • Under
 a
 magnificent
 blue
 sky,
 the
 ASTEP400
 telescope
 constructed by
 French
 teams
 from the
 H.
 Fizeau
 Laboratory
 in
 Nice
 opens
 its
 dome
 for
 the
 first
 time.

  • The

 40
 cm ASTEP400
 telescope
 set
 up 
during the austral summer
 of 2009‐10
 is 
aimed 
to 
measure 
the 
transits
 of 
exoplanets
 
in 
front
 of and
 behind
 
 their
 suns.
  • This
 favella
-like
 hut
 contains
 an
 extremely
 sensitive
 and
 high
-tech
 device
 which measures in
 the 
millimetre wave 
range
 the 
extremely
 small 
variations 
and 
the
 polarization
 of
 the
 fossile
 radiation
 resulting
 from
 the
 Big
 Bang,
 the
 so
-called
 Cosmic
 Microwave
 Background
 (CMB).
  • Working 
inside
 the 
ASTEP400
 dome.
  • The
 European
 Commission
 has
 been
 particularly
 helpful
 in
 sponsoring
 the
 ARENA
 network,
 a
 coordination
 action
 under the
 Sixth
 Framework
 Programme
 (FP6).

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