REFIR@DomeC Home Page

REFIR-PAD @ Dome C

Auxiliary instruments and measurements

Contact: Giovanni Bianchini, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO-CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (I) Tel. +39.055.522.6309, Fax. +39.055.522.6348

Several auxiliary measurements are provided to integrate REFIR-PAD infrared spectra:

  • A Vaisala WXT520 weather station providing Temperature, Atmospheric Pressure and Relative Humidity at the level of the REFIR-PAD measurement port on the roof of the Physics Shelter (about 6 meters above ground).
  • A zenith-looking webcam with a NIR low-pass filter (about 700 nm cutoff frequency) to monitor the sky conditions through the REFIR-PAD measurement port and detect clouds during summer.
    Webcam and view port Shelter roof and weather station

  • An infrared radiometer with a Winston cone to match approximately the field of view of the REFIR-PAD instrument to detect clouds during winter. A similar radiometer, without light collecting optics bot provided with a VIS-UV detector is also placed on the roof of the Physics shelter, providing additional information on the sky conditions both during summer and winter.
    Coaxial radiometer Full sky radiometer

  • An NTP server to provide an autonomous time reference that is independent from both the satellite internet link and the network connection between the station and the Physics Shelter. The server is located inside the shelter and gets GPS signal from an antenna beside the REFIR-PAD measurement port. The address of the server is 192.168.14.3 or shelterfisica.concordiastation.aq, and provides its frequency stability graphs via web interface:
    NTP loop NTP NMEA NTP PPS