Automation of the AST3 optical sky survey from Dome A, Antarctica Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • ABSTRACT The 0.5-m Antarctic Survey Telescopes (AST3) were designed for time-domain optical/infrared astronomy. They are located in DomeA, Antarctica, where they can take advantage of the continuous dark time during winter. Since the site is unattended in winter, everything for the operation, from observing to data reduction, had to be fully automated. Here, we present a brief overview of the AST3 project and some of its unique characteristics due to its location in Antarctica. We summarize the various components of the survey, including the customized hardware and software, that make complete automation possible.

published proceedings

  • MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

altmetric score

  • 1.25

author list (cited authors)

  • Ma, B., Hu, Y. i., Shang, Z., Hu, K., Wang, Y., Yang, X. u., ... Wang, L.

citation count

  • 5

complete list of authors

  • Ma, Bin||Hu, Yi||Shang, Zhaohui||Hu, Keliang||Wang, Yongjiang||Yang, Xu||Ashley, Michael CB||Yuan, Xiangyan||Wang, Lifan

publication date

  • August 2020