Astronomers pinpoint the best place on Earth for a telescope: High on a frigid Antarctic plateau

ScienceDaily.com ^ | 29 July 2020 | University of British Columbia

[zeestephen]

According to Google, the altitude on Dome A is 4,093 meters.

[Gay State Conservative]

Much of Antarctica is,in fact,a desert.But I always thought that the very best place to put a telescope was in the Atacama Desert...a place where it can be ten years between episodes of measurable rainfall.

[Red Badger]

Is there a Starbucks nearby?....................

[P.O.E.]

Now that I’m thinking about it, what about a telescope on the dark side of the moon?

[Red Badger]

13,428 feet..................

[Ouchthatonehurt]

On earth?
Above is better.

[Red Badger]

Doesn’t have to be. Anywhere in space is fine..........unless you are trying to block out radio interference from Earth.............

[a fool in paradise]

Stick it where the Sun don’t shine.

[Red Badger]

Plus, the ‘dark side’ isn’t always dark. It’s full lit during the ‘New Moon’...............

[Yo-Yo]

Now that I’m thinking about it, what about a telescope on the dark side of the moon?

Much more expensive, and not much more effective, than a telescope in Low Earth Orbit.

It would be more viable for a radiotelescope, since the mass of the Moon would block terrestrial interference. But even then, we would need permanent colonies on the Moon before establishing any sort of telescope there.

[PLMerite]

I think we know how this turns out...

[C210N]

There is no “dark” side of the moon, but there is a far side (no relation to the cartoons of that name).

A telescope on the far side would be interesting - it would need an orbiter communication system, as there would be no direct signal to earth.

[budj]

OK, team, let’s focus on Polaris!

[left that other site]

Lousy Commute, though.

[Berosus]

I believe the Cerro Tololo observatory is in the Atacama Desert. It’s in northern Chile, anyway.

[Berosus]

The main drawback to a location in Antarctica is that you can only look at objects in the southern hemisphere of the sky.

[P.O.E.]

‘There is no dark side of the moon really. As a matter of fact it’s all dark... and the thing that makes it look alight is the sun.’”

- Jerry Driscoll, Pink Floyd’s doorman.

[P.O.E.]

Never thought about signalling, you’re right.

[xp38]

It has its pluses and minuses. A -75C degree air temp is one of them. Also located in Antarctica it would miss a good chunk of the northern sky which say telescopes in Hawaii and Chile can observe.

[Wuli]

To me the best place for a human near earth telescope is on the moon. It would also be the basis for an initial permanent science colony. Or, maybe we could maneuver the Hubble into a moon orbit. Either way the view would be unobstructed by the earth’s atmosphere.