Loneliest Observatory in Antarctica Looks to the Stars

[mickw]

A new robotic observatory at the highest point of the Antarctic Plateau will continuously survey the skies on its own for almost a year.

The coldest and driest place on Earth makes an ideal location for stargazing without much in the way of clouds or bad weather — not to mention Antarctica's four months of complete darkness.

"We're taking 10-second exposures of the sky for four months," said Lifan Wang, a Texas A&M astrophysicist who compared the hoped-for final results with "a movie of the sky."

More: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/080213-tw-plato-antarctica.html