Bădescu Octavian1,2, Popescu Petre1, Paraschiv

Petre1, Nedelcu Alin1

1
Astronomical Institute of Romanian Academy
2
Technical University of Civil Engineering, Faculty of
Geodesy

The 3rd International Symposium on Polar

Scientific Research Bucharest, 2008, June 27
1. Location choice;
2. Instrument transport;
3. Instrument setting up:
a) Assembling;
b) Fixing on position;
c) Adjustments and calibrations;
d) In situ testing and maintenance.

The 3rd International Symposium on Polar Scientific Research, 2

• Antarctic region (South Pole);
• Romanian-Australian scientific polar station Law-Racovita;
• Latitude 69°23'18".61S, Longitude 76°22'46".2E;
• In Larsemann Hills zone, East Antarctica, 3 km from Ingrid
Christensen coast;
• Distance from Bucharest ~ 13 300 km;
• Vicinity: 2 km up to Zhong Shan Chinese Station; 1 km up to
Progress II Russian Station.
• Access:
 by helicopter from Davis Australian Station situated at 80
km distant;
 by motorized resources from Chinese or Russian Stations;
 on foot, on preset track.
• Law-Racovita Station is operated by Polar Research
TheRomanian
rd
Institute
3 International Symposium on Polar Scientific Research, 3
 Law-Racovita Polar Station

Bucharest – Law-Racovita ~ 13 300 km

http://www.polar-institute.ro
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 Law-Racovita Polar Station

http://www.polar-institute.ro
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 Law-Racovita Polar Station

http://www.polar-institute.ro
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• Greenland (North Pole);
• North of the Arctic Circle and 100 km inland from the
west coast of Greenland;
• Research station is known around the world as the
Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric Research Facility in K
, Greenland, and is dedicated to polar upper
atmosphere studies (http://www.isr.sri.com);
• Since 1983 the station is operated by SRI (Stanford
Research Institute) International in Menlo Park,
California, under the auspices of the U.S.
National Science Foundation and in joint cooperation
with Denmark's Meteorological Institute;
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• The Sondrestrom Station hosts a
wide range of optical and radio-wave
instruments operated for a variety of
universities and government labs:
 Multichannel photometer,
Imaging spectrograph, Ozone
spectrometer, UV spectrometer,
Three-axis magnetometer,
Tomographic GPS, Solid Earth GPS
(seismic detector and absolute
gravimeter*)
Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric
Research Facility in Kangerlussuaq,
Greenland
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Sondrestrom Station

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 First choice: Law-Racovita Polar
Station
• by airplane up to China or
Australia;
• by ship or airplane up to
Antarctica;
Second choice:
• by hellicopter or another means
Sondrestrom
transportation upStation
to Law-Racovita
•base.
by airplane until
Kangerlussuaq;
• 15 km up to Sondrestrom
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• Assembling
 Optical/mechanical systems
assembling depends on transport
facilities;
 The link between optical/mechanical,
images acquisition and data
transmission systems has to be made;
• Fixing on position
 depend on the real conditions in
terrain;
 stable ground, rocky terrain, concrete
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a) Adjustments
 Polar alignment:
- For equatorial configuration;
- High accuracy especially for
deep-sky

observations;
 Leveling:
- For alt-azimuthal configuration;
- Both for astronomical and
astro-geodetical
observations;
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  Determination of telescope position in
polar zone:
- Astronomical and geodetical
coordinates;
- Both for equatorial and alt-azimuthal

configuration;
- High accuracy, function of
observations
types.
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 Facile transit between horizontal and
equatorial coordinates;
 Extend the range of astronomical
observations;
 Permit to solve one main problem on
which the entire observational programs
depend: determination of the accurate
astro-geodetic telescope position in the
polar zone by means of telescope itself;
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  Astro-geodetic observations can be
integrated with gravity determinations
carried out at Sondrestrom Station by
*absolute gravimeter*.
Solid Earth GPS programme (seismic detector and absolute
gravimeter) at Sondrestrom Station

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 All three 
olar alignment operations are
already tested. 
eveling

stronomical and
geodetical
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• Sondrestrom Station is more accessible than Law-Racovita
Base;
 Near to the more scientific and technical facilities;
 Better accommodation conditions for the instruments
operator;
 In 2008, at Sondrestrom Station, our team together with
the staff station (Sondrestrom Site Supervisor eng. Eggert
Gudmundsson), investigations were made regarding setting
instrument conditions and some technical details. On
principal, through installation of the instrument in the east
area of the polar base can be avoided some inconvenient
related to auroras, laser beam used by some instruments,
parasite light as well as distance restricts due to the lengths
of the connection cables;
 Already
The weSymposium
3 International
rd
have aonwritten agreement
Polar Scientific Research, with SRI (Stanford 17
• Concerning cost, Sondrestrom Station is more convenient.
• From the astrometrical point of view it is better in the
southern hemisphere because of the relative small number
of required observations and observatories.

Discussions with Sondrestrom Station Staff (Site Supervisor, Eng.

Eggert Gudmundsson) regarding setting up conditions of the Polar
Robotic Telescope (2008, March).
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1
5

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 Alt-
azimuthal Equatorial
configurat configurat
ion ion

Horizontal Equatorial/Hour
coordinates coordinates

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