Astronomy within Antarctica The past and the present

Abstract

Early astronomy activities were not practiced until the 1950s, however today the activities are undergoing at four plateau sites: the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Concordia Station at Dome A, Kunlun Station at Dome A and Fuji Station at Dome F, in addition to the long duration ballooning from the coastal station of McMurdo, at stations run by the USA, France / Italy, China, Japan and the USA respectively (Indermuehle et al. 2004). All these programs are operating with great difficulties due to natural environment and technology limitations; however the temptation of the ideal astronomical laboratory has always been the driving force to astronomers to overcome the difficulties. This review presents a general introduction of Antarctic astronomy, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of conducting astronomy in Antarctica. At last, the review will summerise the achivements of the past astronomy researches, and looks at the future of astronomy in Antarctica.