Microwave/millimeter-wave Observations At The South Pole
The South Pole is the premier observing site in the world for millimeter-wavelength observations. The Pole's high altitude (2.8 km/1.7 mi above sea level) means the atmosphere is thin, and the extreme cold keeps the amount of water vapor in the air low. This is particularly important for observing at millimeter wavelengths, where incoming signals can be absorbed by water vapor, and where water vapor emits radiation that can be confused with astronomical signals. Because the sun does not rise and set daily, the atmosphere at the pole is particularly stable. Further, there is no interference from the sun in the millimeter range during the months of polar night. Of course, from this location, only the southern celestial sky can be observed; the northern sky is permanently inaccessible.
Read more about this topic: South Pole Telescope
Famous quotes containing the words microwave, observations, south and/or pole:
“The New Age? It’s just the old age stuck in a microwave oven for fifteen seconds.”
—James Randi (b. 1928)
“All observations point to the fact that the intellectual woman is masculinized; in her, warm, intuitive knowledge has yielded to cold unproductive thinking.”
—Helene Deutsch (1884–1982)
“The white gulls south of Victoria
catch tossed crumbs in midair.
When anyone hears the Catbird
he gets lonesome.”
—Gary Snyder (b. 1930)
“Not because Socrates has said it, but because it is really in my nature, and perhaps a little more than it should be, I look upon all humans as my fellow-citizens, and would embrace a Pole as I would a Frenchman, subordinating this national tie to the common and universal one.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)