The First Release of the CSTAR Point Source Catalog from Dome A, Antarctica

TL;DR

This paper presents the first release of a comprehensive point source catalog from CSTAR, a robotic telescope array at Dome A, Antarctica, capturing extensive photometric data for variable and transient source studies.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed catalog of sources observed by CSTAR at Dome A, including data collection, photometry, and potential applications for variability and transient detection.

Findings

Over 0.3 million i-band images collected

Detected more than 10,000 sources down to 16 mag

Continuous monitoring of sources near the South Celestial Pole

Abstract

In 2008 January the 24th Chinese expedition team successfully deployed the Chinese Small Telescope ARray (CSTAR) to DomeA, the highest point on the Antarctic plateau. CSTAR consists of four 14.5cm optical telescopes, each with a different filter (g, r, i and open) and has a 4.5degree x 4.5degree field of view (FOV). It operates robotically as part of the Plateau Observatory, PLATO, with each telescope taking an image every 30 seconds throughout the year whenever it is dark. During 2008, CSTAR #1 performed almost flawlessly, acquiring more than 0.3 million i-band images for a total integration time of 1728 hours during 158 days of observations. For each image taken under good sky conditions, more than 10,000 sources down to 16 mag could be detected. We performed aperture photometry on all the sources in the field to create the catalog described herein. Since CSTAR has a fixed pointing centered on the South Celestial Pole (Dec =-90 degree), all the sources within the FOV of CSTAR were monitored continuously for several months. The photometric catalog can be used for studying any variability in these sources, and for the discovery of transient sources such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts and minor planets.