Conference Proceedings
POST: A polar stratospheric telescope
H Ford, P Bely, J Bally, J Crocker, M Dopita, J Tilley, R White, R Allen, F Bartko, R Brown, R Burg, C Burrows, M Clampin, D Harper, G Illingworth, R McCray, S Meyer, J Mould, C Norman
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering | Published : 1994
DOI: 10.1117/12.176198
Abstract
The lower stratosphere in the polar regions offers conditions for observation in the near-infrared comparable to those obtained from space. We describe a concept for a 6-meter, diluted aperture, near-infrared telescope carried by a tethered aerostat flying at 12 km altitude, to serve as a testbed for future space astronomical observatories while producing frontier science.