Australian scientists discover ideal site for observatory in Antarctica

Australian scientists have discovered what they claim to the coldest, driest place in the world on Australian soil. They say this could be the hub for anew generation of advanced astronomy.

The area known as Ridge A is located deep in the heart of the Australian Antarctic Territory – about 100 km from the south pole and could provide the perfect setting for a space observatory.

According to Dr Will Saunders, the Anglo-Australian Observatory research team leader, there is a constant wind blowing off Antartica and it starts in the middle which is like the eye of the storm. He adds that the eye of the storm also happens to be the eye of the polar vortex and the huge winds happening high up in the stratosphere and the eye of the hurricane are basically over the same place. At that point the air is calm right from the ground level all the way to the stratosphere and one can see straight out into space, he says.

Saunders adds that the area is better for observing space by a factor of three compared to other earth-based telescopes and could offer a good vantage point for capturing stunning images which could be every bit as good as the ones sent by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The areas near Ridge A are already under development for construction of observatories and other astronomical facilities. A Chinese telescope is being constructed 150 km away at an area called Dome A and a French/Italian telescope is planned 2000 km from Ridge A for completion by 2012.

Apart from its remoteness, other factors that make the area particularly suitable for astronomical observations are its average temperature of -70 deg C and the fact that the entire atmosphere here is sometimes less than the thickness of a human hair.