Report of progress on the instalation of an optical robotic observatory at the argentine base Belgrano II

MELITA, MARIO DANIEL; J.I. ZULUAGA

VIRTUAL

Congreso; SCAR AAA 2021; 2021

Scientific Comitee of Antartic Research (SCAR), Astronomy and Astrophysics from Antartica (AAA)

Our objective is the development of a robotic optical observatory designed to house a 20" telescope with a low focal ratio of abou f/3. Naturally, this project will take advantage of observing at very high latitudes during the southern night. The scientific objectives will be focused on high brightness point sources with valuable information for various areas of astronomy such as Planetary Sciences or Stellar Astrophysics and also on Planetary and Space Defense through the detection of potentially dangerous objects in the Solar System and space junk . This project is part of the National Antarctic Plan, has passed the environmental impact requirements and was elevated to the Antarctic Treaty countries. In this presentation we will detail the characteristics of the observatory and its fundamental motivations, the current state of development, the difficulties encountered in the process and the missing tasks for completion.