| Alternative names | KDUST  |
|---|---|
| Part of | Kunlun Station |
| Location(s) | Antarctica |
| Telescope style | infrared telescope proposed building or structure |
| Diameter | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
The Kunlun Dark Universe Survey Telescope, also known as KDUST,[1] is a planned large survey telescope to be installed at the Chinese Antarctic Kunlun Station[2] located at Dome A ice plateau in Antarctica. It is intended to take advantage of the exceptional observation conditions due to low temperature, clean air quality and low disturbances which reduce background noises for infrared observations.
KDUST is a 2.5 meter infrared optical telescope designed to detect and observe Earth-like planets in the Milky Way using infrared light, but at much higher resolution than the Antarctica Schmidt telescopes project. KDUST will be perched on a 14.5-meter-tall tower to lift it above the turbulence layer.[3] KDUST is scheduled to be installed by 2025.[4]
- ^ "Major Telescopes Added to Highest Observatory". laboratoryequipment.com. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ Jean de Pomereu (2012-11-27). "China's research programmes at Kunlun Station". sciencepoles.org. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ "China Prepares to Spend Billions on Science and Technology". Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2013-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ The PLATO-A Team (2019). "Plato-A Dome A robotic observatory".
In 2025, depending on funding, China aims to have two major new telescopes at Kunlun Station: KDUST (a 2.5 metre optical/IR telescope) and DATE-5 (a 5 metre terahertz telescope)