ARENA Releases Ten-year Vision for European Astronomy and Astrophysics at Dome C
22.02.2010 - Atmosphere & Space, Antarctic
In February 2010 the ARENA network (Antarctic Research, a European Network for Astrophysics) issued a press release outlining its 100-page “Vision for European Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Antarctic Station Concordia Dome C in the next decade”.
The ARENA network was created in January 2004 as a four-year European coordination action within the 6th Framework Programme, bringing together 22 partners in 7 EU member states plus Australia. The objectives of the programme are to define the key scientific programs and appropriate instruments to complement and stimulate the large astronomical projects currently in progress on the ground and in space. This entails installing several instruments - including telescope or two - at the Franco-Italian Concordia Station at Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau over the next decade or so.
In addition to the press release, the network has also created a public outreach webpage in English and French to raise public interest in the development of astrophysics in Antarctica.
Antarctica offers ideal conditions for astronomical observations given:
- its isolation from pollution
- its cold and dry climatic conditions
- its very slow surface wind
- the possibility of making continuous observations of the sun during the summer and deep space in the winter
- providing access to new spectral windows at infrared and submillimetre wavelengths, something that is not possible at observatories at lower latitudes.
