The Gattini-UV South Pole camera

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。该提案寻求资金，以继续在南极站使用Gattini-UV相机进行天文学现场测试调查，该相机将首次提供天文学U和B波段的天空亮度数据。这项研究工作的目标如下：（a）在天文学U和B波段描述南极冬季天空的特征，以便为今后进行更大规模的实验奠定基础，例如直接探测银河系介质的莱曼α辐射;（B）为其他前沿科学案例提供基本数据，这些案例实际上不需要仪器引起的噪声，精密的背景减除，并且在这些精确的波长下对图像质量不变;（c）从0至45度的天顶角测量U和B波段中的大气消光;（d）对出现在U和B波段的两条最明亮的气辉线进行频繁和广泛的观测，及（e）对U及B波段两条最明亮的极光线进行频密及广泛的观测。这个实验数据集将是独一无二的，它的潜在意义将与多个学科相关，包括天文学家，天文学家和极光科学家。相机设计将基于目前在Dome A和Dome C成功运行的Gattini仪器，并增加了准直器的适应性，以在瞳孔图像处加入窄带滤波器。相机本质上是过境的（即，天空相对于CCD移动），并使用视场内的恒星来校准天空背景通量。对学生的持续依赖为这项拟议的研究提供了更广泛的影响，并在其教育使命中为这项努力奠定了坚实的基础。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The proposal seeks funding to continue astronomical site-testing investigations at the South Pole Station using the Gattini-UV camera that will provide data on sky brightness in the Astronomical U and B bands for the very first time. The objectives of this research effort are the following: (a) characterize the South Pole winter sky in the Astronomical U and B bands to provide a foundation for future larger-scale experiments such as direct detection of Lyman-alpha emission of the Intergalactic Medium; (b) provide fundamental data for other leading-edge science cases that require virtually no instrument-induced noise, exquisite background subtraction, and are invariant to image quality at these precise wavelengths; (c) measure the atmospheric extinction in the U and B bands from a zenith angle of 0 to 45 degrees; (d) obtain frequent and wide field observations of two of the brightest airglow lines occurring in the U and B bands, and (e) produce frequent and wide field observations of two of the brightest auroral lines in the U and B bands. This experimental dataset will be unique, and its potential significance will have relevance across several disciplines, including astronomers, aeronomers, and auroral scientists. The camera design will be based on the successful Gattini instruments currently operating at Dome A and Dome C, with the added adaptation of a collimator to incorporate narrow band filters at the pupil image. The camera is transit in nature (i.e., the sky moves relative to the CCD) and uses stars within the field to calibrate the sky background flux. Continued reliance on students provides a broader impact of this proposed research and firmly grounds this effort in its educational mission.