Site testing campaign for the Large Optical/infrared Telescope of China:general introduction of the Daocheng site

The Daocheng site is one of the three candidate sites for the Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT)of China.It was discovered by Yunnan Observatories during the survey of potential sites for the next-generation large-aperture solar telescopes of China.This paper describes the overview of the site,the observation platform and the monitor instrument.In addition,simple statistical results are presented(from November,2016 up to December,2017).Detailed data results can refer to the overview of LOT site testing and data analysis articles,which were published during the same period.

Site testing campaign for the Large Optical Telescope at the Ali site

The Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT)is a ground-based 12 m diameter telescope which is proposed to be built in western China.The site selection for LOT in China began in 2016,and Ali was listed as one of the three candidate sites.Remote studies and local surveys have been carried out for more than 15 years in western China,and the results show that Ali is a promising site with comprehensive quality in terms of atmospheric and supporting conditions.An overview of the site testing campaign at the Ali site from 2016 to 2019 is presented.After the two years of data collection,the overall median seeing value is found to be 1.17 arcsec,the observable nights are 81.71%and the good observable nights are 71.76%.The weather conditions as follows,the median night temperature value is-5.18℃,the median night relative humidity value is 41.25%,the median night atmospheric pressure value is 540.92 hPa,the median night wind speed value is 7.41 m s-1 and the mainly wind direction is southwestern(SW).The median night sky background value is 22.07 magV.We also discuss the wind speed at different locations on-site,the possibility of light pollution and the effect of wind speed on differential image motion monitor(DIMM)seeing measurements.

Research and application of reanalysis data for radio astronomical site testing

Selecting a good site for ground-based astronomy is very important. Based on the ERA-Interim global reanalysis data, this paper studied the atmospheric conditions of the Qitai Telescope(QTT) site from the aspects of absolute humidity, mixing ratio and precipitable water vapor(PWV). Error estimations of meteorological parameters are also analyzed. These primary results show that the QTT site has obvious advantages in terms of conditions with much less atmospheric water vapor than two well-known existing sites with 100-meter-aperture radio telescopes in the world. In addition, due to the influence of atmospheric water vapor on radio observations, the atmospheric transmittance for each frequency band of the site are simulated, and the atmospheric opacity is also calculated as well as Planck radiation brightness. Based on these results, the effective observational time of different bands is further estimated.

Site Testing at the Gaomeigu Village

The work on the site testing at the Gaomeigu village Lijiang county in the northwest of Yunnan Province, was started in 1994 after the completion of the investigation on optical/infrared astronomical observatory site resources over Yunnan Province. The observation of the astro climate conditons has been made for more than two years. The major results are given as follows: The photometrical nights are 75, the half photometrical nights 39, the spectroscopic nights 99 5. the average of the temperature difference during night is 3 2℃, the average of the winding speed 3 6m/s, the precipitable water vapor at night is 13.0mm in the raining season and 4.3mm in the dry season respectively. The seeing measurement was made by a three subaperture DIMM. 20486 sets data obtained for 294 nights. The average of the Fried parameter is 15.53cm (FWHM=0.″71). The micro temperature sensors were used to determine the atmospheric turbulence distribution near the ground from 6 5cm to 27m. The typical value is about 0.″11 at night. The sky brightness and the extinction coefficient in B.V. colors was measured by a photometer. The means of the sky brightness B=22 m 34/◇″ and V=21 m.54/◇″. The extinction coefficients K′ v=0.135 and K′ bv =0.298.

Assessing the Spatial Equality of COVID Testing Sites Maintaining Zero COVID Policy

Rapid and timely testing is essential to minimize the COVID-19 spread. Decision makers and policy planners need to determine the equal distribution and accessibility of testing sites. This study mainly examines the spatial equality of COVID-19 testing sites that maintain a zero COVID policy in Guangzhou City. The study has identified the spatial disparities of COVID testing sites, characteristics of testing locations, and accessibility. The study has obtained information on COVID testing sites in Guangzhou City and population data. Point pattern analyses, Euclidian distance and allocation, and network analyses are the main methods used to achieve the research objectives, and 1183 total COVID testing sites can be recognized in Guangzhou City. Results revealed that spatial disparities could be noticed over the study area. Testing locations of Guangzhou City are highly clustered. The most significant testing sites are located in Haizhu District, which has the third largest population. The highest population density can be identified in Yuexiu District. However, only 94 testing sites are located there. According to all the results, higher disparities can be identified, and a lack of testing sites is located in the north part of the study area. Some people in the northern part have to travel more than 10 km to reach a testing site. Finally, this paper suggests increasing the number of testing sites in the north and south parts of the study area and keeping the same distribution, considering the area, total population, and population density. This kind of research will be helpful to decision-makers in making proper decisions to maintain a zero COVID policy.

Quantitative Analysis of Seeing with Height and Time at Muztagh-Ata Site Based on ERA5 Database

Seeing is an important index to evaluate the quality of an astronomical site.To estimate seeing at the Muztagh-Ata site with height and time quantitatively,the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis database(ERA5)is used.Seeing calculated from ERA5 is compared consistently with the Differential Image Motion Monitor seeing at the height of 12 m.Results show that seeing decays exponentially with height at the Muztagh-Ata site.Seeing decays the fastest in fall in 2021 and most slowly with height in summer.The seeing condition is better in fall than in summer.The median value of seeing at 12 m is 0.89 arcsec,the maximum value is1.21 arcsec in August and the minimum is 0.66 arcsec in October.The median value of seeing at 12 m is 0.72arcsec in the nighttime and 1.08 arcsec in the daytime.Seeing is a combination of annual and about biannual variations with the same phase as temperature and wind speed indicating that seeing variation with time is influenced by temperature and wind speed.The Richardson number Ri is used to analyze the atmospheric stability and the variations of seeing are consistent with Ri between layers.These quantitative results can provide an important reference for a telescopic observation strategy.

The AIMS Site Survey

This paper reports site survey results for the Infrared System for the Accurate Measurement of Solar Magnetic Field, especially in Saishiteng Mountain, Qinghai, China. Since 2017, we have installed a weather station,spectrometers for precipitable water vapor, and Solar Differential Image Motion Monitor, and have carried out observations on weather elements, precipitable water vapor, and daytime seeing conditions for more than one year in almost all candidates. At Mt. Saishiteng, the median value of daytime precipitable water vapor is 5.25 mm and its median value in winter season is 2.1 mm. The median value of the Fried parameter of daytime seeing observation at Saishiteng Mountain is 3.42 cm. Its solar direct radiation data show that solar average observable time is 446 minutes per day and premium time is 401 minutes per day in 2019 August.

A method to obtain the wind field characteristics of super-large aperture radio telescope site based on single-point wind tower and numerical simulation

The influence of wind on the pointing accuracy of large aperture radio telescopes is becoming increasingly serious, especially at high observing frequency. Obtaining the wind field characteristics efficiently is very important to reduce the wind disturbance on antenna structure. In this paper, an error evaluation of numerical simulation method is established based on the measured data of single point wind tower, and the wind field characteristics are obtained from the evaluated numerical simulation results combined with the measured data for the 110 m aperture Qi Tai radio Telescope(QTT) site. According to the simulation results, compared with the measured data, the root mean square error(RMSE) of wind speed is less than 1 m s^-1, and the minimum wind speed RMSE is 0.2 m s^-1. An analysis of the wind field characteristics of the QTT site suggests that the active wind resistance design of the antenna periphery should focus on the SSW(south-south-west) direction.

Seeing measurements for the Guoshoujing Telescope (LAMOST) site with DIMM

We present seeing measurements of the Guoshoujing Telescope （formerly named the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope- LAMOST） site at Xinglong station during the period from 2007 March 12 to April 25. The measurements were carried out with the Differential Image Motion Monitor （DIMM）, and a total of 9259 data sets was obtained. The median seeing was measured to be 1.1″, with 25% being better than 0.8″and 75% better than 1.5″. The experiment shows that the DIMM exposure time has significant effects on the results of seeing measurements. An SBIG Polaris seeing monitor, which had been planned to be installed on the LAMOST site for long-term monitoring, was also employed during the DIMM observations. The results show that the SBIG seeing monitor is easily affected by gusty wind, resulting in larger seeing values. Considering the previous seeing measurements at Xinglong station over the last 15 yr, we conclude that an acceptable seeing condition at Xinglong station is around 1″-2″.

The site conditions of the Guo Shou Jing Telescope

The weather at the Xinglong Observing Station, where the Guo Shou Jing Telescope （GSJT） is located, is strongly affected by the monsoon climate in north- east China. The LAMOST survey strategy is constrained by these weather patterns. We present statistics on observing hours from 2004 to 2007, and the sky brightness, seeing, and sky transparency from 1995 to 2011 at the site. We investigate effects of the site conditions on the survey plan. Operable hours each month show a strong cor- relation with season： on average there are eight operable hours per night available in December, but only one-two hours in July and August. The seeing and the sky trans- parency also vary with season. Although the seeing is worse in windy winters, and the atmospheric extinction is worse in the spring and summer, the site is adequate for the proposed scientific program of the LAMOST survey. With a Monte Carlo simulation using historical data on the site condition, we find that the available observation hours constrain the survey footprint from 22h to 16h in right ascension; the sky brightness allows LAMOST to obtain a limiting magnitude of V = 19.5 mag with S/N= 10.

Numerical study of a 20W class QCW pulsed sodium guide star laser's performances at five sites in China

In the past few years,Chinese astronomical community is actively testing astronomical sites for several new optical/infrared ground-based telescopes.These site testing campaigns conducted were mainly focused on fundamental performances of the sites,such as cloud coverage,seeing,temperature,etc.With increasing interests in sodium laser guide star adaptive optics for these new telescopes in the Chinese astronomical community,it is interesting to investigate the performance of the laser guide star at these sites,especially considering that the sodium laser guide star’s on-sky performance is significantly influenced by sites’local performances,such as geomagnetic field,sodium layer dynamics,density of air molecule,etc.In this paper,we studied sodium laser guide star’s performance of a 20 W class Quasi Continuous Wave(QCW)pulsed laser developed by TIPC with numerical simulation for five selected sites in China.

Control System Design and Implementation at Flexible, Distributed Offshore Sensor Test Sites in the Yangtze Estuary Area

Marine in situ testing is a necessary step for stereotyping newly developed marine sensors. The use of test sites in the Yangtze Estuary area, which has high turbidity and abundant nutrients, can effectively reduce the needed testing time owing to its harsh conditions. Five test stations were established, and a floating buoy and fixed test equipment were designed. A control system, including a sensor connection, data processor, video remote transmission, and corresponding control algorithm, was developed. The control system enabled the nondestructive monitoring of biological attachments and bidirectional, real-time communication between an upper server on land and the control system at the test sites. The dissolved oxygen(DO), temperature, and pH data of DOS600 and DPS600 sensors were compared with those of AP2000 sensors. Temperature recording using the DOS600 sensor was performed nearly as well as that of the AP2000 sensor. The mean DO values(standard deviations) were 8.414 mg L-1(2.068) and 6.896 mg L-1(1.235) for the DOS600 and AP2000 sensors, respectively, indicating that the DOS600 performance was unsatisfactory. The pH recording of the DPS600 was slightly worse than that of the AP2000 sensor. Experimental results showed that the DO value was more easily affected by the buoy movement of waves compared to the pH and temperature. Moreover, data fluctuations showed that the DO and pH parameters were more vulnerable to biofouling than temperature. Waves and biofouling create a harsh test environment, and the performance difference between the developed sensors and a standard sensor can be obtained in a short time period.

THE BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF CHANGCHUN JINGYUETAN OPEN REMOTE SENSING STUDY AND TEST SITE OF THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

In 1979, the Changchun Jingyuetan Remote Sensing Study and Test Site (RSSTS)began its work, and it was formally established in 1985. The RSSTS is subordinated the Changchun Branch of Chinese Academy of Sciences and is supported by the Changchun Institute of Geography and Changchun Institute of Optics and Fine Machnics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is under the management of the Resource & Environment Bureau of Chinese Academy of Sciences and it is the study base of remote sensing basis and application tests in China. The RSSTS is situated in the Jingyuetan scenic spot of the suburbs of Changchun City, Jilin Province. It is located at 43°40′—43°50′N and 125°18′-125°18′E.

Astronomy from Dome A in Antarctica

Dome A in Antarctica has been demonstrated to be the best site on earth for optical,infrared,and terahertz astronomical observations by more and more evidence,such as excellent free-atmosphere seeing,extremely low perceptible water vapor,low sky background,and continuous dark time,etc.In this paper,we present a complete picture of the development of astronomy at Dome A from the very beginning,review recent progress in time-domain astronomy,demonstrate exciting results of the site testing,and address the challenges in instrumentation.Currently proposed projects are briefly discussed.

The photometric system of the Tsinghua-NAOC 80-cm telescope at NAOC Xinglong Observatory

The Tsinghua-NAOC （National Astronomical Observatories of China） Telescope （hereafter, TNT） is an 80-cm Cassegrain reflecting telescope located at the Xinglong Observatory of NAOC, with the main scientific goals of monitoring various transients in the universe such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, novae, variable stars, and active galactic nuclei. We present a systematic test and analysis of the photometric performance of this telescope. Based on the calibration observations taken on 12 pho- tometric nights, spanning the period from 2004 to 2012, we derived an accurate trans- formation equation between the instrumental ubvri magnitudes and standard Johnson UBV and Cousins RI magnitudes. In particular, the color terms and the extinction coefficients of different passbands are well determined. With these data, we also ob- tained the limiting magnitudes and the photometric precision of TNT. It is worthwhile to point out that the sky background at the Xinglong Observatory became gradually worse over the period from 2005 to 2012 （e.g., -21.4 mag vs. ,-20.1 mag in the V band）.

Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation and Statistics in the Spectral Observations of FAST

In radio astronomy,radio frequency interference(RFI)becomes more and more serious for radio observational facilities.The RFI always influences the search and study of the interesting astronomical objects.Mitigating the RFI becomes an essential procedure in any survey data processing.The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)is an extremely sensitive radio telescope.It is necessary to find out an effective and precise RFI mitigation method for FAST data processing.In this work,we introduce a method to mitigate the RFI in FAST spectral observation and make a statistic for the RFI using~300 h FAST data.The details are as follows.First,according to the characteristics of FAST spectra,we propose to use the Asymmetrically Reweighted Penalized Least Squares algorithm for baseline fitting.Our test results show that it has a good performance.Second,we flag the RFI with four strategies,which are to flag extremely strong RFI,flag long-lasting RFI,flag polarized RFI,and flag beam-combined RFI,respectively.The test results show that all the RFI above a preset threshold could be flagged.Third,we make a statistic for the probabilities of polarized XX and YY RFI in FAST observations.The statistical results could tell us which frequencies are relatively quiescent.With such statistical data,we are able to avoid using such frequencies in our spectral observations.Finally,based on the~300 h FAST data,we obtained an RFI table,which is the most complete database currently for FAST.

A mobile polar atmospheric parameter measurement system:Ⅱ. First atmospheric turbulence observation at Antarctic Taishan Station

This is the second paper of a series devoted to atmospheric optical turbulence Cn^2 observation using a mobile polar atmospheric parameter measurement system. We present the initial results of Cn^2 measurement at Antarctic Taishan Station using micro-thermal sensors and a three-dimensional sonic anemometer at height -2.0 m above the snow surface. The site testing experiments were carried out during the 30th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition （CH1NARE）. We collected about 1 000 h of data between 30 December 2013 and 10 February 2014. The C,： curve exhibits clear daily structures, with two peaks around midnight and midday and two troughs around 7：30 and 17：00 local time （UTC＋5）. The mean C,2 is 2.7×10^-15 m^-2/3 and the 25th and 75th percentiles of the C,2 cumulative distribution are 9.6×10^-16 m^-2/3 and 6.2×10^-15 m^-2/3, respectively. Meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and air pressure are also presented.

The photometric system of the One-meter Telescope at Weihai Observatory of Shandong University

The one-meter telescope at Weihai Observatory （WHO） of Shandong University is an f/8 Cassegrain telescope. Three sets of filters are installed in a dual layer filterwheel that use Johnson-Cousins UBVRI, Sloan Digital Sky Survey u′g′r′i′z′ and Stomgren uvby. The photometric system and the CCD camera are introduced, followed by detailed analysis of their performances, and determination of the relevant parameters, including gain, readout noise, dark current and linearity of the CCD cam- era. In addition, the parameters describing the site＇s astro-climate, including typical seeing, statistics on the number of clear nights and average sky brightness, based on data gathered from Sep. 2007 to Aug. 2013, are systematically studied and reported in this work. Photometric calibrations were done using Landolt standard star obser- vations spanning eight nights, which yielded transformation coefficients, photometric precision and system throughput. The limiting magnitudes are simulated using the derived calibration parameters and classic observation conditions at WHO.

Design and performance study of the HEPP-H calorimeter onboard the CSES satellite

The China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite(CSES) will investigate iono-magnetospheric disturbance and will monitor the temporal stability of the inner Van Allen radiation belts.In particular,the mission aims at confirming the existences of a temporal correlation between the occurrence of earthquakes and the observation of electromagnetic disturbances, plasma fluctuations and anomalous fluxes of high-energy particles precipitating from the inner Van Allen belt in space.The high energy detector of the High Energy Particle Package(HEPP-H) is a payload onboard CSES and is designed for detecting electrons(2–50 MeV) and protons(20–200 MeV) in its 500 km orbit above Earth.CSES was launched in February 2018.In this paper, the instrumentation and development of the HEPP-H calorimeter are described.The calibration with beam particles(electrons and protons) is discussed in detail.

FAST VLBI: current status and future plans

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)is the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world,and is now being commissioned after the first light in September 2016.Very long baseline interferometry(VLBI)is among the key science topics according to the original design.The FAST VLBI system has been established,and the first VLBI fringe has been successfully obtained.FAST will significantly improve the sensitivity of the existing VLBI networks in the future,and some science projects in need of high sensitivity will benefit from its participation.