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)提供资金的。该提案寻求资金，以继续在南极站使用加蒂尼-UV相机进行天文现场测试调查，该相机将首次提供天文U和B波段的天空亮度数据。这项研究工作的目标如下：(A)描述天文U和B波段南极冬季天空的特征，为今后的更大规模实验提供基础，例如直接探测星系间介质的Lyman-Alpha发射；(B)为其他前沿科学案例提供基础数据，这些案例几乎不需要仪器引起的噪声，精细的背景减去，并且在这些精确波长下与图像质量不变；(C)从0度至45度的天顶角测量U和B波段的大气消光；(D)对出现在U和B波段的两条最亮的气辉线进行频繁和广泛的实地观测；(E)对U和B波段的两条最亮的极光线进行频繁和广泛的实地观测。这个实验数据集将是独一无二的，它的潜在意义将涉及几个学科，包括天文学家、航空学家和极光科学家。相机的设计将基于目前在圆顶A和圆顶C运行的成功的加蒂尼仪器，并增加了一个准直器，以在光瞳图像上加入窄带滤光片。相机在自然界中是凌日的(即，天空相对于CCD移动)，并使用场中的星星来校准天空背景流量。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，并使这一努力在其教育使命中站稳了脚跟。

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.