The GATTINI-DomeA Project
The percentage and duration of dark time for optical astronomy is a critical value for ascertaining the quality of Dome A as a site for future optical observatory. The GATTINI instrument consists of a CCD camera for the measurement of optical sky brightness, detection of bright aurora, cloud cover, and variability of airglow of the winter sky above Dome A. The camera is located on the roof of PLATO and points towards the South Pole, taking images of the night sky every few minutes. Gattini takes wide field images (90°) using several filters including a long pass red filter for the detection of airglow.
Gattini installed on the roof of the instrument module (Jan 2009)
Gattini-Dome A fabrication team
| C. Kulesa |
Steward Observatory |
| A. Moore |
Caltech Optical Observatories (PI) |
| R. Riddle |
TMT (co-PI) |
| W. Saunders |
AAO |
| N. Tothill |
Uni Exeter (co-PI) |
| T. Travouillon |
Caltech (co-PI) |
| Z. Zhenxi |
Purple Mountain Observatory |
| G. Allen |
Solar Mobility Pty.Ltd. |
Gattini-Dome A financial contributions
| National Science Foundation |
SGER Astronomy/OPP |
| Apogee CCDs Inc. |
Sacramento, CA |
| C. Beichman |
JPL/MSC |
| P. Espy |
BAS |
| N. Suntzeff |
Texas A&M |
