Performance of the autonomous PLATO Antarctic Observatory over two full years

Daniel M. Luong-Van; Michael C. B. Ashley; Xiangqun Cui; Jon R. Everett; Longlong Feng; Xuefei Gong; Shane Hengst; Jon S. Lawrence; John W. V. Storey; Lifan Wang; Huigen Yang; Ji Yang; Xu Zhou; Zhengxi Zhu

doi:10.1117/12.857910

4 August 2010 Performance of the autonomous PLATO Antarctic Observatory over two full years

Daniel M. Luong-Van, Michael C. B. Ashley, Xiangqun Cui, Jon R. Everett, Longlong Feng, Xuefei Gong, Shane Hengst, Jon S. Lawrence, John W. V. Storey, Lifan Wang, Huigen Yang, Ji Yang, Xu Zhou, Zhengxi Zhu

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7733, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes III; 77331T (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857910
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

For continuous observation at locations that are inhospitable for humans, the desirability of autonomous observatories is self evident. PLATO, the 'PLATeau Observatory' was designed to host an easily configurable instrument suite in the extremely cold conditions on the Antarctic plateau, and can provide up to 1 kW of power for the instruments. Powered by jet fuel and the Sun, PLATO and its instruments have been taking nearly uninterrupted astronomical science and sitetesting data at Dome A, the coldest, highest and driest location¹ on the Antarctic Plateau, since their deployment by the 24th Chinese expedition team in January 2008. At the time of writing, PLATO has delivered a total uptime of 730 days. Following a servicing mission by the 25th Chinese expedition team in 2008-9, PLATO has achieved 100% up-time (520 days) and has been in continuous contact with the rest of the world via its Iridium satellite modems. This paper discusses the performance of the observatory itself, assesses the sources of energy and dissects how the energy is divided between the core observatory functions of instrument power, heating, control and communication.

Citation Download Citation

Daniel M. Luong-Van, Michael C. B. Ashley, Xiangqun Cui, Jon R. Everett, Longlong Feng, Xuefei Gong, Shane Hengst, Jon S. Lawrence, John W. V. Storey, Lifan Wang, Huigen Yang, Ji Yang, Xu Zhou, and Zhengxi Zhu "Performance of the autonomous PLATO Antarctic Observatory over two full years", Proc. SPIE 7733, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes III, 77331T (4 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857910

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available