Speaker
Description
Ground-based measurements of the cosmic microwave background are subjected to short-term sky noise primarily driven by poorly-mixed atmospheric water vapor. This noise causes brightness fluctuations in telescopes and limits accessible spatial scales on the sky in the absence of appropriate modulation. To better understand the observing environment and predict performance of future telescopes, we have deployed a 183 GHz water vapor radiometer (WVR) to Cerro Toco in the Chilean Andes, home to CLASS, Simons Observatory, and a proposed site for the future CMB-S4. Unique to this WVR is a custom two-stage optical design which allows it to scan 360 degrees in azimuth and do elevation sky-dips in an observing strategy similar to a typical CMB telescope. It is a copy of a unit already deployed to the South Pole, so data from these two instruments will further enable valuable comparisons of the observing conditions at the two sites.
| Would you be interested in presenting a poster if the conference is oversubcribed? | Yes |
|---|
