South Pole offers ideal location to observe the mysteries of the universe
The South Pole External U.S. government site is the most benign place on Earth. Just ask William L. Holzapfel External Non-U.S. government site, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley External Non-U.S. government site.
"This is the most benign environment on Earth," he said as we climbed into the narrow indoor cavity housing the mount that once supported a couple of telescopes that helped astronomers refine our understanding of the universe.
Australian researchers have set up a new, fully robotic astronomical observatory on the highest point of the Antarctic plateau. It will send information back to scientists at the University of New South Wales via satellite. The project, for International Polar Year, also involves researchers from China, the United States and the UK.
A robotic observatory installed at a high-altitude site in Antarctica will search for planets orbiting other stars and test the site's potential for more ambitious observatories that could follow. The site may offer the best astronomical sky conditions in the world.