期刊名称：Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales
印刷版ISSN：0035-9173
出版年度：2012
卷号：145
期号：1
页码：2-18
语种：English
出版社：The Society
摘要：The summits of the Antarctic plateau provide superlative conditions for optical and infrared astronomy on account of the dry, cold and stable atmosphere. A telescope on one would be more sensitive, and provide better imaging quality, than if placed anywhere else on the Earth. Building such a telescope is, of course, challenging, and so requires a strong scientific motivation. This article describes the evolution of the science case proposed for an Antarctic optical / infrared telescope, outlining the key arguments made in five separate studies from 1994 to 2010. These science cases, while designed to exploit the advantages that Antarctica provides, also needed to be cognisant of developments in astronomy elsewhere. This has seen a remarkable transformation in capability over this period, with new technologies and new telescopes, on the ground and in space. We discuss here how the science focus and the capabilities envisaged for prospective Antarctic telescopes has also changed along with these international developments. There remain frontier science programs where a 2m class Antarctic optical and infrared telescope offers significant gains over any other facility elsewhere, either current or planned.
