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Astronomers Find the Calmest Place On Earth
The Narrative Fallacy writes "Live Science reports that astronomers in search of the perfect site to take pictures of the heavens have combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models in a study to assess the many factors that affect image quality — cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapor, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence. They have pinpointed the coldest, driest, calmest place on earth, known simply as Ridge A, 13,297 feet high on the Antarctic Plateau. 'It's so calm that there's almost no wind or weather there at all,' says study leader Will Saunders, of the Anglo-Australian Observatory. 'The astronomical images taken at Ridge A should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers.' Located within the Australian Antarctic Territory, the site is 89 miles from the PLATO (PLATeau Observatory) international robotic observatory. The new site would be superior to the best existing observatories on high mountain tops in Hawaii and Chile, Saunders says. 'Because the sky there is so much darker and drier, it means that a modestly-sized telescope would be as powerful as the largest telescopes anywhere else on earth.'"
but I still think the best spot for observational astronomy has to be the far side of the Moon. You've got several thousand miles of light and EM shielding, and a good couple weeks' seeing a month when the Sun goes down. Once the 'scopes cool off, there's no warping. What's not to love?
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
It's also in the Middle of Nowhere. So getting to it is going to be very expensive.
Anyhow, we're on to you, Mr. I'm-extraordinarily-antisocial Astronomer. We are not going to support your social avoidance issues with a multimillion dollar playpen. Just take your meds!
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Isn't that where the second Stargate resides?
Hey..I can see my house from here.
Quick, before anyone else can, let's raise some venture capital and build a few resorts there.
The commercial practically writes itself!
Ridge A villas, your ticket to paradise on earth!*
*Ridge A Villas is not responsible for hypothermia, loss of limbs due to gangrene, or Abominable Snowman attacks. Any lawsuit filed against Ridge A Villas must be filed in Antarctica county district court jurisdiction within 90 hours of the incident.
Could someone convert that into a number the rest of the world understands?
Located within the Australian Antarctic Territory
Note that the USA, Russia, China, and many other countries do not recognize this territory as being in any way Australian.
Except for the fact that it's in fucking Antarctica? I think the researchers currently in Hawaii would be pretty annoyed to have to move. :-)
It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
...the danger of fire is very low - take note, Mount Wilson Observatory!
1331461 is only semiprime *sigh* Alas - I am just short of 1337.
I wonder why the Katabatic winds don't blow there. I thought the entire continent was pretty much consumed by these winds. Learn something new everyday.
Authority questions you. Return the favor.
It's 89 km from Plato - a Chinese-Australian robotic observatory at "Dome A".
That's at 80 deg 22' S 77 deg 21' E and 4093 meters above sea level.
I have to wonder if it's that much better than PLATO that there is a need for 2 observatories 89 km apart.
Oh, give me a home where the penguins roam
And the frigid astronomers play
Where seldom is heard a single word
And the skies are not cloudy all day
How often at night when the heavens are bright
With the light from the glittering stars
Have I stood there amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds that of ours
Home, home on Ridge A
And the frigid astronomers play
Where seldom is heard a single word
And the skies are not cloudy all day
Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free
The breezes so calm and light
That I would not exchange my home on Ridge A
For all of the cities so bright
To be fair, the reasons for not recognizing the territory are ostensibly noble; they theoretically believe that the continent should be treated as a shared resource with limited exploitation (primarily for scientific purposes). Granted, both Russia and the US "reserve the right" to make territorial claims in the future, but to do so they'd have to withdraw from the Antarctic Treaty (which explicitly forbids new territorial claims, and explicitly fails to either recognize or dispute pre-existing claims). I can't find any evidence that China has made similar statements (they are also a signatory on the treaty, and therefore can't make claims), but I'm sure if the treaty were broken they would try and get in on the action.
$_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
Newsflash, plenty of telescopes already reside in Antarctica, some within walking distance of the South Pole (They had one installed). A small colony of scientists spend winters there (not permanently). The idea of sticking a research station with nuclear batteries in there is not out of the question. Certainly not if they make it automated.
No weather at all? Wonder what those people will talk about:
- God it's so nothing out there!
- You tell me, I've been out there the whole morning! I can't stand this nothingness anymore...
- Hey, have you seen the snow today? It's kind of yellower today isn't it?
...because now that it's set a record, it will be full of tourists.
Let me remind you how colonialism works. You get to keep whatever you claim and which nobody else can force you to relinquish. All pretence of civilization and legality when it comes to claims of "sovereignty" in cases like this are just that: pretences.
The emptiness of any "legal" claims to sovereignty over Antarctica can readily be seen by the fact that most countries ignore territorial claims and those that do have conflicting claims, yet it makes no difference. Nobody is going to insist on pressing their claims (or forcing others to relinquish their claims) because it's not worth getting into even a diplomatic spat over a "legal" absurdity.
The place where extending territorial claims is going to get nasty is on the other side of the globe -- in the Arctic. Between climate change and energy resources, we might see a shooting war there some time in the next generation.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
(southern lights)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)
wouldn't these auroras make skygazing in antarctica like trying to stargaze in the middle of new york city? (light pollution)
i know they don't go all the time, but at that far south, wouldn't you get them pretty frequently?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)#Frequency_of_occurrence
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it