Summary

Site testing data provides an essential part of the justi¯cation for funding any new astronomical facility by de¯ning the technological design and determining the telescope performance, thus allowing the scienti¯c objectives to be prioritised. Here we review the current sta- tus of site testing at Dome C by examining the range of instruments that have been, or are planned to be, deployed to the site. We then investigate in more detail preliminary data which has so far proven crucial for telescope design, data for which discrepancies exist between two or more instruments, and required data for which there are no cur- rent plans to obtain. We discuss the implications of this data on the technical design, expected performance, and the scienti¯c capabilities for a 2.5 m class optical/infrared telescope. Finally, we identify the site parameters that require further study, and de¯ne the experiments necessary to determine these parameters.

Authors:Lawrence J.S. Ashley M.C.B. Burton M.G. Gillingham P.G. McGrath A. Haynes R. Saunders W. Storey J.W.V. Published in: 2010 Category 3: Conference paper Program area: Space and Atmospheric Sciences
Lawrence J.S., Ashley M.C.B., Burton M.G., Gillingham P.G., McGrath A., Haynes R., Saunders W., Storey J.W.V. (2010) Dome C site testing: implications for science and technology of future telescopes, Proceedings of the 3rd ARENA Conference, EAS Publications Series 40. 33-43;

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