* Astronomy

During December 2008 and January 2009, scientists from around the world are examining an Antarctic snowfield using a variety of different satellites. The purpose of this exercise is to see how measurements from each satellite differ when viewing the same patch of ground, and then to see how this information can be best used to improve the performance of individual satellites and the data they produce. Ultimately this will lead to improvements in the quality of satellite data that is used in climate studies and improve our ability to mitigate appropriately.
The measurements for this intercomparison exercise will be taken over a snowfield in Antarctica known as 'DOME C'. These can only be performed in December and January when the Sun is relatively high in the sky during the southern hemisphere summer.

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Title: Solar Physics and the Solar-Stellar Connection at Dome C
Authors: C. Denker (1), K. G. Strassmeier (1) ((1)Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, Germany)

Solar magnetic fields evolve on many time-scales, e.g., the generation, migration, and dissipation of magnetic flux during the 22-year magnetic cycle of the Sun. Active regions develop and decay over periods of weeks. The build-up of magnetic shear in active regions can occur within less than a day. At the shortest time-scales, the magnetic field topology can change rapidly within a few minutes as the result of eruptive events such as flares, filament eruptions, and coronal mass ejections. The unique daytime seeing characteristics at Dome C, i.e., continuous periods of very good to excellent seeing during almost the entire Antarctic summer, allow us to address many of the top science cases related to the evolution of solar magnetic fields. We introduce the Advanced Solar Photometric Imager and Radiation Experiment and present the science cases for synoptic solar observations at Dome C. Furthermore, common science cases concerning the solar-stellar connection are discussed in the context of the proposed International Concordia Explorer Telescope.

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The new South Pole Telescope has successfully collected its first light as part of a long-term project to unravel one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology, researchers announced today.
The goal of SPT is to learn the nature of mysterious dark energy, an antigravity force that permeates the cosmos and is driving the universe apart at an ever-increasing pace.
The telescope does not make conventional images. Instead, it will take advantage of excellent viewing conditions—cold and dry—in Antarctica to detect the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. The CMB is said to be the afterglow of the Big Bang.

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China plans to build an observatory at the South Pole, setting up 400 telescopes there over the next 10 years in cooperation with the United States, Australia and France.
The observatory will be built at Dome A, the highest point on the continent at 4,093 meters above sea level. Dome A is located at latitude 80.22 south and longitude 77.21 east, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

"The images taken by the telescopes at the South Pole may be almost as good as those of the Hubble Space Telescope" - Ye Shuhua, a CAS academician.

The South Pole has the clearest sky on Earth, allowing scientists to obtain very sharp images of sky phenomena. In scientific parlance, "seeing conditions" are excellent because Antarctica's bitter cold removes the thermal background radiation that reduces the sensitivity of telescopes in warmer climates.
China has decided to build a third permanent research station at Dome A, which will support the construction of the observatory.
Ye, who is also the director of the China Antarctic Astronomical Centre, which was founded at the end of 2006, said the United States and Australia had built telescopes at Dome C Icecap, which is 3,280 meters above sea level at latitude 74.50 south and longitude 123.00 east.

"The telescopes at Dome A may turn out to be more sensitive than Dome C because the wind is not so strong at Dome A. The cost of the South Pole Observatory is higher than at other sites on Earth, but lower than the cost of a space telescope" - Ye Shuhua.

She said China will cooperate with the United States, Australia and France to build 400 telescopes, each with a diameter of 50 centimetres, in order to explore dark energy and other mysterious substances in the sky.

Source: Xinhua