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Inuksuit: robotic astronomical site-testing stations in the Canadian High Arctic. Hickson, Paul
Abstract
Coastal mountains at Canada's northern tip possess many of the desirable properties that make the Antarctic glacial plateau attractive for astronomy: they are cold, high, dry, and in continuous darkness for several months in winter. Satellite images suggest that they should also benefit from clear skies for a fraction of time comparable to the best mid-latitude sites, and conventional site-selection criteria point to good seeing. In order to confirm these conditions, we are testing three mountain sites on northwestern Ellesmere Island, in Nunavut. On each we have installed a compact, autonomous site-testing station consisting of a meteorological station, a simple optical/near-infrared camera for sensing cloud cover, and - at one site - a more advanced all-sky viewing camera. The systems were deployed by helicopter and run on batteries recharged by wind (a compact methanol fuel cell is under study as a supplementary power source). Effective two-way communications via the Iridium satellite network allows a limited number of highly compressed images to be transferred. The full-winter dataset is stored at the site on flash-drives, thus requiring a return visit to retrieve, but day-to-day station performance can be assessed using telemetry and a computer model. Based on site-testing results, the plan is to select one site for the addition of a seeing monitor and a small but scientifically productive telescope. Copyright 2008 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
Item Metadata
Title |
Inuksuit: robotic astronomical site-testing stations in the Canadian High Arctic.
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Creator | |
Publisher |
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
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Date Issued |
2008
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Description |
Coastal mountains at Canada's northern tip possess many of the desirable properties that make the Antarctic glacial plateau attractive for astronomy:
they are cold, high, dry, and in continuous darkness for several months in winter. Satellite images suggest that they should also benefit from clear
skies for a fraction of time comparable to the best mid-latitude sites, and conventional site-selection criteria point to good seeing. In order to
confirm these conditions, we are testing three mountain sites on northwestern Ellesmere Island, in Nunavut. On each we have installed a compact,
autonomous site-testing station consisting of a meteorological station, a simple optical/near-infrared camera for sensing cloud cover, and - at one
site - a more advanced all-sky viewing camera. The systems were deployed by helicopter and run on batteries recharged by wind (a compact methanol fuel
cell is under study as a supplementary power source). Effective two-way communications via the Iridium satellite network allows a limited number of highly
compressed images to be transferred. The full-winter dataset is stored at the site on flash-drives, thus requiring a return visit to retrieve, but day-to-day
station performance can be assessed using telemetry and a computer model. Based on site-testing results, the plan is to select one site for the addition
of a seeing monitor and a small but scientifically productive telescope.
Copyright 2008 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution,
duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2011-09-19
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0107610
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Citation |
Steinbring, Eric; Leckie, Brian; Welle, Paul; Hardy, Tim; Cole, Bruce; Bayne, Dell; Croll, Bryce; Walker, David E.; Carlberg, Raymond G.; Fahlman, Gregory G.; Wallace, Brad; Hickson, Paul. Inuksuit: robotic astronomical site-testing stations in the Canadian High Arctic. Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes II, edited by Larry M. Stepp, Roberto Gilmozzi. Proceedings of SPIE Volume 7012, 70121V, 2008.
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Publisher DOI |
10.1117/12.789531
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Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Faculty
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Copyright Holder |
Hickson, Paul
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Rights URI | |
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International