A High-Cadence UV-Optical Telescope Suite On The Lunar South Pole

• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2010.00007
• Publication Date: 2020-01-01
• Authors: Scott W. Fleming; Thomas Barclay; Keaton J. Bell; L. Bianchi; C. E. Brasseur; J. J. Hermes; R. O. Parke Loyd; Chase Million; Rachel A. Osten; A. Rest; Ryan Ridden-Harper; Joshua E. Schlieder; Evgenya L. Shkolnik; Paula Szkody; B. Tucker; M. A. Tucker; Allison Youngblood
• Keywords: Cadence; Optical telescope

We propose a suite of telescopes be deployed as part the Artemis III human-crewed expedition to lunar south pole, able collect wide-field simultaneous far-ultraviolet (UV), near-UV, and optical band images with fast cadence (10 seconds) single sky for several hours continuously. Wide-field, high-cadence monitoring in regime has provided new scientific breakthroughs fields exoplanets, stellar astrophysics, astronomical transients. Similar observations cannot made UV from within Earth's atmosphere, but are possible Moon's surface. The proposed will enable studies atmospheric escape close-in giant exoplanet magnetospheres, physics flare formation, impact flares on habitability, internal structure hot, compact stars, early-time evolution supernovae novae better understand their progenitors formation mechanisms.