Automated Site Testing from Antarctica

School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia

Corresponding author: j.storey@phys.unsw.edu.au

Abstract

Over the past decade we have developed a series of increasingly sophisticated robotic instruments for site testing in Antarctica. These range from exceedingly low power cloud monitors to fully autonomous 30 cm telescopes, and cover from the ultraviolet to the sub-mm. These instruments have been very successful at characterising the Antarctic sky, and have demonstrated beyond doubt the advantages Antarctic plateau sites offer over observatories at temperate locations.