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Kunlun Station 昆仑站 | |
|---|---|
  Kunlun Station Location of Kunlun Station inAntarctica | |
| Coordinates:80°25′02″S77°06′58″E / 80.417139°S 77.116111°E /-80.417139; 77.116111 | |
| Country |  China |
| Location in Antarctica | East Antarctica |
| Administered by | Polar Research Institute of China |
| Established | 27 January 2009 (2009-01-27) |
| Elevation | 4,087 m (13,409 ft) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
| • Summer | 26 |
| • Winter | 0 |
| Type | Seasonal |
| Period | Summer |
| Status | Operational |
| Activities | List
|
| Website | Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration |
Kunlun Station (simplified Chinese:昆仑站;traditional Chinese:崑崙站;pinyin:Kūnlún Zhàn) is the southernmost of fiveChinese research stations inAntarctica. When it is occupied during the summer, it is the second-southernmostresearch base in Antarctica, behind only the AmericanAmundsen–Scott South Pole Station at the geographicalSouth Pole. When Kunlun is not in operation, the year-round RussianVostok Station is the second-southernmost base in Antarctica.
It is located at 4087 m above sea level on theEast Antarctic Ice Sheet, making it the highest base in Antarctica.[2] It is only 7.3 km southwest ofDome A, the highest point on theAntarctic Plateau. The station was officially opened on January 27, 2009. Fully constructed the station is planned to cover an area of 558 m2. The main building, covering 236 m2, is planned erected in April 2009.[3]
The site is one of the coldest in the world, with temperatures occasionally reaching −80 °C (−112 °F) in the winter. It is indicated from satellite measurements that places nearby could reach a world record −90 °C (−130 °F) temperature.[citation needed]
In April 2012 the first of threeAntarctica Schmidt telescopes (AST3) was installed at Kunlun Station. The other two were planned for installation in 2013 and 2014. A bigger optical telescope,Kunlun Dark Universe Survey Telescope (KDUST), is planned to be installed by 2025.
| Instrument Name | Aperture | Installation Year | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Small Telescope Array (CSTAR)[4] | 0.145m | 2008 | CSTAR is an array of four Schmidt telescope with aperture of 14.5 cm, equipped with 1Kx1K CCD each. |
| Antarctica Schmidt telescopes (AST3) | 0.5m | 2012–2014 | First of three AST3 telescopes was installed at the Antarctic Kunlun Station in April 2012.[5] |
| Kunlun Dark Universe Survey Telescope (KDUST) | 2.5m | 2025 | KDUST is a 2.5 meter infrared optical telescope designed to detect and observe Earth-like planets in the Milky Way using infrared light.[6] |
| Dome A Terahertz Explorer-5 (DATE5) | 5m | 2025 | DATE5 is a 5-meter telescope designed to detect light with longer wavelengths, which will allow astronomers to detect and observe nascent stars.[6] |
| Infrared optical telescope | 6-8m | 2020+ | |
| New terahertz telescope | 15m | 2020+ |
