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September 25, 2006

DASI Reflective Ground Screen

DASI Reflective Ground Screen

The Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station. DASI uses thirteen sensitive microwave receivers and horn antennae as an interferometer in which the signals are combined to produce an image of the sky. DASI was specifically designed to measure the small temperature and polarization variations in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. DASI is surrounded by a reflective ground screen to shield it from the strong terrestrial sources of microwave radiation. The South Pole Station is visible in the background.

Funding for DASI comes from the NSF Office of Polar Programs initially via the Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica (grant 89-20223), a NSF Science and Technology Center, and currently through a grant directly from the Office of Polar Programs (grant OPP 00-94541). The Center for Cosmological Physics provides additional support at Chicago. (Date of Image: November 2002)

Credit: Jon Yamasaki, DASI Winterover


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