SIAMOIS, asteroseismolgy at Dome C after CoRoT

Abstract

SIAMOIS is a ground-based asteroseismology project, to pursue velocity measurements from the Dome C Concordia station in Antarctica. Dome C appears to be the ideal place for ground-based asteroseismic observations as it is capable of delivering a duty cycle as high as 87% during the three-month long polar night. This high duty cycle, a crucial point for asteroseismology, is comparable to the best space-borne observations.
We present the quality of the SIAMOIS project, that yields to its selection as top priority by the working group of ARENA dedicated to “Time series observations from Dome C”. We show that, after CoRoT, SIAMOIS proposes a large scientific case, that extends the pioneering work and great discoveries of CoRoT. We depict a few important ingredients of the project: full automation, space-like philosophy, and compatibility with the current facilities at the Concordia station. SIAMOIS has no real competitor before at least 2016/2017, and can be considered as a pathfinder for many important issues concerning astronomical observations at Dome C.