Cryoscope: A Cryogenic Infrared Survey Telescope in Antarctica
Крайоскоп: криогенный инфракрасный обзорный телескоп в Антарктиде
2025-06-01
SCID: 54.1/3vnqgx5h
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CryoscopeDome C AntarcticaK dark survey / K dark passbandcryogenically cooled telescopetime-domain infrared survey
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Abstract (AI)
Abstract We present Cryoscope, a new 50 deg 2 field-of-view, 1.2 m aperture, K dark survey telescope to be located at Dome C, Antarctica. Cryoscope has an innovative optical–thermal design wherein the entire telescope is cryogenically cooled. Cryoscope also explores new detector technology to cost-effectively tile the full focal plane. Leveraging the dark Antarctic sky and minimizing telescope thermal emission, Cryoscope achieves unprecedented deep, wide, fast, and red observations, matching and exceeding volumetric survey speeds from the Ultraviolet Explorer, Vera Rubin Observatory, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, SPHEREx, and NEO Surveyor. By providing coverage beyond wavelengths of 2 μ m, we aim to create the most comprehensive dynamic movie of the most obscured reaches of the Universe. Cryoscope will be a dedicated discovery engine for electromagnetic emission from coalescing compact binaries, Earth-like exoplanets orbiting cold stars, and multiple facets of time-domain, stellar, and solar system science. In this paper, we describe the scientific drivers and technical innovations for this new discovery engine operating in the K dark passband, why we choose to deploy it in Antarctica, and the status of a fifth-scale prototype designed as a Pathfinder to retire technological risks prior to full-scale implementation. We plan to deploy the Cryoscope Pathfinder to Dome C in 2026 December and the full-scale telescope by 2030.
Key Findings
1
A fifth-scale Pathfinder prototype will be deployed to Dome C in December 2026 to retire technological risks, with the full-scale telescope planned for deployment by 2030.
2
By providing coverage beyond 2 μm, Cryoscope aims to create a comprehensive time-domain 'movie' of highly obscured regions, enabling discovery of electromagnetic counterparts to compact-binary mergers, Earth-like exoplanets around cold stars, and diverse time-domain, stellar, and solar-system science.
3
Cryoscope explores new detector technology to cost-effectively tile the full focal plane for wide-field infrared observations.
4
Cryoscope is a proposed 1.2 m aperture, 50 deg^2 field-of-view survey telescope operating in the K dark passband to be located at Dome C, Antarctica.
5
Leveraging Antarctica's dark sky and reduced thermal background, Cryoscope achieves deep, wide, fast, and red observations that match or exceed volumetric survey speeds of Ultraviolet Explorer, Vera Rubin Observatory, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, SPHEREx, and NEO Surveyor.
6
The telescope uses an innovative design in which the entire optical system is cryogenically cooled to minimize thermal emission.
Research Object
Cryoscope 1.2 m cryogenically cooled K-dark survey telescope to be deployed at Dome C, Antarctica
Research Subject
Design, technical innovations, and scientific performance enabling deep, wide, fast, and red (beyond 2 μm) time-domain and survey observations—including detector tiling, optical–thermal cryogenic design, survey speed, and suitability for discoveries (compact-binary EM counterparts, Earth-like exoplanets, stellar and solar-system science) at Antarctic site
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2025-06-01
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