Antarctic Tianmu Staring Observation Project I: Overview and Implementation of Prototype

Wide-field rapid sky surveys serve as critical observational methods for time-domain astronomy research. The Antarctic region, with its continuous dark nights lasting several months each year, emerges as an ideal site for time-domain astronomical observations. The Antarctic Tianmu Staring Observation Project (ATSOP) aims to deploy a fleet of small telescopes, adopting an array observation model to conduct time-domain optical observations in Antarctica featuring wide-sky coverage, high-cadence sampling, long-period staring, and simultaneous multi-band measurements. Considering the severe challenges optical telescopes face in Antarctica, including extremely low temperatures, unattended operation, and limited power supply and network transmission, we designed and developed the Antarctic Tianmu prototype (AT-Proto) based on drift-scan CCD technology. In October 2022, the AT-Proto (18 cm aperture) was transported to Zhongshan Station in Antarctica aboard China's 39th Antarctic Research Expedition. It has since operated stably and reliably in the frigid environment for over two years, exemplifying the significant advantages of drift-scan CCD technology in polar astronomical observations. The AT-Proto's experimental observation results have laid a solid foundation for the subsequent construction of a time-domain astronomy observation array in Antarctica.