| Issue |
EAS Publications Series
Volume 14, 2005
Dome C Astronomy and Astrophysics Meeting
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 211 - 217 | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/eas:2005033 | |
| Published online | 05 January 2006 | |
M. Giard, F. Casoli and F. Paletou (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 14 (2005) 211-217
KEOPS: towards exo-Earths from Dome C of Antarctica
1
Laboratoire Univ. d'Astrophysique de Nice (LUAN), CNRS UMR 6525, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 02, France
2
OCA/FRESNEL, CNRS UMR 6528, Bd. de l'Observatoire, BP. 4229, 06304 Nice, France
This paper describes a coronagraphic nulling interferometer called KEOPS (Kiloparsec Explorer for Optical Planet Search) to be placed on the Dome C plateau of Antarctica. KEOPS is an interferometric array of 39 1 m–2 m telescopes spread over kilometric baselines and operated in the thermal IR region. It could search and characterize all potential exoEarths within the 1 kpc diameter region observable from Dome C. We argue that even in the very difficult operation conditions of Antarctica, such a facility can compete at a much lower cost with the non-zero risk space missions, both for for ExPNs search and their spectroscopic characterization plus sub-mas snap-shot imaging of galactic and extra-galactic compact sources.
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2005