Motivations for Imaging Spectroscopy at Dome C

TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential advantages of Dome C in Antarctica for imaging spectroscopy, highlighting its unique atmospheric conditions that could benefit various astronomical observations and studies.

Contribution

It evaluates the suitability of Dome C for optical spectroscopy, emphasizing its potential benefits for specific astronomical applications.

Findings

Dome C's atmospheric conditions reduce sky background and turbulence.

Imaging spectroscopy at Dome C can enhance follow-up studies of IR surveys.

Site conditions are advantageous for long-term monitoring and crowded field studies.

Abstract

Antarctica offers unique conditions for ground-based observations, such as low sky background in the infrared, improved seeing, and low turbulence and scintillation noise. These properties are particularly beneficial to imaging, precision photometry, and infrared observations. It may be less clear if Antarctica offers equally compelling advantages for spectroscopy, in particular in the optical domain. However, scientific programmes that make use of imaging (or 3D) spectroscopy for selected follow-up studies of IR surveys, long-term monitoring of extended targets and resolved stellar population studies in crowded fields, also benefit from the site conditions at Dome C.