Continuing Operation of the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO)

南极亚毫米波望远镜和远程天文台（AST/RO）旨在研究天文源发射的电磁辐射中最少探索的波段之一。 亚毫米波辐射，频率约为300千兆赫（每秒数十亿个周期）上升到太赫兹（每秒万亿次）的范围，是由恒星之间的致密气体和尘埃发射的，和亚毫米波观测使我们能够以前所未有的细节研究作用于该气体的星系力以及其中的星星形成过程。AST/RO是一个直径1.7米的单-碟形仪器已在南极站的几个波段运行了六年，在几个平方度的天空区域内具有角分分辨率。 AST/RO相对较大的视场允许观测银河系第四象限和麦哲伦云的星际分子云，以定位恒星形成核心并详细研究我们银河系中致密气体的动力学。 在不同的星系环境下，对不同重元素含量的分子云的研究向我们展示了分子云的结构，新形成的恒星如何对云产生反应，以及星系力如何影响云的结构。 AST/RO被认为是计划中的仪器的试验台和先驱，这些仪器将继续研究从最早期到现在整个宇宙中恒星是如何形成的。AST/RO的能力至关重要的是其作为阿蒙森-斯科特南极站的位置，这是一个非常寒冷，干燥的场地，具有独特的物流机会和挑战。 来自天文源的大多数亚毫米辐射在到达地球表面之前被不规则浓度的大气水蒸气吸收。 南极站上空干燥的空气使我们能够在银河系及其伴星系的尺度上对亚毫米波的功率水平进行精确的相互比较。

The Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO) is designed to investigate one of the least explored bands of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical sources. Submillimeter-wave radiation, at frequencies from about 300 Gigahertz (billions of cycles per second) up into the Terahertz (trillions of cycles per second) range, is emitted by dense gas and dust between the stars, and submillimeter-wave observations allow us to study in unprecedented detail the galactic forces acting upon that gas and the star formation processes within it. AST/RO is a 1.7 meter diameter single-dish instrument, which has been operating for six years at South Pole station in several wave bands with arcminute resolution over regions of sky which are several square degrees in size. AST/RO's relatively large field of view allows the observation of interstellar molecular clouds throughout the fourth quadrant of the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds, in order to locate star-forming cores and study in detail the dynamics of dense gas in our own galaxy. Studies of molecular clouds with varying heavy element content under a variety of galactic environments shows us how molecular clouds are structured, how the newly-formed stars react back on the cloud, and how galactic forces affect cloud structure. AST/RO is recognized as the test bed and progenitor of planned instruments which will go on to study how stars form throughout the universe from the earliest times to the present. Essential to AST/RO's capabilities is its location as Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, an exceptionally cold, dry site which has unique logistical opportunities and challenges. Most submillimeter radiation from astronomical sources is absorbed by irregular concentrations of atmospheric water vapor before it reaches the Earth's surface. The dry air over South Pole Station allows an accurate intercomparison of submillimeter-wave power levels on the scale of the Milky Way and its companion galaxies.